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
