The Rent Wahala...

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As in ehn… the housing atmosphere in this country is just brutal. There is a reason why many people just find it hard to relocate, because finding a new place that will serve you better than your old one, or even at the very least, serve you just as good as it, is difficult. There will always be one thing or the other that will be wrong with the house, and sadly, the landlords don’t care most of the time.

Sometimes, if the house is beautiful and has nice aesthetics, it’ll probably be too small. If it has space, water might be an issue. If there’s enough water, you might also have issues with plumbing and leakages. Just like that, no matter where you go, it’s hard for you to see a house without any problems, and one that you’re ready to just move into.

A close acquaintance of mine has been on the hunt for a house for a while now, and it’s been hectic. The majority of the houses she has been seeing have been nothing short of rubbish! They just don’t do it for her. There was even one that was so bad, it seemed like the entire street turned the front of the house into a dumping ground. There was another one that, while the house is fenced and has a gate, a gutter ran straight through it.

And funny enough, these houses are expensive as hell! You’ll see a house that was most likely built in 1990, with the walls that look like they’ve not been painted for decades, and a roof that’s now as brown as the sands in my village. The house just basically looks like a time bomb waiting to explode. But you’ll see the landlords renting it for 700k. Like, what exactly would you be paying for? A house that, when you move in, you’d spend no less than 300k just to make it conducive for yourself?

But then, that’s not just the issue we have to deal with. We can’t afford to forget the agents and the stupid fees we have to pay. First, we pay agent fees, which are already expensive. We also pay inspection fees, and many times, these inspections don’t yield anything. And when you pay the rent, they’d also get a commission from it. That’s just how exorbitant it is.

Honestly, I don’t get why landlords insist on working with agents, they just make the whole process too difficult and expensive. What’s wrong with paying your rent and maybe damages? Why should we pay lawyer fees, agent fees, caution fees? And all that rubbish? This is something that I’ll never really understand. And these guys are simply cashing out big time.

As it stands now, finding a new place is not easy, and it takes a lot. You have to be ready to have your heart broken over and over again, and you also need to accept that some agents will do away with your money. Because many of them are just weapons fashioned against some tenants. But if you’re patient and persistent, you’ll eventually find the home you’re looking for. And if you’re lucky, you’ll get it in a good place that will give you peace of mind.

Until then… let’s stay guided.

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_{Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below, I would love to know what you’re thinking. Till we meet in the next post.}

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_{N.B: All images used in this post are mine. The thumbnail was designed using Canva.}

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