Experts Want Mortgage Banks For Rivers People

In order to pursue the effective delivery of affordable housing to Rivers populace particularly those on a monthly pay-roll in both public, and private establishments, some stakeholders in the housing sector have added their voice in favour of establishing Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMIs) to create liquidity that would drive the deepening of the sector.

The experts, having examined the importance of the PMIs in housing provision alongside the high demand for housing in Port Harcourt and environs and considering that such institutions are hard to find, have called on the state government and other well-meaning individuals to float PMIs in Rivers State, if the issue of affordable housing for the people will be achievable.

Speaking to The Tide on the issue, an estate surveyor and valuer in Port Harcourt, Olayinka Femi, said one major way of creating enabling environment for provision of affordable housing is through the existence of viable mortgage institutions.

According to him, “Many potential home owners are willing to undertake mortgage in order to own their own houses, but the facilities are not there, even with the increasing demand for mortgage in Port Harcourt.”

Femi further stated that the mortgage sector and mortgage business are specialised and should be preserved from incursion from other financial bodies like commercial banks, micro-finance, and insurance among others adding that it takes longer time to recoup the cost of investment on mortgages.

Also speaking on the matter, the estate manager, PABOD Finance and Investment company Limited, Ariobiobara Bestman who is also an estate valuer with specialty in property management, stated that one major setback in the provision of affordable housing in Port Harcourt is the absence of PMIs.

According to Bestman, the issue has made it very difficult for indigenes of the state to own their own houses and has also made them to become perpetual tenants, while most of the houses are owned by strangers.

As a way of addressing the issue, the property expert posited that there is a serious need to establish state-owned mortgage institutions that will finance housing development, as well as assist workers in the public sector in particular to own homes before retirement.

He said many public servants who had retired from service without a home in the city, could not cope with village system and that some of them have died, pointing out that they would have owned a home if there were proper policy on mortgage which they would have benefited from.

Bestman therefore, urged the state government to reconsider its policy on public mortgage institution, pointing out that the PABOD Finance was primarily established for that purpose, but that it could be put back to its original purpose of full public Primary Mortgage Institution for Rivers State.

On his part, Ogunsemowo Dele, who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dele and Associates told The Tide that there is need for state-owned PMI, because the private mortgage institutions focus on high income earners especially those they are sure to recoup their money from and as well make profit, and does not consider the middle and the low income earners.

Dele gave example of the Diamond Housing Estate along the Ada-Geroge axis of Port Harcourt where the price range is between N40million to low-income earners, even if the mortgage is for 20 years, pointing out that this is where  the public mortgage becomes necessary to give cover to public servants on lesser mortgage.

Corlins Walter