← Konnected Minds Podcast with Derrick Abaitey
Konnected Minds Podcast with Derrick Abaitey
From $5,000 to Millionaire: The Real Estate Secret Diasporans and Locals Must Know About Ghana
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- [00:00]
A
I've had people, they've never stepped a foot in Ghana before, go through design phase and build a house. I lost all my money here in Ghana. I started from zero and two years later I've made more money in Ghana than I've ever made in this case.
- [00:08]
B
I've built a business here and took that business to different African countries.
- [00:12]
C
What do you think is stolen?
- [00:13]
A
How they look? People feel powerless. People don't believe in themselves and they care too much about what other people think of them. That's hard for them to start anything. The first step is to buy land.
- [00:25]
C
The average Ghanaian that wants to own a home, how can they use your model to own a property?
- [00:30]
A
If you're making 800 cities a month, you are not part of the game.
- [00:32]
B
People are just looking at ownership. Ownership I own, I'm the boss, I'm the chairman. This is, for me is the reason why a lot of people are not getting to own these homes. Because all you need to afford a $55,000 property to get three friends, five friends that could be able to raise 10,000.
- [00:47]
A
I don't think that would be an average Ghanaian. They are not in that circle yet.
- [00:51]
B
I beg to differ. The average Ghanaian. Can people.
- [00:55]
A
Brush?
- [00:55]
C
I see you have some documents. Can you take us through them?
- [00:58]
A
If you are buying land, they're going to give you.
- [01:08]
C
Welcome to Connected Minds Podcast. My name is Derek Abayte.
- [01:15]
A
And I'd.
- [01:15]
C
Like to appreciate you for being part of the family, for being with us from the beginning and if it's your first time seen any of our videos, our audios on Spotify or Apple, please stay with us and become part of the family. Subscribe and to the people in our community, the connected Champions, thank you so much for always making it to the end of this conversation. Everybody wants a piece of Ghana now, whether it's buying a land or building a property. So today's conversation is with Raj Asare and Kwesi Otin. Desmond, Cod Rice is an expert when it comes to buying the land safely without being scammed. And Cod Kosiyoten is an expert when it comes to buying luxury homes across Africa. These two experts and business people have already been on this podcast before. Not just in this studio, the other studio, but their experience and what they've been through is the reason why they've shown up again. So let's get deep into what you can do to avoid the scams and how you can also have an affordable property in Ghana. Stick with me. Hello brothers, how are you?
- [02:30]
B
I'm doing very well, very excited to come into the new studio. I think that connected minds, just like I said in our first interview, is going somewhere and I'm proud to be on this journey with you guys. That's why when you call me any day, anytime I need to appear and I'm here, I'm doing very well. Kudos to you and the team. Amazing work done.
- [02:52]
A
I'm doing great as well.
- [02:54]
C
Yeah.
- [02:54]
A
Impressed with what you've done here. Looks amazing. Yeah, yeah. Always happy to be in your studio.
- [02:59]
C
Yeah, thank you. You know, Cod is actually the one that introduced me to a futurist, Kwame. He's such a lovely man and our man here, Rush, has introduced me to a lot of people that have also interviewed on this podcast and several opportunities in real estate. So thank you so much. I hope that today's conversation would help people in the diaspora and then also the average Ghanaian we have. Yeah. So my first question to you, Rush.
- [03:34]
B
Is.
- [03:37]
C
The everyday Ghanaian that wants to own a property in Ghana, right? What's the best way they can do?
- [03:46]
A
All starts with the land, right? You're not going to build without the land. So I think we need to take it one step at a time in life, whatever you want to do. When you look at the grand scheme of things, sometimes most people get scared and they cannot take the first step. So the first step is to buy land. If you are just starting out, you know, you know your pocket, you know how much you're bringing in, be realistic, right? You can go and buy $150,000 land in this day one, maybe you'll be okay somewhere around Prom prime or you know, where you can afford. You should know that and calculate and start with the land. Once you have the land, then maybe you cannot build a main house yet because you are renting. You might say, okay, I'll build a one bedroom house for myself. Now that's your boy's quarter. So you don't waste the land. If you have one plot, you might put that one bedroom with your kitchen and everything in the corner. I know people who've done this. You don't you? Most of the cost for construction goes in the finishes. So having the actual structure is usually about 30%, 35% off the actual construction cost. So you can have the building standing without spending too much. And then you do the essentials. I've had people who do screening and they will move in instead of paying rent. They will tally when the rent is due. So a year later they might tally slowly. They plaster it and they move accordingly. I know somebody who's moved into their house this way, finished their house, built two units, apartment to rent because he bought two plus on the other one and now he's about to build his main house. So he started with the, with the boys quarters that I'm talking about. So you just have to start small.
- [05:28]
C
Cod says that there's too much hassle when it comes to owning a land in Ghana. So he would rather people go for luxury homes.
- [05:38]
B
Yeah, because that's, that's the way to go. Now you, you need to look at it from this other way. He gave an example of somebody started from the boys quarters, the two rooms to rent and then now is doing their house. Now I'm saying that with all the hassle that comes with owning the land and having to go here and there to do all your verifications and everything for a new or a first time investor in the market, why don't I just put you on an apartment that gives you 36 months or 48 months or maybe 24 months payment plan and then you get to own and rent. Because all you need in this industry is to have an experience of this industry. So I'm going to give you an apartment, $60,000, $35,000. Because if you want to be realistic, buying a land even in a very good location today is going to cost you about 100,000 CD, that's like $8,000. And after that you do your documentation, your checks, your registration and everything comes up to about $15,000. $15,000. You want to put even a very nice, simple detached family unit on that, you're looking at $40,000. So that brings you up to 60, 55,000, 40 plus 15, $55,000. Today I can get you an apartment in Chado, which is so close to Labadi, so close to Cantament, so close to Laboni. For 55,000 you have the opportunity to pay over 36 months. So that's what I'm talking about. Because we've had so many diasporan stories, we've heard so many stories from the locals that have tried to invest in land that has ended them. I'm not saying land ownership is bad, but from the angle I speak, and to build momentum with what is currently happening in our real estate industry, why don't we go straight into ownership? Then you get passive income. So once you start getting rent from this particular unit you've bought now, because you are not using your personal money, but you're using money from passive income, you can now put the returns into an investment like owning a land.
- [07:45]
C
Rush doesn't agree.
- [07:48]
A
I agree to it some extent because not in relation to owning an apartment, but as a person, your first goal shouldn't be to own a house. It's unique cash flow. Okay. So what he's saying I just look at as a business. So if the cash flow from that business is going to help you because you're not working for that money anymore, you're just doubling up. So for example, let's say that person was making 10,000 cities a month and they're able to do what he's talking about. Now you might be getting a thousand dollars a month in that.
- [08:21]
B
Yeah.
- [08:21]
A
So let's say let's make it one cities. I mean 10 cities is $1. Let's go with that. So that makes it 10, 10,000 cities. So now he's making 20,000 cities. Now if he chooses to go and build, it'll be that much faster and he has he end up having two. So that's compounding. It could be anything. It could be investing in a dividend stock. So from that cash flow angle, I agree.
- [08:46]
C
Okay.
- [08:46]
A
You could have easily bought a car wash for that amount as well. You get the same. So if, if he's coming from the angle of instead of rushing to go and build a house, you should focus on getting some sort of cash flow before.
- [09:00]
B
I agree, but I, you know, how.
- [09:02]
C
About on the angle of owning a land instead of getting, you know, an apartment?
- [09:08]
A
Well, $55,000 for apartment in Chado. I have, I haven't seen it around.
- [09:13]
B
Yeah, it's happening and it's one of the big ones. One of the big companies, real estate companies, they've started it. I, I don't, I don't want to do free adverts. So I'm not going to mention. But this is what we do. That's why you should get in touch with me. I don't know the time you see this, maybe the price might have gone up because every three months, every quarter, this price is shoot up. But yeah, it's currently happening. I can introduce you to it. And what I want to buttress on is people need to take this out of their heads. It's not everybody that's meant to own a home and ownership in I think, especially for Africa, we think ownership is pride for me. That's what I'm saying that if you're able to buy this apartment, it saves you the time, the energy running around to do all the checks and to be scared. Ah, is Mr. Kofi going to come or sister am I going to say this land is mine. So that's why for me, I always advise first time buyers, investors, whether diaspora or locals to just go into buying a unit, looking at the whole process as a business, getting some returns from it and then rather use that returns to. To invest into other ventures.
- [10:25]
A
Right? So if you are saying that you cannot, you should go into apartment for the sole reason that land is risky. Risk come from not knowing. And the land, the land sales in Ghana unfortunately is not as smooth and clear cut as we wish for it to be. Which is why they have industrial expert like myself. I've had people double land. They've never stepped a foot in Ghana before. Go to design phase and build a house before they ever step a foot in Ghana. So you do have those people out there that have taken all the risk. They guarantee your money back in the contract. If anything goes wrong, it's not on you to buy it. Right? Because most people go and try to buy the land themselves. There is no guarantee. You don't know that person. But if you have a company that has an office, they have a brand and you have a contract, the contract is binding in Ghana that's guaranteeing your money back. If something goes wrong, then you. Okay, there is no risk.
- [11:16]
C
So I've seen a plot of land, let's say somewhere in Chado, right? How do you legitimize the process for the buyer?
- [11:25]
A
For my business I like to go in for a big truck of land. The reason why I do that is because if I go for a big truck of land, I go and take the risk myself. As a business person, I do all the due diligence. But in Ghana that's not enough. You have to test the land. So I'd rather go for 100 acres and then do nothing doodling, Everything is fine. But until you go and test the land. I've had land with a land title. You go test the land and now you have issues. So if it's just one plot, test the land.
- [11:55]
C
What does that mean?
- [11:56]
A
You try to work on the land.
- [11:57]
C
Okay.
- [11:58]
A
Try to go build a fence or try to go dig foundation.
- [12:00]
C
At the point in the process, would you test the land?
- [12:03]
A
I like to go immediately once I make some deposits. So you don't buy the land outright and give somebody 100 before you go test the land. And this comes from personal experience. My first, I didn't lose it. I knew what I was doing. I did all the due diligence. Actually with a lawyer, everything was correct. But once I went to work, somebody came and I had to go to court for two years and I won and I'm back. But if I would have made a deposit and went to test the land, I would have immediately, probably I wouldn't have had to pay the court, you know, fees from my pocket. I was going to deduct it if I wanted to fight. So you can test the land while you haven't paid for it. And you immediately will find out in Ghana the moment you dig the ground. Whatever is, I don't come. So I like to go for a big truck of land, do this testing before I open it to the market.
- [12:50]
C
And you sell it.
- [12:52]
A
And then I sell it myself and I give contracts to guarantee your money back if anything goes wrong. Because the reason why I'm doing that is because I've tested it, I've done the paperwork is important. If you go to court, you win. But the money you spend, the time, most people give up.
- [13:05]
C
You see, the problem I have with what COD is saying now is, look, the average Ghanaian that wants to own a home, how can they use your model to own a property?
- [13:19]
B
So it's very easy. Now in this part of our world, people are just looking at, that's what I'm saying, ownership. Ownership is not the way like I own, I own. I'm the boss, I'm the chairman. This is, for me is the reason why a lot of people are not getting to own these homes. Because all you need to afford a $55,000 property is to get three friends, five friends that could be able to raise 10,000. That's where we are coming. That's a strategy. It's a business. Real estate is not like a child's play. It's a business. You need to think deep and have a strategy around it. So I'm not saying that you need to come up with all the money. I'm saying you need a foot in the room.
- [13:57]
C
How do you get that foot in the room?
- [13:59]
B
So partnership. You said an average Ghanaian, that's what I'm coming from that angle. You're an average Ghanaian earning a certain amount of money per month. But. But you still want a foot in the room. So to get a foot in the room, you need to partner. That's the strategy. I even had people in the top level when I started real estate, you know, I started from property management. So I dealt with big, like company. I worked for a big company. And then people even at that level put together and have a trust fund. And these were millionaires. They Never bought a property away from trying to get the property. Also serves them with security. If anything is to happen to any individual liabilities and all that's like more details. But they don't get to bear all the liabilities or it doesn't affect their properties because they purchased as a trust. And people need to start understanding how these things work. That you don't need to go in as an individual to make sure you have a foot in the room. That's all you need. Because what's going to happen after three years of buying that unit is that if you guys are renting. So I'll give you a typical example. I had friends who put the money together and buy and they bought Embassy Garden at a time off plan sales. They got it for 65,000. Some even got it 100,000 after it was built. You know what they started doing? They started buying people out because some friends were using their money to chill, others were saving and building momentum. So after some time they say hey, how many percent do you own in this one? 30%. I want to buy you out. So we need a holistic approach to the real estate industry. Just like you go buy shares from a company, buy shares from anything you're doing. You can actually do that in real estate.
- [15:34]
A
Right? So that's, that's. I think you are talking about a high level. So I don't think that would be an average Ghanaian. The average Ghanaian probably don't have a friend who can cough up $10,000 when they are ready to cover the $10,000. They are not in that circle yet.
- [15:49]
B
I beg to differ. The average Ghanaian can. How do you go out on every Friday, Saturday and Sunday? Go to the beaches, go to the clubs, go everywhere. People, I'm telling you are not really calculating. A lot of Ghanaians don't know about budgeting. If they actually will write down the money they spend on food, transportation and certain things, they would know that they can come up with a $10,000. Giving yourself a duration.
- [16:16]
A
They might have the money. But we are talking about reality here.
- [16:19]
B
Yeah, really.
- [16:19]
A
So the reality is the average Ghanaian probably don't trust his brother to go and do this business business with them. Right? That's the reality. We are unfortunately they are very selfish on this ground. Right. So we are looking, okay, Me and my family, that's that, that. That's what's going on right now. Me and my family. So the average Ghanaian is looking into buying land, having space. They are used to that. They are used to that, having that space with their Family and that's what they are thinking about. So the average Ghanaian who is trying to build wealth, my, you know, there are some circumstances where people can come together great. But some people are looking out for them and their family first and maybe they can go ahead to do what you are talking about being more sophisticated.
- [17:01]
B
That's why I want to disrupt that thinking it's not right. It's not right thinking we need to disrupt it. Now think about it. We are talking and saying Accra is choked, right? But what are you seeing currently happening? All the old houses demolished, rebuilt into skyscrapers. That's where, that's what I'm saying. We need to start thinking holistically and about how we want to move this thing forward. If all you care about is the space and you, you see from the like 18s, I don't want to go like the 80s, 90s. What they do is they get a 70 by 100ft of land, they build a two bedroom in one corner and all the other land is left there. Today those glands, they are demolishing them. Cantonment, Laboni, East Lagoon and they are putting up high rise buildings because I'm telling you, people need is a foot in the room. All what he's talking about about families securing them. If you look at this approach now, I also want you to cap the average Ghanaian thing on how much like define it, maybe in cities or in USD per month so that it makes the conversation very realistic.
- [18:06]
A
Because for me, how much is the average?
- [18:10]
C
As we speak, the average Ghanaian salary is not more than 800 cities a month.
- [18:16]
A
800?
- [18:17]
C
Yes.
- [18:17]
B
Yeah.
- [18:18]
A
Well, if you're making 800 cities a month, I think you are just you, you are not part of the game. You have to think about how you can increase your income because 800 cities a month just to feed yourself and transportation, you are out.
- [18:31]
B
Thank you.
- [18:31]
A
You are back to zero. So you have to increase your skills and try to earn more. 5,000 cities, 10,000 cities. You can. We know people down here in Ghana who are making that amount of money, been working for other people. You know, let's say you're an architect or you are a qs. You know, you might go for your job, they pay you maybe 3,000 cities a month because there's a bit of a high level skill. You shouldn't, you shouldn't, you can go ahead and get side gigs to make more money on your own over the weekend. You shouldn't settle. So I think the average Ghanaian, if they push themselves, you can set up something, you know Ghana, we are busy, is easy. We can easily set up businesses and with 500 cities, you can start something.
- [19:13]
C
A lot of people in the comments are not gonna be very happy with you saying that it's easy to make money in Ghana. Have you seen?
- [19:20]
A
You know, actually I got a personal story for you guys. I came to Ghana with quite a bit of money. I went to court, I lost. I was a trader, stocks trader. I lost all my money in Ghana. I started from zero and two years later, here I am. I've made more money in Ghana than I've ever made in these days, bro.
- [19:36]
B
On the conversation of money in Ghana and Africa, I think I'm a living example. I'm a living legend to it. He came from the States and our local built a business here and took that business to different African countries. I'll always echo this in the ears of people that wealth strives more in locations like Ghana, in locations like Nigeria, because there's a whole drive and demand for things. And I've said it before on this podcast that Africa still got the virgin land. Africa still got the manpower. Africa still got the youth. So it tells you how vibrant we are. It tells you the kind of energy we have. You look at the news and you see the whole Europe, they need like a number of youths to catch up in Canada, they need that. So that tells you the labor that we have and we are blessed. We're here. There's money to be made in this country and in any other African country. It's about positioning, it's about mindsets, it's about strategies and thinking outside the box. If you put yourself in a place where every time you're thinking about, this is how it's been done, this is how it looks like, then you will not have it.
- [20:48]
C
Okay, so the conversation is that you came from abroad.
- [20:51]
A
Yes.
- [20:51]
C
You have the ability to travel back anytime.
- [20:53]
A
Right.
- [20:54]
C
You.
- [20:55]
B
I fight for my visas.
- [20:57]
C
Well, look, this is how they're gonna see you. You are the b. That's how most people are gonna see you.
- [21:01]
A
So how did you start?
- [21:02]
C
How did you start?
- [21:03]
B
Ah, so I. I like I tell you, like I said earlier, I start with property management. All you need is a leg in the room. So property management of facility officer. We were just called on to change the bulbs to check the sockets. But I had a background in civil engineering because that's why I studied in school. So I. Somebody would have been thinking I should have just moved to the construction sites and started doing building. No property management. Then I started volunteering for sales and marketing Today people say, hey, top sales guy, top marketing guy. It was because all my weekends I dedicated it for all the sales exhibitions my company was going to. I told the sales and marketing director, please, if you're going, hook me up, carry me along. And then I give myself out for that. Eight months, bro. It didn't take a long time. Why? Mindset mentality, reading, getting outside the box. Eight months in that company, I told myself, I think I can do this on my own. I still didn't take that step. God had a beautiful way of getting me out of that company. And this is cod, you see, this is what we've built. And the amazing thing about what I have done is not just about me. Anybody follows me on the socials. I've been able to plant this into a lot of the youth, into a lot of the other people. I've reproduced more of CODs. That's my. That's the beauty of the journey I have built. To tell you that you can do.
- [22:23]
C
It in Africa without any parent giving you money to.
- [22:26]
B
There's no parent. My first master class I did was how to do real estate with zero or little capital because all I had was my personality, my voice, my ability to talk before the camera. You see, you build on your strength. Somebody cannot talk before the camera. But can they sketch? Can they do architecture? Can they now tell. People need to think like this, bro. The reason why you are where you are is because you think that the in quote common knowledge you have, everybody has. You know, there are people who think that ah, this podcast thing is just putting a camera and no, even behind the scene of this particular interview now can be a whole breakdown masterclass on how to set up a studio. But there's a videographer sleeping and crying every other day that there's no job. But they don't know that even putting a lens into a body frame camera. People think the camera comes together, built.
- [23:21]
A
That's great because I remember when I started recording videos, I did not know what 1080p is 4k. I had no idea. I was like a baby that just came in the world. So I had to literally watch videos on every single thing. And that could be you, what you said exactly. Giving this education and you get paid for it.
- [23:39]
B
Exactly.
- [23:39]
A
I believe you can start from scratching. Ghana is easier than any western country that I know to start off. Why? Because you mentioned that people pay people 800 cities, which I think is quite low, but that's the reality on the ground. So you can start anything and be able to employ someone within a month. When you in America, where I came from, if you're trying to employ somebody, your bill is about $45,000 minimum a year to help you out. Do you get it?
- [24:09]
C
If people can't, why aren't they?
- [24:11]
A
It's a mindset. We think we have to go to school and get a job with this. You know how we look, right? Like what we do is not pretty. I'm in the bush all the time selling land. You know, somebody will look at me like you are an accountant working with KPMG was it? I mean when I was coming I heard, I heard these stories, you know. But the money is in a bush here in Ghana. It's in the bush, it's not in the office. So you can look or student tired, you can struggle and stay home for 15 years. You go get a job and you're not getting paid well. So those days are over.
- [24:44]
C
You, you, you've been in Ghana for.
- [24:46]
A
A while for you have seen four and a half years now, right?
- [24:48]
C
So you have seen how people act, behave, mindset, what? Not everything.
- [24:54]
A
Yes.
- [24:55]
C
What do you think is stopping people?
- [24:57]
A
How they look and thinking that they need to be saved by someone. People feel powerless, people don't believe in themselves and they care too much about what other people think of them. So that's hard for them to start anything right? Imagine if I cared about going to the bush. It's funny because I actually work with the chiefs and stuff like that. And it's crazy because they can see how much money I'm bringing to them and what I'm doing. They can see it. You know, I can understand somebody standing outside and having this opinion. But even them, they ask me why are you in Ghana? I'm like, you see me making all this money, what are you talking about? So it's a mindset thing that they are not even aware. You get it? People are talking about you came from America so you can go back. I haven't gone back to do anything since I moved from America. I haven't gone back to make $1.
- [25:47]
C
Let me stop you here for a minute. We are on the journey of changing the minds and the lives of people. So if you haven't subscribed and become part of the family, please hit the subscribe button and turn on the notification.
- [26:00]
A
Thank you.
- [26:01]
C
Now let's carry on with the conversation. How do people get their awareness?
- [26:05]
A
People need to self analyze how they talk. Sometimes somebody will see something and I've heard it plenty of time and they will say wow. The white man is so miraculous.
- [26:14]
C
Okay?
- [26:15]
A
And they're not even aware. Have you heard that before? Yeah, they're not even aware. So the white man is so miraculous. I mean, they can compute themselves being able to do something like that.
- [26:28]
C
Let's say Kwame has heard everything you've said, so he's decided that he's going to increase his income. And he has done exactly that. And he's come to you with 10,000 cities every month consistently. How can they own a plot of land?
- [26:43]
A
So my way of selling land is basically, I think the cheapest land I have right now is 85,000 Ghana city and pram pram. So I do 50, 50. But I'm a human being, okay? Right. I'm a human being. So people come to me all the time with their own stories. I want to buy land. I don't have the. Maybe you might not have 10,000, maybe you might have 30,000. You shouldn't start with, okay, I'm gonna pay 10,000 for eight months. That's too long. But I might still, you know, work with you. Because I see somebody who is trying to make something out of themselves. It happens all the time. I do it. I might go to somebody. I bought a building and I went to the person like, you know, initially I was actually working with a person that he wants outright purchase or three months payment. And I have other things going on. When I decided to buy the building, I'm like, okay, I'm not going to be able to pay this in three months. So I went to him like, I'm a young guy, you know, I'm trying to do this. I think it will benefit me to buy this building for my office. So can I pay it off in a year? And he said, sure. And I ended up paying off within like five months. But he in turn decided to now sell his other units and take payments for a year. Right. He changed his mindset. So you can go in a room and request for things that you think will benefit you. I have an example. Not long ago, this couple that I did a consultation with, they were trying to buy this two bedroom, I think apartment for 150. And they came to me. I look at the numbers, I'm like, you guys can reduce it. It was set in stone, like proper. These high rises, that's everything is there. You cannot really wiggle the room. And I don't know, they got some courage and they went for it and they reduced the price by $15,000. So it all comes down to you being conversing and know what you are talking about and the person behind the business or that opportunity is a human being. And if you are convincing enough you might get exactly what you want.
- [28:42]
C
If that same person brought the 10k to you consistently every month. This is Brackwami. How can you help him get on the investment?
- [28:53]
B
Luxury Hall So. So I'm gonna rub you in in still looking at the the partnership. For me I'm saying ownership just goes beyond personal. So I'm going to get two, three people like you. Because like Rush said earlier, let's say $1 is 10 CD. So 10,000 will come up to a thousand USD. If I get three people like you, we can hop on a program, $3,000 monthly and then we can get into buying one of the off plan projects. I keep saying off plan project because it gives us the room to pay over time but it's a lot of risk. 36 months, no. So we are going with the big players. That's why you're dealing with a professional. I have an inside information of everything. If you go. You see that's why people need to understand. I see a lot of people, they don't want to go to brokers or go through lawyers to get an apartment or to get a real estate investment. We don't do that anywhere in the world. You need a professional. You can go directly to the developer thinking you get the best deal. But your business is a one time business. I've been working with the guy for seven years. So you are going through a marketing person. I'm going to the CEO. That's why I can get you the best deals. I know the names, I know the board of directors. I know how this is. If this is a jv, if they own the land, they own everything. I get to see all those details and do all that work for you before you come into play. So when I tell you we're going for this, there's been developments where I had clients call me and I said don't go for this investment.
- [30:19]
C
Okay?
- [30:19]
B
And two years down the line they come back and say thank you. So when I tell you go for that, go for this is because I've done all my background search, all my due diligence and I know this is a hit and that's the kind of investment I'm going to allow them to do. So today I'm very keen on partnership. I'm very keen on don't be that individual. That's so selfish and so self centered to think you want to own everything. It's going to take you maybe 15, 10 years to do the same thing, five years you want to do.
- [30:47]
C
You told me a young person making 10k every month who is thinking of having a family to put the money together with friends to go and buy a property. When I want to own a place.
- [30:57]
B
It'S the same thing with the land. Did you hear everything he said? He said he goes, even at the level where he went in with his lawyer, had the land certificate and everything, somebody still challenged him. There's risks on every level. There's the approach where you, you need to sit down and ask yourself what you're looking for in the market. Because the benefits of real estate are so enormous. But you need to tick the boxes and be realistic to yourself what you're looking for. I am saying with this apartment that you own, think beyond just owning it. Once you have the document for that apartment, now that's security, you can use that as leverage for a bigger loan. Because now this one you have is titled, it's physical is there. You can go drop it in as a down payment for a new mortgage to, so you guys can start building a portfolio of real estate. From there you can use the income from that same apartment to go into building your family.
- [31:49]
A
I think for the investment side you do have to diversify, you know, partner with people and all that. But I think for security, right? Cause I mean partnerships break, break up all the time. And if you have a family like you know, Derek just said, and starting out, you want to, you need some sort of stability before you, you start to be too sophisticated and doing all these things. It's great. We need to work together. I invest in companies, I invest in people, I partner with people. But I own my primary home free and clear. So some people just need that foundation. You need that foundation, right? Because some people are very sophisticated. They don't need to own anything. They have people who have so much money and they don't own anything at all. But these people know how to move money around and stuff like that.
- [32:31]
B
How much were your primary unit? You're talking about your primary home for maybe husband, wife, one kid will be your average pricing.
- [32:41]
A
Sometimes, sometimes like I think I gave the example of if you are just starting out, we're not talking about somebody with a lot of money. So if you are buying like a five thousand dollar land, six thousand dollar line, seven thousand dollars thereabout. If you are modest, you can execute and build something for like $35,000, which is like 35, $30,000. If you're sick. Extremely modest. You can probably do for like $20,000 depending on your taste for finishes.
- [33:04]
B
So can I chip in something? I've had so many friends who working, should I mention the name? Okay. They work around these areas. Airport, Accra Central bank of Ghana, Ghana Airports Authority Aviation. And they, they were so happy that they got some loans from the companies and they bought land in Sanwam Kaswa and then they built this very modern, a modest three bedroom and everything. And over time they all moved back into the town or into the city to rent. Because to move from that location to work every day, they had big problems. And you see that's what I'm saying. You're saying that 5,000 for the land. 20,000 motors mothers, that's 25,000. If you can raise 25,000, I don't think that you should go own and home at that stage of your life. Why get two, three people come together. Do an investment. Let me, let me, let me learn.
- [34:02]
A
Let me learn.
- [34:03]
B
Do an investment. That investment is going to be $75,000 worth it right now you're gonna get your rental income from it. Let's say that unit 75,000 average. Lee Chado Laboni you can do a thousand two to a thousand $500. So divided by the three people 500 every month coming in you can get a beautiful place to rent out of that money. Remember you're not going to use your cash flow so your monthly salary that's going to come after that is going to be in your savings in your passive income amount, $500. You can use $200, $2,500 or $2,000 CD to get a nice place very close to your work, your workplace. And then you use the 300 in your savings again. And that's how you build your family ownership. Is that owning the thing having a primary at the end of the day, health. You need to think about your health sitting in the Trotsky or driving three, four hours every time. So there are a lot of angles to the conversation that if we want to be really, really realistic, then let's be realistic. Owning you need to own, you can own a five thousand dollar land wallet, put a security post there and over time you go there to develop it. I would subscribe to that.
- [35:16]
A
That's a great one as well. But maybe the person doesn't work at the airport like you're saying. So what I'm saying is, I'm not saying everybody should go buy land. Everybody should actually buy land. Doesn't Mean that you should go build your primary house on it, but you should buy land because Ghana is a developing country and there are people who bought land in east lagoon for $1,000 about 30 years ago. If they didn't buy it right now, they'd be, you know, they'll be. They'll be mad at themselves. So buying land is a way of building wealth long term. You might, depending on your circumstances, you might not have to build your primary house on there because it doesn't favor you with the transportation like you're saying. But some people, most people in Ghana operate their own business. Really there is not even jobs to employ people. So if you're your business owner, you don't have to worry about that rent that you're talking about. Then you have your space. You can have your own office space there and all that stuff. Right.
- [36:02]
C
The issue Kwame is having is what to check for when he's buying the land.
- [36:09]
A
If this is not your field, just go to somebody like me or other trusted real estate companies and go buy from them. People have contract that they will refund your money back if something goes wrong. So you don't take the risk. That's our advice.
- [36:28]
C
Is this industry regulated? The whole, you know, people like yourself and people like yourself industry regulated?
- [36:37]
B
Yeah.
- [36:38]
A
Registered companies regulated?
- [36:39]
B
Yeah, regulated. Currently they've passed the bill. So, you know, they've started registration of brokers. It's happening already. And there's a real estate council. They're going to give licenses to different real estate brokers and companies. There's associations like Greta, Ghana Real Estate Developers Association. There's grepa, Ghana Real Estate Professional Association. There's garb. So all these ones are there. That's why I'm saying you need a lot of education. But let me take the conversation out of Ghana a bit into Lagos. I don't know if you follow this guy Scott on the real estate market in Lagos where he goes, he shouts P1 Real Estate Company. I don't know if you've seen any of his videos. You need to check that guy out and the company like that. I can't give the full details because they are in court and they are going back and forth. But that company is selling land to people and they're selling hope that once you buy the land, you're going to get this particular one. Now rush away from. This is my friend, he's trusted. But how many people would get opportunity to chance on rash before they are duped by their next land purchase? How many people can come from the diaspora and with their two weeks vacation, do the test to go and get the buduza and go and get the backhoe to go and test the land. How many people you know?
- [37:53]
A
Some.
- [37:54]
B
We're talking about the average Ghanaian. Now let me tell you the thing about the average Ghanaian. By the time they're able to raise the $5,000, that's their all. They don't have the money to go fight in court. They don't have the money to go do any testing. They are just buying it because they've been educated by their parents and their uncles that it's good to own a. Which is good. Brilliant idea. But I'm saying if that's all you can come up with, even if you can come up with 25,000, it's not enough to save you from the dooms of land. We're not realistic. You're going to pay land guards, you're going to pay digging fee, you're going to pay. So there's a lot more other costs that is hidden in there. That's why I do a lot with the people from the diaspora. I want to be realistic with them. Hey, if you're coming in and you're not getting certain trusted people to buy the lands from, let's go this route, right? It saves you the peace, gives you the room to grow. It gives you a foot in the room. Never forget that, right?
- [38:51]
A
So if you are talking about Africa and I think now we are moving away to the diasporans, which is like my biggest market, more diasporans and myself, we live in apartments where we're in New York and stuff like that. They are tired of that. They don't want that. They don't want to be in a city. Most people, the diaspora, if you're talking about the diaspora, they want, they want the suburbs and they want to come and have some compound to grow their fruits and all that stuff. So they're coming with a different agenda. They want the land. So we have to solve the problem. Just because there's a problem doesn't mean we should run away from it. Other countries, people buy land and build all the time. So that's what I set out to do and that's what I'm saying. You said one, you, you give an example of one plot. The reason that one plot I probably, probably will direct you to my personal lawyer that I trust is because I'm not going to go and test that land for you and all that. There are certain things that I have to do aside from the basic documentation and another thing is I have to know the person. So if I'm dealing with a family of 100 acres, I know where to find the people that are taking the money for myself. So I'm taking a risk. I'll pay the client back if there's anything and then go take them on. So I'm not really taking a risk. I've done a lot of work. And the reason why I take a bigger portion of land because I get to test it, not because when you buy the land, you have to come in. I've done that already. Because you have that guaranteed money back. So when I say testing, it's me testing the land. I go and take like 100 acres. I test it. I'm like, okay, this hundred acres is good to go. Then I demarcated nicely and I start selling to people.
- [40:18]
B
So that's what I'm saying. So what if you never get to meet people like Rush and for some.
- [40:22]
C
Exactly.
- [40:22]
B
You're doing it on your own. Right.
- [40:24]
C
And for someone.
- [40:26]
A
Yeah.
- [40:26]
C
Who has not come to you but has had to go to, you know, Yabo in one corner, what are some documents they can look at?
- [40:32]
A
Right. So there's a few. There's a few things. The most important and a common one is the land title. If the person has registered a land, they will have a land title with them. And that one is the. The most common and easiest. However, it gets a bit sophisticated sometimes. Because I went to court, I had a line title. But the person claims they have a judgment. There can be a judgment that supersedes a title.
- [40:55]
C
There can be a judgment that supersedes the title. That means not all judgment supersedes the title.
- [41:00]
A
Not all judgments. No, because. Okay, let's say I'm a chief of this town and I'm fighting with someone and I go to court. And usually the chiefs, they have big portions of land. The court might give you the right to go and repossess all the land, all of it. So whoever had a title in there that didn't come from you, they have to pay you, they have to regularize. I've seen some big shots. I'm not going to mention the name, but I sold this apartment to a client. And the person that had it before, I realized that they had two different documents. Because this high rises, they had to regularize. Right. They won't come and take down a building. So if I'm a chief and I want this land the court is giving, first of all, the court can tell you to just go and take the Vacant land. And each individual that's on the land, you have to take each one to court. Like they won't give you the right to go and uphold those people. There's a situation like that. So the judgment is written by a judge. So it depends on what they say. There are situations where I'm actually on the land right now that they give them the right to go and repossess all the land. So people that bought it from the wrong people have to come and pay the second time. It's not easy for them to come and knock down your building, but if the land is empty, they taking it. So it gets a little bit, a little bit complicated.
- [42:18]
B
Now we've been realistic. You get it?
- [42:20]
A
It get a little bit complicated.
- [42:21]
B
That's what I'm saying. I'm even on the land in G East where there's a judgment. But the only reason why my owners are saved is because the judgment was very specific. Like you said, only the vacant lands will be repossessed. But the ones with the structure on it, that one, we don't have to go pay anything. There are judgments where it covers the vacant and the possessed lands already. You got to go back and pay money. Now. Let me give you a typical example. When this whole real estate rush thing started in 2019, after the year of return, the influx of the diasporans and everything, there were families where they didn't have a lot of education and then they are educated people. So I give you, there is the La Dadeko Tokon trust and then there's the family that gave the land to the trust to sell on their behalf. So they give them the power of attorney to sign to get a title. Now they're in court about 700 to 1,000 acres. If you know anybody who wants to be real with you. In certain parts of Chado, you can't get a title, but people are still building there. So these are some of the conversations. Why by the time you run an average Ghanaian and diaspora or somebody looking to come into the industry through all this, they might be discouraged. And let's not say that we've not seen a lot of scam stories that people have on the Internet. It's because people were not real with them from the beginning to tell them that this is what's behind and this is what you're going to face. So be prepared for it. And that's why I want us to be very realistic. Because if you meet Rush, even me, at a certain level of investing in land, I told him earlier before the conversation hey, I'm going to come to you. You get it? Because I play in the industry. But he has specialized so much in a certain way, part of it that yeah, he's comfortable, he's ready to fight. He's won a court case. So he has the background and he knows what to do now.
- [44:10]
A
Right.
- [44:11]
B
But what if, what if you never get to meet people like him?
- [44:14]
A
He's right. That's why he said the one plot, right? I mean the land I went to call for, the people lived there for 20 years. They were living on the land. It wasn't vacant land. There was a business there. So that's what I'm saying. You don't know until you test it. That's why I personally don't like, I don't get involved in land that I have invented myself way in advance. So you can't come to me and say, I have this one plot that I will give you to a lawyer. They will do their basic search and stuff. That's all you need. But if you want land that you want your peace of mind for me to guarantee your money back, I have to go and do some works aside from this paperwork. Yeah, I have to go and take possession. I bring my guys, I GRE the land, I do a whole bunch of things without taking anybody's money before.
- [44:52]
C
So what you're telling, what you are telling me is that I have saved so much money. I'm now 55 years old, I live in the UK and I'm trying to move to Ghana. I should not go and buy a property, a land.
- [45:04]
A
I say you should buy land for me.
- [45:05]
C
Okay.
- [45:06]
A
And then I'm going to guarantee your money back.
- [45:07]
C
Because what you're telling me right now is that every single document you have here does not guarantee.
- [45:14]
B
Thank you.
- [45:15]
C
The land safety.
- [45:17]
B
Meanwhile, it should have been the highest form. The land title certificate should have been your highest form. But sometimes I don't know if Russell's face day the same land, you can have two land titles.
- [45:28]
A
Some people have plastic, some people have had that. But that's people who are really connected. That shouldn't be the case.
- [45:32]
B
It shouldn't be.
- [45:34]
A
For example, I have a landing problem. Title land. Before the title, there is a judgment. You can't have two different judgment tools. You can't have two different judgments. Valuable owners. It doesn't, it doesn't work that way. So usually oftentimes most land that I deal with, there's already. Is already being in our courts. So before you get to a title, they have a judgment they fought on the land before the court has ruled in the favor of one family. And then they went ahead to get a title.
- [45:58]
C
Can they go back to court again?
- [46:00]
A
No, it's done.
- [46:01]
C
Why?
- [46:01]
A
Why?
- [46:02]
C
So if you, if, if, if a judgment was passed on the land that the two of you were fighting over.
- [46:07]
A
Right.
- [46:07]
C
And then you know the judge gave the land to you.
- [46:10]
A
Right.
- [46:10]
C
Can somebody else come in, a third person?
- [46:12]
B
Yes, sir.
- [46:13]
C
And take it back to court?
- [46:14]
A
Yes, some people you can. But you know you're not going to win. It depends on the situation. Unless the judge was wrong. And a lot of things can happen.
- [46:20]
B
In Ghana by the waste an injunction on it. I'm facing the same problem. I'm, I'm from. I bought a land. I did a search. You see, the Lands Commission is supposed to be the highest authority that confirms ownership of land. Now I went to the Lands Commission, did an official search. Took me 14 days to get my full comprehensive report. Ownership, everything. He's saying it gives you history of the land, everybody who has won. If there was a judgment, the details the Lands Commission can print, the judgments, you can read it. I saw everything all the way to the guy who was selling it for me's name, that his title was in the process. Only for me to try. I paid full for the land possessed. Nobody was coming. Only for me to go and try, register the land from the guy. He signed my indenture to get my land title. And then when we got. So there are, I think there are three or four divisions in the Lands Commission that you have to go through. So we got to the Pl. Something is the plotting division, something MVD or something. The plotting division. And then I was told that there's a mother. There's a mother that has been put. So now I can continue my work. Listen to the advice I was given. This is like unofficial advice. Go continue your work. Make sure your property is painted. So even if it's block work painted because in court those things help you, but we can't give you a title. Wow. Because there's, there's an injunction. Now this person knows. Sometimes they know they don't own the land. But once they get in court and get an injunction, they're going to waste 5, 10. There are court cases today in Ghana's High Court that has run all the way 50, 30, 80 years.
- [48:02]
C
Regardless of the problems, can we still get lands and build our properties?
- [48:07]
A
Yes, you can. That's, that's what I'm trying to get to. There are problems there. For example, that's Why I like to get 100 acres of land or something like that that I'm working on because the same documents govern the whole land. So you see, people have land. I've sold over 200 people, okay? And they are developing, going through the process smoothly. Because if that title that you are talking about is one individual, that's why I don't like dealing with one. One land here and there. I don't. I don't like that. I like a big truck of land under one document. So the rest is really on is one document. So the risk that he's talking about is just, you can start small. One plus. For me, that's my work. One plus, two plus grading, that's my testing. Everything is fine, documents are right, grant is cool. Then I'm good to go. Then every other person that comes falls under the same, you know, umbrella. Doesn't mean that I'm in control of the whole Ghana. But the stuff, the little that I do, I make sure that I avoid all these issues because what he's talking about, I have actually been through. That's why I'm telling you that the people are living there. I cannot guarantee, no matter what work I do for one plot that I have nothing to do with, then you just come to me like, I have one plot. Rush, help me. I'll. I'll. I'll move it to your lawyer. Because the people I'm dealing with, aside from the documents, I know them very well. I know their lineage. I have to. I have to get to know you very well.
- [49:24]
C
Okay?
- [49:24]
A
Because everything can be right. And me, everything can be right. And they can still turn on you, the people you are dealing with.
- [49:32]
B
Wow. Can you ask a hard question for me? No. I'm saying that if it's rushing Russian properties, we can guarantee. We're talking holistic, we're talking the industry. Or is it safe, really safe to buy land in Ghana? That, that I think should be a question.
- [49:49]
A
You should help us. I think that should be something that they should try their best to make it easier. But it's not. It's not easy for the average Ghanaian to buy land on their own because it's very. It's very difficult.
- [50:00]
C
But I mean, even the apartment is still on the land.
- [50:04]
A
It is one another. I'm trying to tell you, but I'm telling you, I've been through this process before where the apartment, they paid to get regularized. So the most important thing is in as much as we are talking about the title side of things, right? So in a Case where the court gives a judgment for somebody to even come and repossess the land. This is what I advise people don't buy land and leave it there for the sake of living it there. If you buy the land, that's what they were advising you to go and paint it. If you buy the land and you develop it, no matter what, for the.
- [50:33]
B
Average Ghanaian, you're going to be okay. They don't have the money to build immediately.
- [50:37]
C
Watch this. I, I put some data together, researched and I realized that this could be the reason why this is happening in the urban areas. Let's take Accra for example, right? 18% of people own their homes. 18. But when you go to the rural areas, about 38 of people own their homes. Could it be, could this be the reason why?
- [51:00]
A
It could be the reason. First of all, land in Accra is quite expensive, okay? And other parts of Ghana, I think we've misled people here. We are talking about Ghana. It's not, it's not Ghana. This issue is Accra issue. When you go to other parts of Ghana north, they even give you land for free. Other parts of Ghana land is so cheap, like people are not fighting over land as much. It's Accra. This issue is really Accra issue. And now you can add eastern region to it because every is hot and all that stuff, right? I thought it was well regulated over there with the, with the royal family and all that.
- [51:39]
B
No, same issue. You haven't seen them for Tom for is always distooling people because of these things, because it shows and another one goes to sell.
- [51:48]
A
Some of the issue is greed. That's why I got to the individual, right? Because the individual could be the rightful owner. So whoever is selling the line could be the rightful owner. That's why I mentioned I have to know the elite, I have to know the person very well. Because you can do all the search, everything can be perfect. But then I sell it to Derek and then I sell it to COD within a month. You will never know, you will never know until you are going to work. Some people can sell it to five different people. And now you have issues when you're going. So it depends on individual, what credibility they have and all that stuff aside from this, and this is not a systemic problem, it's just greed and the attitude of the people on the ground.
- [52:24]
C
Okay, now watch this data. 42% of people, the entire Ghana own their homes. And 25% of people in Nigeria own their homes. Why is there such a difference?
- [52:37]
A
Well, the population In Nigeria is quite big. I don't know their land size as compared to the population. That's something we can look at. And also is apartments and stuff like that more common there as. Because Ghana. What I do know is people take pride in owning their homes and having that space. So that, that can drive a lot of people to own homes as compared to Nigeria. That's, that's one, one example to look at, bro.
- [53:02]
B
So this conversation is going to take me into leadership. And there's no way we can talk about an industry without governance and leadership. Africa is built in a way that if you don't take care, the system will always be against you. And that's typically what's happening in the top cities in, in Nigeria, Abuja, Lagos. You then see that even though they have the large numbers, they don't have the purchasing power because the number of people who get the opportunity to chance on certain amounts of money that can lead them into ownership is not there. So there's a number of people, but the purchasing power, they are currently not getting it. So the 18% you have there, maybe that data, even if you go deep into it, would come down into a 10 or an 8% because that's what's currently happening. If you've got visited Lagos, right from the airport, you can tell from the mainland, driving through to the island, you can tell the difference from the mainland and then the island. If you get into Abuja, if not for the top companies that are there, the government, the experts, you could tell that nothing is really going to happen. And that's why for the locals, that that percentage, you have that 18% of people owning their homes.
- [54:26]
C
So for the people abroad, because I think now we've, we've really figured out that the problem is the land, right?
- [54:32]
A
We just, we figured out regardless of.
- [54:34]
C
The property you have on there, the land is still going to be the issue.
- [54:36]
A
The land is.
- [54:37]
C
But is Ghana still a good place or is Africa still a good place to invest in?
- [54:43]
A
It is a great place to Invest. I remember 2016. I bought my land again. There are people that balance all the time. There are people who don't give up. I'm not. Just be careful. Right? Again, for me, that's why I go with example. I bought land in 2016. I didn't buy myself. My older brother bought it. That's where my house is sitting on right now. And I bought it. Not because I'm moving to Ghana, just to, you know, my father's friend advised me to own something here. That's Where I'm from. Right. You know, sense of pride. You know, I think I spent $5,000 to buy the land. And the reason why my brother's friend was my neighbor. He's my neighbor today. He bought the land he was building. Everything was good. And then I, you know, my brother went to him that his little brother want to buy land. So oftentimes, that's what I'm saying, it's the same document govern that stretch. So somebody's already in. That's what I do. He was already. He's already done the work. So if anybody was taking a risk, it was him. You get it? That's why I come in to assess. Do you get what I'm coming from? So that's. I was able to buy mine. So I think you just need to take your time and understand the process. Yes, there's a lot of risks that shouldn't be the case in property ownership, but that's the reality on the ground. But there are people buying land left and right. I've been involved in over 200 line sales. That's what I'm talking about. And I've been purchasing land left and right. I still have issues sometimes not to sell to people. My personal land. I'm actually fighting somebody right now over six plus that's titled. But I was aware of it before I even went in because I know the game. So if I'm selling something to somebody, it's not as big. I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna go and take that CIS plus and then sell it to someone without me testing it. Because when I went to work, I have issues now that I gotta fight. This is not my first time doing this. So I just have to teach them a lesson. Right. So you sometimes have to align yourself with someone who knows what they are doing. They have a little bit muscles. Because, you know, it's a system that you have to know how to fight. You have to know. You have to know how to fight it. You might not have the time. My first lion case, the guy thought it was bugger in town. I don't have the time to fight. And he just came to test the waters. It had nothing to do with the system, but it was a greedy individual that just wanted to fight me on something that was legitimate and I had to fight for it.
- [56:54]
B
So. So the example I gave about a month from the guy's a real estate developer. He's built over 16 houses in that area. And he was just selling two plots to me. So he had the mother Title like you like. He had already done the security and everything until I did my search. That's when he got the surprise for himself that somebody had already. But for some of the properties he had done, he was able to transfer the title. A few others that he was not developing. Now this new injunction is going to be placed on it. But away from that, the bigger picture, the reason why people are buying properties in Dubai and paying off plan project for eight years, seven years is because the government is the guarantor for all the developers.
- [57:34]
C
I see, yes.
- [57:35]
B
So what happens is that you put the money in an escrow with the government. So if you're a developer, if you want to do project A, depending on the magnitude of the project, there are two approaches. The developer has to have a certain amount of money that they declare and they show documentations to the government. The buyer of the property is not paying directly to the developer. They pay into an account that has an escrow with the developer and the government. The government will only release that cash to the developer if they're able to complete that project. If that project is not completed, the government will ensure that the buyer has a refund of their money. So these are things we need to do because I've been to Rwanda and in Rwanda there's an app that every land you see in Rwanda, once you have that app and you scan it, you can tell everything that everybody that has owned the land, the size of the land, everything, the price detail, they've been able to build the data so much like it's an mls, you know, so it's like a multiple listing platform. And these are things that we know, we, we have the education on. We are trying to educate the government, we're trying to educate the other people, other realtors, other brokers, developers on. But the mindset of certain people is the reason why we are where we are today. My point will still be what if you don't meet people like Rash? Owning a land in Ghana without I won't even mess worse is difficult and it might be your worst nightmare. If you don't take care, you are going to break down. So much so that when you see land and blocks, you're going to vanish. Because if you no pick one day, let me tell you, go to the court, tell them to give you their calendar and take out the land court cases and go sit there and just witness it for yourself. And you see document to document. People bring out documents from 19, 1980s, 70, 60s and challenge your 2005 one. And there's a whole family that comes with a bus against one man. It's not a. It's not a very pleasant situation to behold.
- [59:35]
C
So I sat here with honorable Kennedy Japon.
- [59:38]
A
Yeah.
- [59:39]
C
And he says he regrets owning over 200 properties in Ghana.
- [59:43]
A
I agree.
- [59:44]
B
Yeah.
- [59:45]
C
What's your view on that?
- [59:48]
A
First of all, it's stressful. I don't see myself owning all those homes for management and all that. You know, Ghana, you know, even picking back up on the investment side of things, not a lot of people are going to rent a place for $2,500. There's some risk there. I actually have a space that I rent out for Airbnb. I've been fortunate. But there are vacant spaces all the time here in Ghana. Right. So if you have 200 homes, there's a risk of that. There's a lot of opportunities in the business space that you can use that money. I heard him say that you can use that money to make so much money if it's not in the house, because the house is expensive. What I'm saying is maybe owning your primary home, for me is a lifestyle choice more than investment. Right. That's what saved me when I was down here. If I didn't own my. It forces you to own something. If I didn't own it. And when everything crashed, I didn't have to worry about paying somebody rent and all that stuff. You can figure things out. Just got to think about what you're going to eat today. And you can figure things out because you know where to lay your head. So it's more of a lifestyle choice. If you look at the return on capital, it might not be the smartest investment. Right. Only your home. Because you have to maintain. You have to do this, you have to do that. But if you have the house and you are broke, you don't care about maintenance.
- [60:57]
C
Right.
- [60:57]
A
You're okay. You care about having electricity and water, painting and all that stuff. When you figure things out, you paint it. Right. So for me, I look at that more for a security, having a base, knowing that your family is not going to live on the street. It's guaranteed Ghana. When you own your own property tax, how much is it? It's not something that stresses you out no matter how broke you are. Property taxes. I've never heard somebody that said property tax because of property tax, they've lost their home in Ghana. So from that lifestyle choice, I think it's Ghana if you own your home, because there's not a lot of bills once you own your home. I Think is great. It's a great lifestyle choice. And after that, that 200 homes, that is not necessary for me. I'm okay. I'd rather Polydyne put into real business. That would generate far more capital and it's less stressful to manage.
- [61:44]
C
Let me stop you here for a minute. We are on the journey of changing the minds and the lives of people. So if you haven't subscribed and become part of the family, please hit the subscribe button and turn on the notification.
- [61:57]
A
Thank you.
- [61:58]
C
Now let's carry on with the conversation. What's your view on what?
- [62:01]
B
Now in that conversation, you remember he said one time he got broke and he sold five of those houses to raise a million or $5 million. Now, owning 200 homes might not necessarily be his problem. The problem is when did he start owning the units? Were some renovation done? Did they change the furnishing? You see, once you approach the industry, you need to know how the game is in the industry. You don't put all your investment in one particular location. You need to diversify. So where are these 200 homes located? Even if we say 50, 50, 50 Cantama, Laboni, East Lagoon, Roman Ridge, North Ridge, this. How were they maintained over time? Did he try to run it on his own or he gave it to a property management company? Because I have friends who are specialized in property management and they can even guarantee you and give you an amount of money that you agree with them every month and they take the risk of advertising and renting out these properties for you.
- [63:01]
C
So I think his point was really, and I'm sorry to cut, I usually would not do this.
- [63:05]
B
No problem.
- [63:05]
C
I think his point point was that having over 200 homes for him compared to how much he makes from the industries he has, that's just. Just doesn't make sense cash flow wise.
- [63:16]
B
No, for cash flow and looking at other businesses and today's world, owning the 200 homes might not be the ideal thing. But I'm still saying now you own it already, you already have it, so you still got to make the money from it. So there are a few tweaks you have to do because I've dealt with landlord Villagio, you know, Village. There are three different structures there right now. There's one structure that came before the other. The ones in the old ones complain that they don't get tenants in there. And sometimes we just go in there, change the carpet, change a few stuff in there, take some nice pictures, stage it properly, and then they get tenants to come in. If it's looking at other industry. Canadian Japan is a big player. How do you compare owning a home to having a really a steel factory? How do you compare a home to having a commodity like chicken that even with all the number of co stores we have in Ghana, there's still, we are still not meeting the demand need. So that industry will obviously be a good one for him to make the money, but now he has it.
- [64:11]
A
I agree with Ken. I think, you know, 200 homes, if you do the calculation, especially locations he was talking about, that's, that's huge sums of money. I mean we are looking at a country where we need jobs, right? And the house is just sitting there. And to be honest with you, I have friends that have homes in your continent and stuff. It takes like sometimes the place can be vacant for like two years, right? Struggling to get somebody in there. Not a lot of people in Ghana can afford to pay $5,000 a month, $4,000 a month. So you're gonna have those people, most of those people own their homes.
- [64:36]
C
In very simple terms, if I'm listening to you right now, what's the smartest move for me to do? A land or a luxury investment home?
- [64:47]
A
If you are just starting out, you can easily afford the land. So I say go for the land. Do your homework. Find the right people to buy the land from and start from there. You have to start small.
- [64:56]
B
Great. If you're starting out, look for people you can trust. Go through a trusted agency, brokerage company and buy yourself an investment property and use your passive income from that investment property to build your portfolio from there.
- [65:14]
C
So you've heard it. Rash is saying that the best way is to get a land and then build slowly. COD is saying that the best way is to, you know, get a few friends together and then buy an investment property. The choice is yours. What decision are you going to make? Drop it in the comments and let's see what the best idea is for young people.
- [65:33]
A
Now.
- [65:33]
C
What's the future of real estate in Ghana?
- [65:37]
A
I believe they have to streamline the process. You know, it's too complicated. So hopefully we get to Rwanda level and things are more clerical black and white. I, I've always wondered that they should probably punish people who do all these Takashi things on site and it's in the, you know, the long act that you're supposed to serve five years in jail but it's not being enforced. I think they need to enforce that and penalize people who go around scamming people and do a whole bunch of Stuff to make this industry a bit scared, scary. Once they, once that sorted out, so much money will flow to Ghana, man, a lot of money. Because there are a lot of people who are scared of investing in Ghana because of all these things. And once the land situation is sorted out, think Ghana. We already see all these high rises coming as Dubai.
- [66:28]
C
The future of real estate in Ghana.
- [66:31]
B
The future of real estate in Ghana. I'm excited about it because just like he landed, you can tell from the off plan projects coming up that in the next four or five years we're going to have a lot of beautiful structures coming. Whether affordable, affordable, luxury or luxury. We're going to have a lot of properties in the market. Enforcing the laws, making sure that all the bills that have been passed are being well enforced is a good one to start from. Also what people are yearning for, like you said, friends in Cantonment have houses, apartments and they charging 5,000, $4,000 because how many apartments? Like where's the competition? But when all these other units come, there's going to be competition. So I tell people, people say the market is going to crash and everything I'm saying hey, we're far from it. Where we're going to get to is to here equilibrium where supply, demand curve, that's it. So if we have more apartments coming up, I'm always excited to see new projects. I'm always excited to see new real estate companies following the laws and doing the the right things because once we have a lot more of this ones, that's why your family, the guys you consulted to, they were able to go in and buy that two bedroom apartment with a $15,000 discount because the competition is so much so that now if you go sit down with the developers, which I am like best at doing for my clients, I tell them hey, if you're not doing it, I have already sent them an email with 1, 2, 3, 4 in the same area, good quality and everything. And so if you're going to give me a 25% discount then I'm going to go with you. If not, I'm going to call this guy, phone him and put him on a call and I'm going to try and get a 25% discount with them. And so the competition will be more and that's how the future is looking. So the reduction in price we are all looking for, the opportunity and the dream of living in Cantonment will become more real for people like me and my friends. And so I'm excited to see what the future holds. But the Future is very beautiful. It's not crushing. It's a beautiful future.
- [68:26]
A
So through the big push Muhammad initiative, they are doing a lot of roles. So I think that will also expand people out. So he was mentioning the traffic and all that stuff. People driving, you know, a lot of commute time will be reduced with all this road infrastructure executed. And that will expand the real estate market. Instead of a lot of people, everybody.
- [68:44]
B
Want to be centralized.
- [68:45]
A
Yes. It will expand the market a little bit. And, you know, people will start to see appreciation on their land value. If you bought land the past, you get to benefit.
- [68:53]
C
Yeah. So, yes, if people wanted to buy land today, where is the best place to look at right now? Affordable, low, low cost for people right now.
- [69:03]
A
Right now. So if you're buying land, let's look at your construction phase. Gonna take like two, three years. Even if you work at an airport right now, you. You must be looking at Vienna. They are doing that road there. So your commute that might take you right now it takes you about 50 minutes, 1, 1 hour and 20 minutes depending on the traffic. Sometimes it can even take you two hours. The traffic can be really bad. Busy, busy hours. Once that road is done, 25 minutes, 30 minutes, you are at airport easily. So you should be looking at places like that. They, you know, they said the dodoa. They do the dodoa road. So dodo outside you can be looking at it. That pulling the road is horrible. But that side, they are doing the road as well. So you should be looking at where they are doing the roads so that, you know, once you buy it, by the time the roads are done, your commute time will be short.
- [69:45]
C
If someone is looking for a luxury real estate investment today, where should they be looking at?
- [69:52]
B
Oa oeb. So I'm talking affordable luxury.
- [69:57]
A
Yeah.
- [69:57]
B
Oyar oeb ayensa. I'll give you places like pram because road construction is currently going on the whole motorway, I think five lanes on each side all the way to Adan. If you want top luxury Chado South Labadi, you look at places like Jolu Abelinpe, you can start off from there. There are a lot of real estate players in the market today. You just haven't chanced on them. Like I mentioned, a $55,000 deal in Chado and Rash was amazed. He hasn't heard about it. These are deals that are there that we need to introduce people to. And so these are locations that you can start from.
- [70:43]
A
Rush.
- [70:44]
C
I see you have some documents can for people that have not seen, especially people in the diaspora that have not seen how each of these documents look. Look like. Can you take us through them, what they look like, and then show you to the camera?
- [70:55]
A
Sure. So this is my personal line title for the kids that I went to call with. So if you are buying land, they're going to give you a site plan. That's the most important thing. This type plan is basically going to state the coordinates of the land. Right. Any sova can take you to the land with this. The exact land with the boundaries and everything with this. You need that. Okay. So the side plan. Right.
- [71:24]
C
So this is. Why is this an important document?
- [71:27]
A
This is the identity of. Of your land. Like, this is like the. You will say your fingerprint.
- [71:34]
B
Yeah.
- [71:34]
A
That this is literally. It shows gps.
- [71:38]
C
Right, Right, right.
- [71:39]
A
So GPS takes this kind of coordinates as well. That's the satellite. So it shows you the position of the land.
- [71:44]
C
Right. So this is just for the positioning of the land.
- [71:46]
A
That's just for the position of the land.
- [71:47]
C
Right. So it doesn't legitimize the land.
- [71:50]
A
No, it doesn't. This is the position of the land. Now, why this is embedded in this is because this is an indenture. Now, indenture is going to tell you, you have down there, we have the list, you know, the leasehold system. So it's going to tell you Whether you have 75 years, 99 years old, the kind of.
- [72:07]
B
The kind of deal of assignments you have.
- [72:09]
A
Yes. So that's, that's your indenture. So if you buy land for someone, you're gonna have the cyclone and the indenture. Each indenture will be different based on whatever stipulations that person has in there.
- [72:20]
C
But who, who gets this document done? Who is it the buyer or the seller?
- [72:25]
A
It depends.
- [72:26]
C
Okay?
- [72:27]
A
It depends. So for. If you're buying from a company like mine, we will handle it for you.
- [72:31]
C
Okay.
- [72:32]
A
Again, we try to reduce the stress from people. So if you go to like an established company. Yeah. They are going to do the nature for you for the most part.
- [72:39]
C
Okay.
- [72:39]
A
If you go to buy from an individual, like I did, I prepared this with my lawyer.
- [72:43]
C
Okay.
- [72:44]
A
Right. Because the individual, I mean, they're not gonna go and pay. They don't. That's not it. That's. That, that's not the operation. So you get this done before I was buying the land, they have to show you somebody. If you're, if you own a land, what do you, what do you own the land based on? Like, like, you have to tell me something. Oh, there's a court judgment. There is this, there's that. You have to show me something. So some, when I went, they had a title. Now I've transferred it to my name. So I have my title here. Now you have to use this because they had a title. I knew I'm. I'm the only transferring the land to my name if they didn't have a title and I understand the history of it. Okay. Again, this comes to the knowledge it's a bit complicated. So if I know, okay, there's a judgment, they're giving them the right. They've been acknowledged as the, you know, download the owners. They should repossess all the land there. Then I know, okay, I have to do first time registration. So you have title transfer and you have first time registration. So they might not have a title. There are land where there is no title. But they have strong documents. Sometimes they have made some declaration. They don't. They haven't even been to court. But they've been acknowledged by the land commission that they are the owners. It's been plotted. You have to have first time registration. But I had a. If I had a title, if I'm to sell this land to you, all you have to do is transfer. So I'll have to give you this document. Plus this. I have to surrender this to you as well. But this is of no use to you. You're just gonna keep it. Like when I bought it, there was a title for future reference. And then you go through the process to obtain your own title.
- [74:08]
C
Every buyer needs to get their own title.
- [74:10]
A
That's correct.
- [74:11]
C
But once I get my title, your title becomes obsolete.
- [74:14]
A
Yes, null and void. But it's. If you do a search, you will see the history that I owned it before you. Now the reason why you want to take it from me is because I can now take that title. Unless it's big, right? If I have like 70, you can't come and take my. It doesn't work that way because I only sold you a piece, right? But if I have a single one plot and I sold it to you and I'm still holding it, if I'm a crook, I can use the same thing to go fetch three, four more people. So that's cod. Yeah, that's. That's the issues you found on the ground. So if you are buying it, then why do you need this? That was. It's no longer yours. And I mean, hey, why do you need it, right? So you don't need it anymore, so you take it, right? So when I bought this land. That was the, the title that he had was covering just that land. And since I've bought it, you don't need it. I mean, if you need it, you have to tell me why I have to take my money. Because you don't need it anymore. But if you're buying a piece of land from somebody that has like 70 acres, they have a title. Of course you're not gonna get. You're not gonna get that right.
- [75:23]
C
And the judgment, how does it look like, the judgment?
- [75:26]
A
Unfortunately, I don't have here. But it's usually a court document. It's a court document depending on how long the case went off or some kids have gone 20 years, that case, best believers telling you and you read it. My judgment was basically, I had a judgment aside from this, I actually have a personally have a judgment. If, if you've been to court, what you get at the end of the court case is the judgment. And in that judgment says who won the case on what basis they won the case on, and what right do they have based on this judgment?
- [75:55]
C
When, if you're selling your land, are you going to give the title and also the judgment to the new owner?
- [76:02]
A
It depends. It depends. So there are places where there, there is only a judgment on the land so far. Of course, again, what I say when you are selling land is based on what. What are you selling on? So if I'm selling each land I'm selling, I give people there's annex where if it's a land title, I have to give it to you. You get a copy of it, you get it. So you can read it for you to know. Okay, it's left with 73 years. If there's a judgment on it. Let me see the judgment again. The judgment should put the land commission. That's what a lot of people get wrong. So if somebody got a judgment, they just got it freshly and hasn't made its way to the land commission. Because going through the process, they need to, they need to, they need to sort out the system because the land commission follows what the course is. If not, then we will not even go to court. If I have, if I have this, I should be done. But if I went to court and I lost the case to this guy and the judgment is telling that the guy that my title is Lorna void, you should come and take possession. You can go do all the search, find this, but it means nothing.
- [77:03]
C
I've really enjoyed this conversation. I'd like to thank you, Rash Asare and Desmond Cod for this beautiful conversation. I am definitely sure that my diasporan audience and my local audience in Ghana, my lovely people here, have really benefited from your experience, your expertise, and then also the knowledge that you've poured out today. I personally have learned a lot and I really appreciate you guys. You've done this for me for the second time. Free knowledge for my people. And to my people in the Connected Academy group and those that are not, we'll put every detail in the description. I'm gonna leave Rush and cod's details in the description. You can find them. Rush has got a YouTube channel and COD also has a YouTube channel. They both also have Instagram pages where they share a lot of knowledge to the people. So if you're looking for them, please don't send us a message. Just check in the description. I'll put it all in there. And if there's anything they have said or anything that we have done that is not right, please leave it in the comments so that we can make it better the next time. Thank you so much for being part of the family. My name is Derek Abayte and stay connected.