Client's diaryUncategorized

5 Reasons I Would Rather Rent Than Build A House

 

I’m Kunbi Salami, well, only for a short while now. You see, I’m getting married. My boyfriend of 3 years; Kehinde, and I are finally tying the knot in less than 2 months. The proposal was magical. But do not let me bore you with details. That is not why we are here. That is not the dilemma I am facing.

You see, Kehinde has been going on and on about how he wants to start building his own house as soon as we get married (we are currently staying together in one of his late father’s house with two of his cousins), how he is a proper Yoruba man and his culture makes it necessary for him to build his own home. Crap. I love my husband oo (feels so good to call him that even if he will not be until two months). You see, I would rather rent a lovely apartment than wait for him to start building, and I cannot continue to stay with his cousins after we get married. The problem is not the cousins, no. I just want my privacy with my husband.

I know some of you reading this are thinking I’m probably not well or something, my friends think so too. No, I am very alright. I have no problem with my husband’s culture. I mean, we are both Yoruba. Regardless, let me clarify why I would prefer to rent a home with Kehinde, rather than let him build one.

I must first of all say that, I love my husband-to-be, very much in fact. The problem is, my husband gets easily distracted (I am not permitted to call him lazy). What I’m saying is, when you finish building a house, will you not start with maintenance? Kehinde will not fix a light bulb in the house, and if his cousins do not do it, I have to. Kehinde will forget to call the carpenter to fix the door-hinge or the broken wardrobe, if his cousins do not, I have to. This is the same man that is going on about building a home for us; does he expect me to start calling the carpenter for a broken roof, when I have just given birth? Even the Christian bible says that you shall know the truth and it shall set you free, I know this truth, let me speak it. Let it set me free. I cannot start chasing one electrician around because my husband simply chose to forget, or be expected to start fixing light bulbs when I am carrying a baby. Am I right or am I right?

See also  6 Ancient Cities In Nigeria

Another problem is, Kehinde’s job description demands that he moves from place to place, city to city. He just moved from Abuja where I met him to Lagos, during my service year about 6 months ago. Lagos is the third state in Nigeria he has been transferred to now, and being his wife, I would need to move with him the next time he is transferred. Please, do you think it is reasonable for my husband to build a home in a place he may not live in forever? I do not get. I do not understand why he insists on building a home in Lagos, when there is every possibility he will be transferred to Bida or Lokoja or one other remote location in Nigeria (something I am seriously praying against). Why not just let us rent a home here, and wait for the transfer letter peacefully? Why should we be staying in another state, and let construction be ongoing in another? It does not make any sense to me. Perhaps, my Kehinde is a Martian and I do not know it yet.

I love the good life, very much. I love swimming and going to the spa and all sorts. I know my husband-to-be, he also loves the gym. He loves lifting weights and all those other things men do. If we build a home, I do not expect a gym or a spa to come with it. Where will we get the money from? Wouldn’t it be a lot more reasonable, to rent a home in Lagos that comes with both? Kehinde can go to the gym on Saturday mornings while I just go swim or something, instead of us to start travelling miles like we do now, just to get a swim. This one may seem a bit selfish, but, won’t swimming make me look better for my husband? After all, they say it is one of the best forms of exercise.

See also  When Your Unknown Landlord is Your Relative

As I have said before, my husband is quite “forgetful”. When it is time to pay taxes and the Land Use Charge they now pay in Lagos, he will not be the one who would have to leave his place of work, under Lagos hot sun, go through the infamous Lagos traffic, to pay them. No, it will have to be me. But if we decide to rent a home, all the katakata will be borne by the Landlord or agents or whoever. As long as it is not me, I am very happy. Do you still think I am crazy? No? I thought so.

Lastly, but definitely not the least, as my friends from Estate Management used to shout, back when we were in the university (rather annoyingly, I must add): Location, Location, Location. You see, I would rather live on the island, as both my husband-to-be and I work on the island. Land prices on the island however, are through the roof. The price of 2 plots of land in Victoria Island will pay our two rooms rent for fifty years. A house we will not stay in. All we need for now is just two rooms; one for us and another for when his mother comes visiting. What do we need another for. We will start thinking of how to expand after we decide on when to start making babies. After we are certain of how many years we’ll spend in Lagos.

See also  ROSE'S TALE- Part Three

I am very sure most of you probably agree with me right now. I could close with the usual “I hope I have been able to convince you blah blah blah” thing, but, that is not my aim. My aim is not to convince you guys, my aim is to convince my Kehinde, who has been insisting on building instead of renting. I’ll probably use my womanly charm or something.

What do you people think? Should we rent? Build? What would you do?

Niyi Ademoroti

Tags

5 Comments

  1. My dear, you make a lot of sense in your case. Your case is not peculiar to all of us. There is nothing like living in a lovely environment. I hope your hubby-to-be see things in your own light.. Just be his strength since you already know his weaknesses.

  2. Kunbi, let me start by saying congrats in advance for your wedding, I will be expecting my own invitation. I took my time to read your article carefully and I see your point but do not agree with you. As for Kehinde’s forgetfulness and “I dont care attitude” towards things like that, that is when you should use your feminine charm to make him do it, and trust me, no man wants to loose what he worked hard for or see it deteriorate without acting; Kehinde is just this way now because the house you are living in is not his house, by the time he goes through the rigor of building a house he will appreciate taking good care of it.

    Also about having all these nice amenities in your house like spa and swimming pool, well, Rome was not built in a day. You have to start from somewhere. Property been what it is, they appreciate. If you start with building a bungalow, after a couple of years you can sell it for maybe triple the cost or even more and then you can build a better one with all the amenities you desire. If you rent, you will just be helping your landlord pay his bills and build equity in his house instead of building equity in yours.

    Finally, you were talking about making babies, what inheritance do you want to leave for them if you dont build a house, your rented apartment? I dont think so. See what the Bible says in Proverb 13:22, it says and I quote “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.” and with that I close.

    Take care and good luck

  3. People often forget that property isn’t the ONLY form of investment out there. More often than not, investments in property has poor yield. Rent an affordable apartment with every amenity you would desire in the location of your choice. Save up and invest in something better.

    PS: You can even buy an apartment.

  4. Build if u are wise. A good woman will encourage the husband to build his house now he still has the money. Also Know that no situation is permanent. Assume he stops work tomorrow’ where will u get money to pay your rents that has spa. Think of future and not present. To me u still act childish like a baby who casnt think far.
    Call me on 08033577433 to advice u better with life experiences.

  5. Have you heard of “ile l’abo simi oko” sure u must have as a yoruba girl.
    Only if u intend being a full house wife u would imagine changing location like a bird but i can tell you from experience, its not best especially when raising children.
    God forbids but nobody plans for death, or getting broke, it would amaze you how time flies and rent gets due..
    You’ve been called to be his help meet and not a help to eat meat, encourage him to be a better person and not discourage his striving efforts.
    Wishing u both a blissful marriage.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button