Right now in Ibadan, very many celebrities are showing interest in a real estate project of 105 units of houses located at Idi-Ishin, Jericho area in Ibadan. The project is handled by Dollar Construction, the real estate company that is currently making waves on account of its large scale projects, in the real estate sector. Recently, the MD/CEO of the company, Idowu Lamidi who many call Dollar, recently spoke to City People Publisher SEYE KEHINDE about the success story of his real estate projects in Ibadan and how people can buy a house. Below are excerpts.
We have noticed that many celebrities have taken interest in your housing projects in Ibadan. Why is this so?
Yes, people have been coming from different parts of the country. Like I said in a meeting recently, it is because Ibadan is a strategic city. It’s a beautiful place with history and people that are so accommodating. Before we came to Ibadan, we had various consultations and picked 4 cities that are strategic in the Southwest. Interestingly Ibadan is the choice of everyone. This is a city an ancient cultural history, political history and also in terms of development and facilities, Ibadan has an advantage with the Cocoa House, Premier Hotel, IITA, Bowers Tower and other notable scenery around the city.
And as you know, people come from everywhere to live in Ibadan, the people here are so welcoming. So these are things we at Dollar Construction considered before we decided to site our new project here.
The people that visited here and showed interest are mostly politicians and business people. These are people I mostly read about in the news and I’ve never met. But what I like is the satisfaction on their faces every time they come around and see what we are doing. The logic is simple, these are people who have travelled far and wide, they’ve been to different parts of the world and also toured the country and they know they’ve not seen something like this in this part of our country. Lagos is becoming over-populated, Abuja is a free city, so people that understand Real Estate know Ibadan to be the next Dubai and they are wise to invest.
Tell us about the ongoing projects in Ibadan, what are the shapes and sizes?
In total, it’s a 105 units of houses located at Idi-Ishin, Jericho area of Ibadan. We have the 2000 square metres, those buying this will bring their designs, we also have the 700 square metre for 5-bedroom duplex that includes a swimming pool, there is 600 square metre for four bedroom duplex and 450 square metre for 3-bedroom duplex. We played with a lot of space and I find it amusing when people come and they were like ‘wow! is this the size of a bedroom?’.
These are what you can’t get in Lagos or somewhere else, so I consider that as a huge advantage.
Are Ibadan elites ready to buy houses like those in Lagos and Abuja?
The main factor you need to consider when you ask that question is one, Are there still choice locations in Lagos and Abuja anymore? What you see is people digging deeper and giving strange names to dignify where they live. Our project in Ibadan is in a central location, you can access our estate from different parts of the city. We are not outside Ibadan, we are within the city.
You can’t have beautiful structures like this in remote areas. Who doesn’t want to live in Ibadan?
To be honest with you, when you go round Ibadan and discover the prices of properties and rents, you would see a slight difference. Ibadan is the new deal. People would tell you they love the city, it’s peaceful. Who doesn’t want to live where it’s peaceful? We just need to work on the facilities and take the city to where it should be. Do you know the story of Magodo in Lagos?
When they first started selling the lands, people were laughing. Now they are buying even the water-locked part of the area.
What are the new incentives you have introduced to attract new customers?
We don’t plan incentives. We are not land sellers that will tell you ‘buy this land and get a ram’. No! Real Estate is a serious business. Our only incentives to attract people are the facilities we have. We are sourcing our own electricity by building a dam inside the estate. We are also providing our own water, roads, security and a lot of other recreational facilities, these are what we call incentives. We know the value of our projects and we know what it yields periodically. This is an investment. A house you buy for a million naira today must sell for 5 million in about two years. That’s what Real Estate is all about, it’s a big business and not just selling of lands and properties at Moniya.
The Dollar Estate in Ibadan has an independent source of 3 megawatts of hydro, there is 500 KVA solar, 500 KVA gas turbine, 63 points of cctv cameras, power bikes patrol of the estate, tarred roads, gas supply to each houses, drinkable water plant and water system to each houses, intercom linking the gate to each houses…in short it’s going to be a paradise, and I’m sure these facilities are enough to attract people.
What makes Dollar Construction different from other real estate companies?
What sets us apart is the quality of work we render to our clients, We don’t deviate from the core standard of engineering construction and we do not compromise standard. We abide and follow the tenets of construction as well as the rules and regulations. Again our staffs are well trained and certified. They can work in all departments of the company , they can function in construction, marketing, adverts, sales because they are wholly trained and understand the dream of the company. Again at Dollar Construction there is no employer/employee structure. You won’t know the security from the Director, we all work at the site and we enjoy doing that and we joke about it.
How can interested customers buy and benefit from your projects?
We have emails, telephone numbers people can call and also our website www.dollarconstruction.net . Thanks
