‘Why we did Life Camp Estate’

Could you give us a brief history of how the Life Camp project started? The Abuja property market could be seen relatively in any vacant plot where developers are always willing to put up either residential or commercial property. Our Life Camp Estate came into being two years ago with the acquisition of a 3.4 […]

Could you give us a brief history of how the Life Camp project started?
The Abuja property market could be seen relatively in any vacant plot where developers are always willing to put up either residential or commercial property. Our Life Camp Estate came into being two years ago with the acquisition of a 3.4 hectare land in the Life Camp area of Gwarinpa, we sat down and decided to design something that is really thoughtful for an exceptional living experience

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What is the composition of properties on this estate?
We have about 74 terraces each comprising of four bedroom plus boys quarters, and 20 apartment flats each comprising of three bedrooms plus boys quarters. Actual construction work started in March 2015, with site clearing and setting out, we coasted all the DPCs, we have done the decking, up to rafters and roofing in some of the structures.

What is the percentage completion?
We are about 35 percent completed and we expect to complete the project in December 2016.
What are the prices of the properties in Asba and Dantata estates?
For our terrace houses the price is N90 million but will soon rise to N100 million. This is due to the fluctuating nature of the naira viz-a-viz the dollar. For the apartments the price is between N55 million and N60 million but they’ve all been sold out.

How come they’ve been sold even before completion?
This is because we have something people really like, something unique and qualitative. When we first started during our market research, we studied our competitors around the area, Brain & Hammers, Bua Estate, we looked at their pricing and size, quality, our own estate in terms of cost per square meter we offer the best value at the cheapest price.
For instance, our terrace, we provide 315 square meter of floor space and our apartment is 295m2 floor space. No property within Abuja metropolis offers the same in terms of space, finish and location, none offers what we are offering in the market. So our houses are relatively cheaper. When we started, even before we laid one block, people started making payments. By the time we fully mobilized to site, many had been sold.
With so many unoccupied properties in Abuja it is  a wonder people rushed to buy your houses even before completion.
I think it has to be the uniqueness, most of the unoccupied houses you mentioned are either outside the metropolis and very expensive, not properly done or they are within the metropolis with okay finishing but are very very expensive. So you have to provide optimum value in terms of location and space.

Did you advertise?
No, mostly it is through word of mouth, we did some announcements on Kano radio but mostly when we started work people would stop by to make enquiries and then go further by making some commitment and some reservations.

What then is the mode of payment?
 We have outright payment which is the full amount, in which case you may get a discount which is negotiable, otherwise you make a minimum deposit of 40 percent. After three months you deposit 20 percent and every three months 20 percent until you complete your payment.

Are there any challenges since the commencement of the project?
Of course, this is our first mega project in Abuja, another selling point is our combined experience. Some of the challenges include the approval process, overcoming the limitations in terms of regulation. All this is time consuming and had to be sorted out. Then mobilizing to site, raising the initial capital for such a big project worth millions of naira. To reduce costs, most of the professional jobs were done in house.

What about infrastructures?
We have proper drainages, street lighting, water, electricity, all this has been fixed, It’s just a matter of connecting individual houses. We are going to have a supermarket, gymnasium, lawn tennis court etc. In short, there is room for growth on our estate.