NIESV Tasks Public On Property Agreement

The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Rivers State branch has urged members of the public, particularly those resident in Port Harcourt to ensure that they have a written agreement which must be prepared by a lawyer, in any issue of property purchase or lease, so as to avoid future disappointments.
This advice follows some reported issues of disappointment incurred by some people who had mere verbal agreement on the property they leased.
Chairman of NIESV, Rivers State Chapter, Mr. Emma Wike, who was reacting to the matter in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt recently, said that any transaction on property matter which does not have a proper written agreement prepared by a lawyer can not be tenable in a law court.
According to the NIESV chairman, “I do not advise people to go into agreement without a written contract prepared by a professional, especially a lawyer. For any agreement to be legal in property matters, it must be signed by a lawyer”.
Further more, he said, “my advise on this issue is that people should put their agreements in writing when it comes to property, so as to avoid unnecessary disappointment from any of the parties.
On Governor Amaechi’s promise to build 1,000 housing units for the low-income earners, Wike posited that the idea may not be realizable, given the level of income of the low-income earners and the amount which the house will cost, except there is a good mortgage system that is put in place that can gurantee availability of funds to the tune of about N3 million for the low-income earners.
He said that government should work out a mortgage system where the low-income earners can have access to funds to be able to pay for the houses if such programme must be functional else, it might be hijacked by higher and middle income earners.

Corlins Walter