Talk of one property developer whose company is doing so well in the industry right now and Adron Homes & Properties Limited will be mentioned. While other real estate companies are complaining of Recession and low sales, Adron is doing so well. Thanks to the aggressive marketing strategy adopted by the MD/CEO.
That explains why everywhere you go today around Lagos you will see Adron marketing executives driving around in branded cars and buses, aggressively marketing their products. And he has over the last few years come up with several packages and offers, the latest now is the Ileya offer, which is currently running.
Recently this handsome real estate expert told City People his success story at Adron Homes.
How do we resolve the 17 million housing deficit?
First, let’s determine the housing need of each geo-political zone since we believe that, Nigerian problem can be resolved by political issues. In the North, what do they need, in South, what do they need and in the South West, what do they need? So, when we get our calculation right then we can begin to say this is what they need, in terms of numbers of housing units to be provided.
Can you share with us what you have been doing in the last one year because we also understand the state of the economy has an impact on the real estate?
What I have been doing in the last one year is work, work. The Publisher has been trying to get me. He has invited me several times. I have not slept in my house in the last 3 days, from Ogun State to Abuja to Owerri. I just came back this morning. So, all what we have been doing in the last one year is work and when you are working, expansion will follow suit.
Talking about your products, how is it doing?
It’s increasing. If it does not increase we will not expand. In fact, we just opened offices in some places. We just acquired a property in front of our office to expand more.
What are you doing differently?
Well, I will say sincerity. First of all, when you want to start a business, be sincere, have a vision that, this is what I want to achieve. For instance, when I heard about 17 million housing deficit in the year 2000. I said if we were to solve 10 percent, which is about 1.8 million. How do we go about it? The strategy from the beginning was to solve 1.8 million housing deficit.
Knowledge is the second thing. You must be able to solve every problem that comes your way in the course of doing that business. Then Hard work is also another thing we put in place.
How can achieve affordable housing and how can we use mortgage, pension fund to access affordable housing?
Mortgage on its own still has a lot of bottlenecks. If you want to have a decent housing, you will have nothing less than 15 million naira to have a decent 3 bedroom bungalow.
What is the concept of affordable housing?
The theory of social housing is the job of the government to make it cheap for private developers like ours. I woke up yesterday I heard Dangote Cement is now N2,500. Dangote Cement will not give me free products, land owners will not give me land for free, I will still go and perfect my title document, get C of O, Iron rod is not free, and sand is not for free.
The cheapest of our product, the two terrain house goes for 12.5 million. Now, housing is not cheap in any part of the world. I keep saying that because when I talk about housing I am not talking about the house. I am talking about the environment, the road network, the road system and everything put together. That’s what we are doing in most of our estates.
Most of our estates look like Dubai. We make a flexible payment plan. Somebody just bought our bungalow house in Grand View at Atan, he is to pay for 5 years. If an average civil servant has been in the government employment for 10 years, the first 5 years of any average Nigeria would first battle with is marriage and settle down. It’s after 10 years an average Nigerian will think of own a house.
Adron is unique in terms of marketing style, you are everywhere. Is that a deliberate attempt and how did you come up with that?
I keep saying the demand keeps driving us. I tell my marketers that you don’t need to allow somebody to get to work before you can market them. People are everywhere. People are in at bus-stops, people are attending parties. So anywhere we can talk we leverage on it. Anywhere people gather we leverage on that.
If you were to make a case for property developers what will you tell government?
Honestly, we can all work together. We have always been saying this. The government should see us as partners in our first project in Shimawa, we are the only estate that has a light there. I had to go as far as Ibadan to get light. The electricity project power alone in Shimawa is above 120 million naira.
The government can liaise with us (developers), we can synergise. The issue of the land title given by the government, we come together to plan it. I think with that, Nigerian housing needs would be met. Because government alone can not do it.
How many Estates do you have now?
For now we have Imota Park and Gardens, Rehoboth Park and Gardens Phase 1 & 2, Grandview Park and Gardenview series, we have the Hajj, we have the Strong Tower Estate, we have the Peninsula… In Treasure Park and Gardens, we have the Glass House, we have Treasure Park, and Gardens, City of David Phase 1 & 2, we have Treasure Park and Garden Golf Estate, and we have Treasure Park and Gardens, Down Town Estate. We have in Abuja and a couple of others around.
What about the US and Dubai?
In the US, we have an office there. We have an office in the UK and Dubai. We have some projects in the pipeline most especially in the US. We want to acquire 5 hectares projects, and we are calling it Naija Community Estate. This is to meet the demand of Nigerians Housing needs there. It’s a Nigerian Community, once you go to that estate you see Nigerians speak Yoruba, you can see Amala Joint, Clothing, and Attire.
How do you cope running all these offices? I mean everywhere you go you see Adron Homes?
God has been able to help me, in the sense that we have worked. my first 8 to 10 years experience was with government. I was with Power Holding. I know how a parastatal can work and I used to be a Station Manager. So I know what I need to put in place for a system to run well. When you start of your company you know who to put there.
In terms of Marketing, is that part of the previous experience?
Yes, I will attribute it to that. Work also, I have been privileged to work under CEO’s, I will keep give kudos to them.
Majorly, PHCN taught me a lot because I was selling a bad product. You know PHCN is a bad product.
How do you deal with the challenges of your customer if you are unable to deliver at the appointed time?
It’s just for you to have a good customer service. We experience that also, especially when you have a strong clients base. Our client base is running over 50,000 client base. So, there are issues at time, it’s not even with us at time. Some of them are highly tempered. And one of the things we do at Adron Homes is we teach our marketers psychology, because they are dealing with human beings.
What informs your recent promo of Buy A Land and get a ram and how has it helped?
Yes, like we say its about housing in totality. We live, we move. We are starting our Golden Gate Cemetery. It is a vault, where you can bury your dead. We don’t want to make it like a traditional one. We want to create small, small houses for the dead. We want to say that, even when you die it’s a house. This Golden Cemetery would be in Shimawa and we are going to have that in all our estates. So, they don’t need to travel to bury their dead or bury them in front of their house. It’s a beautiful place for anybody to bury their dead. It’s also a place where you can go to visit. The project will commence mid next year.
Also look at the season that’s coming, “Ileya”. People will gather, families will gather. They will be happy they bought a land from Adron Homes and they gave us Ram(s). And after this we are rolling up our 20, 20 Lemon Friday, which will keep of immediately after “Ileya”.
In 2015 we distributed bags of rice, over 1,000 bags of rice distributed. In 2016 we gave nothing less than 100 thousand bags of rice out, because our estates and customers are increasing. And people that buy outrightly all our houses, they will not only attend our end of the year party with Adekunle Gold, Kiss Daniel and about 3 more of them, they will also go to Dubai, for 26 to 30 of December in Dubai. And if you buy a land worth 12 millions, you will also be given the opportunity. They will be given a ticket and all expensive pay.
What next should we expect from Adron?
A lot in terms of our housing products. We are getting better and better everyday. Anytime I travel abroad and I see good things I love to replicate it back home because I know housing affect our thinking, our development. A boy raised in Akute and a boy raised in VGC there will be a clear difference.
There developmental growth will be quite different. Their social relationship will be quite differs. So, Adron Homes will continue to set the pace in the housing sector.
For story submissions and inquiries, please email us at citypeopleonline96@gmail.com