Valuer Urges Proper Utilisation Of Pension, Housing Funds

An estate surveyor
and valuer in Port Harcourt, Emma Igwe, has called on the Federal Government and relevant authorities to put to proper use monies from the pensions fund and the National Housing Fund(NHF) for the purpose of proper mortgage financing for housing development.
He said that funds are not supposed to be idle in the banks, but to be disbursed through the Federal Mortgage Bank to be accessed by other mortgage institutions.
Igwe, a member of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) who made this known in an interview with The Tide, said the pension and the NHF are idle funds.
He said that these funds are supposed to be deposited in the FMBN which will disburse them to other primary mortgage institutions to fund housing projects.
Igwe, however, regretted that the mortgage institutions, especially the primary mortgages are not working due to lack of funds for operations.
According to him, the mortgage banks are now operating like the commercial banks, and charge higher interest rates, with shorter period of repayment, adding that such is very expensive and inimical to housing development.
He said that the difference between the commercial bank and the mortgage banks is the interest rate and the period of repayment on loan.
The valuer maintained that the interest rate is low and with longer time of repayment for the mortgage, adding that the idle funds are supposed to be used for the purpose of mortgage.

Corlins Walter