PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES
MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA; A CASE STUDY OF KADUNA NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Residential
property management is emerging as a managerial science today (Kyle and Baird,
1995). It transcends beyond the role of rent collector (Li, 1997). Managing a
residential property involves establishing goals, objectives and policies and implementation
of strategies to achieve those goals and objectives. Singh (1994, 1996) posited
that residential property management is an activity that seeks to control
interests in property owner and particular purpose for which the property is
held. Wong (1999) considers residential property management as the work carried
out to manage and maintain the development including its facilities at the
level that will retain or enhance the value of the residential property, create
a safe, functional and conducive living environment for occupants, keep or
restore every facility in efficient working order and in good state of repair,
and project a good appearance or image for the development. Ismail (1996)
regards residential property management responsibility as including all the
necessary making to ensure the economic and physical vitality of residential property
assets.
Residential
property management is also the management of personal property, equipment,
tooling and physical capital assets that are acquired and used to build, repair
and maintain the residential property. Property management involves the
processes, systems and manpower required to manage the life cycle of all public
residential property as defined above including acquisition, control,
accountability, responsibility, maintenance, utilization and disposition
(Njoku, 2006). According to Ebie (2012), duties involved in residential
property management generally will include a minimum of these basic primary
tasks
–
The full and proper
screening or testing of an tenants/applicant’s credit, criminal history, rental
history and ability to pay.
–
Lease contracting or
accepting rent using legal documents approved for the area in which the
property is located.
–
Mitigation and
remediation regarding any maintenance issues, generally within a budget, with
prior or conveyed consent via a Limited Power of Attorney legally agreed to by
the property owner.
There are many facets to this residential property
management, including managing the accounts and finances of the real estate/residential
properties, and participating in or initiating litigation with tenants,
contractors and insurance agencies. Litigation is at times considered a
separate function, set aside for trained attorneys. Although a person will be
responsible for this in his/her job description, there may be an attorney
working under a property manager. Special attention is given to landlord/tenant
law and most commonly evictions, non-payment, harassment, reduction of
pre-arranged services, and public nuisance are legal subjects that gain the
most amount of attention from residential property managers. Therefore, it is a
necessity that a public residential property manager be current with applicable
municipal, county, state and Federal Fair Housing laws and practices. In
advanced countries, residential property management, like facility management,
is increasingly facilitated by computer-aided facility management (CAFM).
However,
managers of residential properties in Nigeria are faced with various kinds of problems
ranging from uncooperative attitude from workers, poor maintenance and environmental
condition, security and other basic infrastructures. Some managers in Nigeria have
been able to cope with some of these challenges but the researcher will provide
an overview about the problem and prospects of residential properties
management focusing on Kaduna North Local Government Area.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
According to Bello (2008), residential property
is more than a mere shelter; it includes all facilities within and around it,
embracing a bundle of services which entails both product and process. Management
of residential building embraces in all ramifications the maintenance and development
process, be it economic, social, physical). In fact, management of these
properties has been subject of focus by researcher in recent times based on the
cumbersome nature of the process. The problem of poor management of residential
properties is a global phenomenon and the severity of the problem differs from
one nation to another. However, the researcher is seeking to examine the problems
and prospects of management of residential property in Kaduna
North Local Government Area.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The
following are the objectives of this study:
1. To
examine the problems of residential properties management in Kaduna North Local
Government Area.
2. To
analyze the prospects of residential properties management in Kaduna North
Local Government Area.
3. To
identify the solution to the problems of residential properties management in
Kaduna North Local Government Area.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What
are the problems of residential properties management in Kaduna North Local
Government Area?
2. What
are the prospects of residential properties management in Kaduna North Local
Government Area?
3. What
is the solution to the problems of residential properties management in Kaduna
North Local Government Area?
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The
following are the significance of this study:
1. The
outcome of this study will educate the general public on the problems and
prospects of managing residential properties in Nigeria emphasizing on its
proper management and some other management challenges which will form a guide
for estate managers in decision making.
2. This
research will also serve as a resource base to other scholars and researchers
interested in carrying out further research in this field subsequently, if
applied will go to an extent to provide new explanation to the topic.
1.7 SCOPE/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The
scope of this study on the problems and prospects of residential properties management
in Kaduna North Local Government Area will cover all the basic problems faced
by managers in effective maintenance of both the infrastructure and finances
generated on residential property.
LIMITATION OF STUDY
Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the
efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature
or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire
and interview).
Time constraint– The researcher will
simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently
will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Management:
the process of dealing with or controlling things or people.
Residential:
designed for people to live in.
Property:
a thing or things belonging to someone; possessions collectively.
REFERENCES
Bello, N. A. (2008):
The Economics of Land and Housing. (Revised Edition). Abeokuta: DENAB
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Ebie, S. P. O. F.
(2012): The Imperative of Social Housing in the South-South Region of Nigeria.
The Estate Surveyor and Valuer. Vol.37(1). July-December 2012.
Ismail, I.
(1996) “The Operational Property Management Process in Large Non-property
Organization in Malaysia” unpublished Ph. N. Thesis, University of Reading.
Kyle, R.C. and Baird, F.M. (1995)
“Property Management” Real Estate Education Company, Chicago, II.
Li, L.H.
(1997) “Property Management in China: Opportunities and Problems” Property
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7472.
Njoku, J.
(2006): “Why ‘Cash and Carry’ Housing Transaction Persist’. Retrieved on 29/4/2009
from http://www.library.hbs.edu/hbsonly_cgi.
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(1994) “Re-engineering property management: Sustaining Asset Value through
Effective Property Management” Conference of Property Maintenance and
Management in the 90’s 30 – 31 May, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Singh, G.
(1996) “Property Management in Malaysia” Federal Publications, Malaysia,
p. 4.
Wikipedia (2015): www.wikipedia.com
Wong, K.S.
(1999) Property Management in Private Practice, Unpublished Lecture Notes,
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