Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State pleads with residents in real estate business to be cautious in any financial transaction to avoid being scammed.
Sanwo-Olu made the plea at the opening of the 3rd edition of the Lagos Real Estate Market Place Conference and Exhibitions organised by Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority-(LASRERA) held at Victoria Island, Lagos on Tuesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the two-day event had the theme: ”A Town Hall Meeting: The Lagos Real Estate Emerging Markets – Mitigating Risks.”
The governor, represented by his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, urged the people to fact check records of the organisations they are dealing with to ascertain the individual/organisation is registered with LASRERA and other relevant government agencies in the built sectors.
Sanwo-Olu said the theme was adopted to beam searchlight on the sector against the background on new tactics and strategies being deployed by unscrupulous and fake practitioners to defraud unsuspecting clients.
“The emerging trends and practices in this sector in recent time call for increased vigilance on the part of all genuine practitioners and the government.
“This is in view of the rate of reported cases of dubious acts by some real estate agents who are taking undue advantage of the market which has become one of the fastest growing in Nigeria and Lagos State in particular as a result of increasing population.
“As a government, we owe it a duty to safeguard investments of people who may be unaware of some unprofessional practices in the market.
“The need to restore public confidence to this sector led to the establishment of the Lagos State Real Estate transaction in Lagos State to protect the citizens and investors from the potential risks emerging in the market,” he said
The governor, therefore, advised registered individuals/organisations to avoid doing business with unregistered Real Estate practitioners in the system by familiarising themselves with LASRERA guidelines.
He said the agency had defined minimum operational standards and guidelines for citizens to abide with.
To curb quackery and unlicensed operators, Sanwo-Olu called on the people to join hands with government through LASRERA, its regulatory agency to put an end to fraudulent activities in the Sector.
Earlier in her address, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Housing, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka, said there was need for appropriate regulation, implementation and enforcement of the Real Estate Laws
She stated that the laws were necessary to restore sanity into the sector and instil public confidence in the real estate profession.
