Wednesday 29 January 2014

HAVE YOU SEEN WWW.HOMSWIPE.COM?




When it comes to the issue of renting apartments in Nigeria, most especially in Lagos, You are literarily paying the devil a visit.

There are three things synonymous with an apartment search in Lagos;
1.    Stress!
2.    Stress!!
3.    Stress!!!

Okay, just stress right? But if you have tried searching for an apartment to rent in Lagos, you’d know why I repeated the word “stress” thrice.

Even with the advent of various “rent-a-home” directories online due to recent technological advancements, people still get scammed of both their time and money.

Does this now mean one can’t rent a home without hassle? Is there any way out of this shithole?

Below is a letter from a young Nigerian, Oluwadamilare Peters as he shares his experience with us on his escapades with Nigerian aliens estate agents and how he successful got the apartment of his dream from which he wrote the letter (what he told us though).

Sit back take a cup of zobo coffee while you go through this testimony.

Hi there,

I remember vividly a terribly and not funny experience I and a friend had with one of these so-called estate agents when we were trying to rent an apartment in Lagos.

We just got a job with a marketing company which is kind of far from where we reside. So in order to save some money we decided to search for a condo available for rent at most 5-mins walking distance from our new office.

We decided to check one of these ‘rent-a-home” directories online since we thought it would save us time and the stress of moving aimlessly from one estate agent to the other.

So we settled for one beautiful condo we saw, it was perfect. It tallied with what we wanted. I was so happy for the advent of the internet.

We got the contact of the estate agent in charge of the property and set up a meet. (We were in fact ready to move in). On getting there after exchanging few words with him, he demanded the sum of #2,500 for a form which he claimed was non-refundable before we can proceed to the apartment.

He assured us that everything was intact and he is directly in charge of the apartment. He also said some things which I can’t remember but I am sure it was all about hype too though.

When we got to the apartment, I got the shock of my heart. I brought out my phone, put on my glasses and checked the pictures we saw on the internet. It is completely different from what I am looking at.

I showed the agent the picture. He smiled and said “ha! No! This one no be the original pishure but e be like am sha”.

I felt used… and cheated

The taps are not evening running, the WC is broken. The apartment looked like a hideout for the men of the underworld. Then it dawned on me that we were scammed and that we are just one of millions of people that fall victims to these guys when searching for an apartment.

So I resorted to going to work from my parents’ residence. I left home as early as 4am everyday and got home past 10pm. It went on and on like that. I had no choice than to accept my fate.

But about a month ago I shared my ordeal with a friend that just relocated from Ibadan. And she told to me that she got her current apartment via www.homswipe.com

I was uninterested because I had zeroed my mind off all those online sites. “They are all scammers” I said.

I gave in after so many persuasions from her. I checked out the website and after navigating through some things, I couldn’t find a single listing. I called her then she explained to me that homswipe.com is not like other traditional “rent-a-home” sites.

So instead of searching through various apartments listed, I am just to post an apartment request, fill in the required data on a form and pay #5,000 for the search.
#5000! For what? My mind flashed back to the agent that duped me. All she said was “trust me it would work out fine”.

I obliged. After payment I got a confirmation message from them that within 7 days, I’d get list of apartments to choose from. I was secretly praying they disappoint too so I could prove to the babe that they are all scam too. But to amazement, the third day, I got a call from them and I was hooked up with an agent.

The agent showed me around and after navigating through one or two apartments, we negotiated and within a week, I settled in. my joy knew no bounds. It was ‘friggin’ unbelievable.

And as if that wasn’t enough, I got my #5,000 back. I still find it hard to believe everything worked out well though.
I am glad I had the opportunity to return the favor some weeks ago when I was asked to write this testimony.

You too can check them out. www.homswipe.com and follow the directions. If it can work for me, I bet you’d find them helpful.

Wishing you all the best,
Oluwadamilare Peters
@mamanaboy

Homswipe is “rent-a-home” search directory that is dedicated to helping you rent your dream home without stress.
1.     Log on to www.homswipe.com
2.    Make an apartment request and fill in the required details
3.    Pay a sum of #5,000 to our registered bank accounts
4.    You get a confirmation code to continue processing
5.    Get your dream home within 7 days.
6.    Get your #5,000 back after successfully renting the apartment.

Try us today on www.homswipe.com ……. Renting made easy.

Contact details;
Twitter: @homswipe
Email: support@homswipe.com       
Helpline: 08080683776, 07035674647