BY  Yinka Kolawole
The Lagos State government has unveiled guidelines for a mortgage scheme designed to help residents of the state to own their houses.

The move by the Lagos state government is to address the absence of an enduring mortgage system which has been identified as the greatest obstacle to achieving the goal of housing for all.

This is because provision of accommodation is by nature capital intensive and affordability implies that for low and medium income earners to be able to buy houses, there must be in place an effective mortgage finance system, which is lacking in Nigeria.

Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (Lagos HOMS), as the scheme is known, is a mortgage scheme that affords first time home buyers who are resident in Lagos State the opportunity to own their homes, and is completely funded by the Lagos State government.

Apart from providing the pool of houses, government also provides the funds for the mortgage facility being granted.

It would be recalled, that Governor Babatunde Fashola was reported to have promised to deliver houses at the rate of between N2million and N4 million for residents of Lagos if he is re-elected into office during his electioneering campaigns.

He said that the houses would be made available to through a mortgage package being worked out with some banks and that the prospective owners would be made to deposit only 30 percent and pay the balance in a period of up to 20 years.

The brochure of the scheme specify that to be eligible for the scheme, applicants must be first time buyers,  reside in Lagos, be under 60 years, have a verifiable means of income, and be credit worthy.

A successful applicant will also be expected to pay 30 percent of the value of the house to be bought, while the payment for the remaining 70 percent is spread over a period of between 10 years and 20 years through a mortgage arrangement, at an interest rate of 6 percent.

The beneficiaries are also expected to have worked with their current employer for at least six months and must be confirmed by the employer.  Also, beneficiaries must occupy the houses and cannot transfer or rent out the house until all obligations are fulfilled.

The scheme document also reveal that although the scheme is targeted at all residents of the state irrespective of state or tribe, priority will be given to civil servants in Lagos State Ministries and Parastatals.

The Lagos State government has appointed three banks to administer the scheme on its behalf, they are FBN Mortgages, Skye Mortgages and Zenith Bank Plc. All applicants will be pre-qualified by the Lagos state government through any of the appointed banks, with their claims of first time home ownership being administered under oath.

The pre-qualified individual must open an individual current account with any of the banks, which will serve for both the purpose of paying the 30% equity contribution and also for monthly repayment. The beneficiary will submit his\her allocation paper from LASG to the bank along with request letter and apply for a mortgage scheme under the Lagos HOMS.

Upon meeting the stipulated Risk Acceptance Criteria, approval will be conveyed via an offer letter and monthly repayment schedule communicated to the beneficiary.

For proof of affordability, salary earners are to submit pay slips for the previous 6 months and salary account statement for the previous one year, while self-employed applicants are to submit company profile, three years audited account statement and business\personal account  statement for the past 12 months.

Monthly repayment commences as soon as offer is accepted and condition precedent to commencement of monthly repayment is met. The respective bank will communicate acceptance and approval to LASG for release of keys to the beneficiary to take possession.

Already, the state government has completed work on some housing estates under the scheme, while others are in various stages of completion across the state.

Available properties under the scheme include: Millennium Housing Scheme IloroAgege – 3 Bedroom flats; Oba Adeboruwa Estate Igbogbo Ikorodu – 1, 2 & 3 Bedroom flats; Millennium Housing Scheme II Ojokoro Ijaiye – 3 Bedroom flats and; Jubilee Housing Estate Odoragunshin Epe – Room & Parlour, 1 & 2 Bedroom Bungalows.