Before the turn of this economic quagmire, every man who is of age craved for a house of his own.
But that dream is almost giving way to hopelessness, because the cost of everything that contributes to achieving it is no longer within the reach of an average person or family.
To get a land where the house will be built is not for the faint-hearted. One will spend a fortune to buy the Cement that can build a two-bedroom bungalow.
Both the iron rods and corrugated roofing sheets are so costly that only the money bags can afford them.
To scale these problems, Nigerians now go for manufactured moveable apartments.
It sounds funny, but that is the reality of today, as discovered by Economy & Lifestyle.
Usually, these types of houses were made primarily for off-site purposes. They are basically make-shifts and can be moved from one place to another, particularly for factory workers
These houses known as modular homes, prefabricated homes or porter cabins among others are mainly built with materials that usually do not stand the test of time.
They also do not pass structural tests for living houses for a long time
But that is what people are now going for, as cost of rent age is high and that of erecting a building is prohibitive.
A well known vulcaniser in Ikeja area of Lagos, Mr. Francis Asemota, tell Economy&Lifestyle that he had to buy a moveable two apartments with his savings of N5 million and placed it on his land after the engineer he contacted to start building a house for him told him he would spend over N10 million to construct a standard three bedroom apartment.
‘I was complaining to my friend that my landlord has increased the rent and I wanted to build a three bedroom apartment on my half plot of land.
‘He introduced an engineer to me who told me it will cost me over N12 million to build such an apartment. He cited the high cost of building materials.
‘I have only saved N5 million and my rent was increased from N600,000 to N800,000.
‘One day I stumbled on this moveable apartment online and decided to go for it. People thought I was crazy’.
‘But when I contacted the company and told them my budget, they delivered a two bedroom apartment to my land.
‘I was afraid at first but when I started using it, it was worth the money.
‘At least I am free from paying such ridiculous rent for a mini flat’.
Mr. Johnson Ifadele also embraced the innovation which according to him will save one from artisans high labour cost, disappointment and low quality services.
‘This moveable apartment is the best innovation I have seen so far in the Nigerian real estate sector.
‘You have someone to hold if something goes wrong with such an apartment.
‘Unlike these engineers you have now that will collect millions of naira and deliver a bad structure for you.
‘Coupled with disappointments and high labour costs.
‘After you give some of these developers the actual estimate for the building, they end up delivering structures that collapse within a few months’.
Explaining the method of installing the moveable house, Mr. Gbolahan Adegbenro, an engineer, said: ‘Manufactured mobile homes are factory made homes constructed on a steel chassis, which serves as the foundational frame and aid transportation but are removed when the house is placed on the foundation.
‘It has floors and walls that are constructed with materials like drywall or wood paneling.
‘The roof is also built with trusses that are fixed to the ceiling and it has electrical and plumbing finishings.
‘Once these are completed, the house is transported to the client’s land and it is placed on a foundation, and necessary connections are made’.
While many embrace this new trend, others are afraid to return to their home and find their houses have disappeared.
Mrs. Kemisola Adeoti, a hair extension business owner , said: ‘It is a wonderful innovation. Such can be embraced by the government to use for displaced persons residents’.
‘But for personal homes, I can’t go for it because what if you go home one day to discover that your house is no longer on the ground?
‘It’s a hilarious thought but such an incident will be a death blow’.
