The choice of which apartment to rent goes beyond the how much you’re asking young families to pay for it. For this category of tenants, it’s not about simply about whether they can afford it or not. In other words, the house has to be functional and this functionality must manifest in the amenities your property is offering. Let’s take a quick look at some amenities that would go a long way in making your property more attractive to young families in Nigeria.
Stable Electricity
Electricity is a deal breaker for young couples seeking to rent your property. Over the years, Nigeria has struggled with the epileptic supply of electricity. If your property is located in a neighbourhood where residents enjoy barely 24 hours of steady supply of electricity in a space of one week (168 hours), young families would have strong reservations about your property.
Most young families have at least one generator to provide an alternative means of electricity in the case of power cuts but if they find out that your property has a bad case of an extended period of a blackout, your property and the neighbourhood risks getting blacklisted.
If you can guarantee your prospective tenants a decent level of electricity supply, then your property would be more attractive to young families seeking a lovely apartment to rent.
A Quiet Space
When we say a quiet space, we don’t mean a house that’s built in complete isolation or set next to cemeteries. Rather, what this means is that your property should be located in a neighbourhood that enjoys a decent level of peacefulness and tranquillity. Young couples are not fascinated by noisy neighbourhoods.
Ensure the property you’re putting up for rent is not located next to a church or mosque. Religious grounds in Nigeria are known to use public address systems and loudspeakers that have a history of constituting an element of disturbance to residents.
To underscore the seriousness of this, in 2017, the Lagos State government gave mosques and churches a 90-day ultimatum over noise pollution. In the same year, churches and mosques in Oyo State were banned from using outdoor speakers by the state government.
In essence, avoid having your property located directly beside churches and mosques that have loud outdoor speakers.
Good Schools
At some point in the life of a young family, they will have a need for good schools. If you have some great school in good proximity to your property, it would really play to your advantage.
A young family will always carry out a home search based on their needs and a property situated in a school-friendly neighbourhood will be considered very attractive to them.
Before you build or buy a home, its proximity to good schools is a factor that will increase the value of your property down the line.
Water
Don’t assume that the majority of neighbourhoods have a regular supply of potable water. Having a borehole in your home and a functional pumping machine goes a long way in increasing the value of your home.
Young families do not find the thought of fetching water from neighbouring homes appealing. Buying water from local merchants (also known as ‘Meiruwa,’ which translates into water seller in the Hausa language) is not the ideal situation.
Unavailability of potable water is a deal breaker for most young families and the reasons aren’t far-fetched. Water is essential to the daily living of humans.
Good Roads and Access to Public Transport
One common question most young families ask is: “How close is the house to the major road/bus-stop?” It’s not hard to fathom why they ask this question. The average young family wants a comfortable lifestyle/routine. If your property has great access to major roads and bus-stops, this category of tenants will consider it attractive and functional.
This explains why neighbourhoods like Ikeja, Surulere, Lekki, Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Ogudu and Yaba rank higher than several others in the estimation of young couples looking to rent an apartment.
The farther your property is from major bus-stops, the less appealing it would be to a young family. A situation where it takes 15 minutes to commute from your property to a major highway will not suit the needs of potential tenants.
Safety
Do you know that there are neighbourhoods in Nigeria where you can forget to lock your door, go to work and not get thrown into a state of panic upon remembering that you forgot to lock your door? That is an example of what a young family has in mind when they think about a safe house. The safer your property and your neighbourhood are, the more attractive it will be to potential tenants.
There are neighbourhoods in Lagos where armed robbers write letters to before they stage an invasion. In July 2018, the New Telegraph published an article titled: ‘Expect Us Soon, Robbers Write Lagos Communities.’ In its reaction the Lagos Commissioner of Police vowed to shoot at sight, anyone found with firearms in the area at odd hours.
For a young family, security and safety rank quite highly on the list of things to consider before renting an apartment. Most people want to live in a neighbourhood where there’s little or no crime and they would usually go out of their way to pay for this.
Final Thoughts on Amenities Young Families Consider Valuable
To under how the mind of a typical young family works when they are hunting for an apartment, it’s important to put yourself in their shoes. It helps you understand their needs. Ask yourself some honest questions and answer them as honestly as you can.
Questions and Answers:
- Would you rent an apartment built close to an airport? | Only if you enjoy listening to the sound of plane engines 18 hours daily
- Would you rent an apartment built next to a hospital? | You’re bound to be assaulted by the blaring noise of sirens
- Would you rent an apartment next to a school? | The noise from school children yelling might eventually get to you
Which of these amenities would you consider a deal breaker when hunting for an apartment to rent?
