4 land investment myths debunked

Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana:  There are countless ways to invest and many investment products to consider before deciding where to put your money. Although investing in land has been profitable for individuals and corporations around the globe, it is a system that is often misunderstood and under-appreciated by the average investors which is why we will consider some popular myths about real estate investment and debunk them.

• “Wealth is a requirement”

There is no iota of truth in this statement. The truth is that you don’t need to have all the billions before you can afford to invest in real estate. When people imagine the average real estate investors, they think of billionaires and wealthy corporations purchasing thousands of acres of land or skyscrapers in the middle of Manhattan. This is actually only a very small part of the real estate market. Many smaller investments are made every day by firms that represent groups of individual investors with good payments plan spread for your convenience. All you have to do is approach a real estate company and enquire of their real estate investment plans.

• “Buying Land is Not Simple and Straightforward”

This is one of the biggest myths of real estate investment in Nigeria. People have gone further to say that buying land is as complicated as buying a nuclear weapon at a supermarket. This is a myth that real estate experts have taken up the responsibility to correct; buying land requires proper due diligence but this does not mean it is a complicated process. When you want to buy land, you have to be very thorough to ensure you avoid complications in the future and the truth is when buying land, there are processes to be followed when buying land which in itself are nor burdensome but rather to help clear your doubts on your investment.

• “Land is Land, why pay expensively for some property”

Land value in terms of price differs based on various factors including location of the land, size of land, proximity to access roads, level of development in that area, the title the land possesses and among others. This means that not all lands are not the same and you need to have all these considerations in mind as you plan to buy land. Buying low and selling high is one of the ways people make profit from real estate, but this does not always mean that the cheapest piece of land is the only one with the potential to earn a higher return. In some cases, inexpensive land lacks potential or there are environmental concerns or certain other issues that reduces its value. The truth about Land is that it varies in price based on the value the land has to offer..

• “Buying Land at a cheap cost is all that matters”

The human nature is naturally designed to gravitate towards cheaper objects as against the expensive objects and land is no exception. The idea that when buying land, the only thing that matters is its affordability is one of the popular land investment myths in Nigeria. In the real estate sector, it is possible to buy land that costs you a lot of money yet comes with the possibility of giving you high returns on your investment. This can be achieved via eventually getting top-n15otch tenants or having low maintenance cost on the land and property when it is eventually constructed.

It is, however, possible to buy land at a cheap price and the land is extremely slow in yielding returns or is expensive to maintain. These are realities you must understand especially dealing with the myth that cheap land is always a good investment. The truth is cheap land which is expensive to maintain or fails to yield returns on investment is not worth a good buy.

In conclusion, Investing in the real estate sector is interesting and rewarding. You can start small and grow your investments with time. You can buy land for personal building purposes or as an investment you can cash in on your returns when the land appreciates in value with the passage of time.