Women have always been players in real estate

Mrs Diane Okoko is the CEO of Sanctuary and Haven – a firm geared towards building affordable houses for Nigerians. The graduate of Law from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria has built a career in the legal profession for the past 17 years and has brought that to bear in the real estate business. She tells […]

Mrs Diane Okoko is the CEO of Sanctuary and Haven – a firm geared towards building affordable houses for Nigerians. The graduate of Law from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria has built a career in the legal profession for the past 17 years and has brought that to bear in the real estate business. She tells us more.  

 

Give us an insight into your educational background?

I have always been fascinated with equity, philosophy and humanity. So I opted to study law, which is a noble profession with laid down legislation, commitment to justice and equity, and combines words and facts to share its essence.  I have a first degree in Law from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and a Masters degree in International Law and Diplomacy from University Jos. I decided to specialise in commercial law practice, capital markets and investment law. I am also a trained and certified arbitrator. I have practiced law for 17 years now and a Principal Partner of Marcus-Okoko & Co., a law firm based in Abuja.

 Many women are not seen in real estate business, why is that so?

It is not really a function of gender imbalance; the market has created an artificial perception really but there is certainly some form of tilt towards men due mainly to the market dynamics and how it has evolved along the value chain. Women have always been players in real estate, it has only moved towards the design space, interior decoration and other softer sides of the sector. 

As you also know, the peculiarity of the industry demands a lot of physical involvement in the construction arena, which is the reason you don’t find many women physically on site but this does not mean they have not always been players in real estate. They have always been there just as I am.

 How did you start-up then? How long have you been in this business?

The male element is visible only because of the segment of the value chain they operate in mostly. I have always been interested in building, be it, teams, blocks, whatever. So I guess I always knew I would be tilted towards real estate someday. It was easy to start small because for me I saw a need which we, as a team, decided to fix-housing deficit. And since this need fell within my line of interest, I didn’t require much, if any convincing at all.

Sanctuary and Haven Limited has been in the industry for some time now. We have operated through collaborations and partnerships mostly. In the last few years, however, we carried out a re-structuring that allowed us take on projects singlehandedly.

Which area of real estate business do you operate in?

Our operations are really end to end; the whole of the value chain. From land acquisition, to design conceptualisation, up until the interior decoration and hand over, depending on the client and project type. Our team is comprised of diverse professionals who make up the whole value chain.

How do you get clients?

This is more of our trade secret but I would say it’s more tied to the work we have done in the past in our individual spheres of endeavours. Our network makes up a part of our client base. More importantly, integrity, excellence and our track record speak for us. When people can trust you, they spread the word. So a major source of clientele is through word of mouth referrals.

 Tell us about a time when you struggled to build a relationship with an owner, investor, tenant, or broker. What would you have done differently?

For this sector, integrity and excellence form part of our values as an organisation. Our value propositions, we mean what we say and we believe in providing the best products that serve the aspirations of our clients. There are times when negotiations and agreements can be very tedious and may even go awry. We have had certain challenging experiences in the past but have created layers within our system that help us identify unserious prospects.

I am not sure we would have done things differently because if we hadn’t, we wouldn’t have learnt as quickly as we did and grown as fast as we did.

How affordable is affordable housing?

Affordable is affordable for everybody. There is no price tag .We can work with you to get you something that suits your budget. For instance you want a house for N10 million. And then I tell you, you cannot get a house for N10 million on Mabushi expressway but you can get a house for N10 million elsewhere if you can come up with two other people who want the same thing. What it does automatically is that it drops cost of land. People find strength in numbers. That is the reason banks will lend to cooperatives before they lend to an individual.

What are the challenges you face in this business?

Our major challenges are access to land and access to finance. Real estate business is very capital intensive. Another challenge is access to technology. The market has experienced revolutionary changes in recent years and if we want to stay competitive and have an edge over our competitors, we must have access to technology. The contemporary real estate societies have evolved towards green housing and smart home and so we try to innovate in order to compete favourably but we cannot do this without access to new technologies.

 Real estate business is capital intensive, how do you get funds to operate?

We managed this through the simple process of building layers. We are very deliberate and intentional about what we want to achieve and while profit is important to us, it is not the key driver of our business. Our focus is to build systems and structures founded on integrity. In other words, we want everyone to aspire to be a home owner and to achieve that, partnerships and collaborations are the bedrock.

Do mortgage banks also help by giving you loans?

We are in talks with a few presently and are hopeful that we will sign partnership agreements with some very soon.

What does it take to build a real estate business/company?

I would say it’s like any other business. Identify a gap in the market and try to fill it. At Sanctuary and Haven, what we are focused on is getting value for our clients whether in affordable housing that meets their aspirations or luxury needs. Our main focus is to meet the aspirations of our clients so our solutions are never one size fits all; they are tailor suited.

Are government policies helping the growth of real estate business in Nigeria?

Well, we are not completely there yet. The biggest challenge to real estate development in Nigeria is access to land and finance. Though the government has made some strides, there is still a long way to go in making access to land and finance cheaper and easier just as it has done within the agricultural landscape.

What qualities do you believe make an excellent real estate professional?

Integrity is very important, proper documentation and authentic titles too as well as quality control. Communication with clients is also vital. It really is whole chain, not rings within the chain.

What advice do you have for women who want to venture there?

Like I said, the market does not recognise gender; it recognises quality, passion, commitment, excellence and integrity. These factors are more important to clients beyond gender considerations. The most vital question to ask is “are you providing the housing solutions that meet the aspirations of the users?”

Be clear on your legacy. What I mean is that be clear on what you want to be remembered for, what gap you want to fill. When you find that gap, be committed to it. Three things are key to every client; authentic title, quality and value for money.

Have you partnered with others in the industry and how has it worked?

Yes, we have and we continue to create new partnerships and collaborations. We have a great complement of professionals on our board and we leverage on their individual networks to create partnerships that speak to our ultimate vision.

For instance, our recent partnership is with an innovative company managed by a team of young people who are pushing the frontiers, creating smart homes in Abuja. To us, that is the future of the industry, disruptors and innovators, bringing change to the sector and that is the driving force for S &H.