By YINKA KOLAWOLE
The Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (Lagos HOMS) will become self-sustaining in seven years if all beneficiaries of the scheme pay up their mortgages promptly. Lagos HOMS is an initiative of the state government to help residents of the state own houses in a sustainable way.

Governor Babatunde Fashola stated this when the first draw to pick homeowners under the scheme was held in Lagos last week. He emphasised the need for prospective home owners under the scheme to pay their monthly mortgages regularly, pointing out that this would ensure that money is always available to build more houses and give other tax-paying Lagosians the opportunity to also benefit from the scheme.

“By so doing, you will bring back a pool of money into the system that allows us and enables us to build for other people who have also paid taxes and who are waiting on the queue. If all mortgage owners who benefit from the scheme pay up their mortgages promptly, in seven years time the scheme would become self-sustaining and government would not need to commit money to the scheme. In that case the Lagos State Government will no longer need to put any more money into this scheme because of the money that will be coming out. So that is the biggest responsibility that home owners have,” he stated.

Fashola also charged the beneficiaries to ensure they pay up their maintenance charges so that the houses would not be like that of Jakande estates that the people failed to maintain. “The owners must take responsibility of paying rates and charges that come with the privilege and the right to own a home, such as maintenance charges.

If you see many of the homes built by Alhaji Lateef Jakande over the last few years, government still has the responsibility to go and clean, to go and paint, to go and maintain homes that it has sold. This will not be allowed under this scheme. Home owners must take responsibility for their homes and pay maintenance charges,” he said.

Meanwhile, the governor said that the second phase of the Lagos HOMS project would soon commence with the involvement of private sector participants. He said under the second phase, the private sector would be allowed to build houses for the scheme with government being the guarantee purchaser of the houses for sale to the public under the scheme. “By so doing, we will be in the position to either double or triple the number of homes from 200 to 600 or 800 per month if we allow private sector to build. We will buy from them and put into the mortgage pool and distribute out,” he said.

In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of the Lagos Mortgage Board (LMB), the board saddled with the responsibility of managing the scheme, Mr. Akinola Kodjo Sagoe, explained that a total of 200 houses were available for the draw. He, however, noted that of the 322 applicants in the different categories, only 98 met the requirements and cut-off date for submission of forms for the first draw, out of which only 31 beneficiaries emerged.

According to him the remaining 169 houses from the first draw would be rolled over to the next draw for next month where both those who could not win this month and those who did not meet the requirement for the first draw will have another opportunity without having to apply again.

Two hundred homes were put up for the draw but only 98 applicants were successfully pre-qualified, out of which a total of 31 homeowners were produced through the draw. Six persons won one 3-bedroom flat each while another six won one 2-bedroom flats each and two persons won one 1-bedroom flats each in Shitta Scheme in Surulere; four persons won one 3-bedroom flats each in Hon Olaitan Mustapha Estate, Ijaiye, Ojokoro; ten persons won one 3-bedroom flats each in Oba Lateef Adams Estate, Iloro, Agege; two people won 3-bedroom flats each in CHOIS Gardens, Abijo; while one person won a 3 bedroom flat in Alhaja Adetoun Mustapha Estate Ijaiye, Ojokoro. Some of the winners are Mrs Bukola Lawal, Mrs Nkiru Omenyi, Mr and Mrs Taiye Hassan Laaro, Mr. Olusegun Babalola , Mr Olukayode Adegboyega for the Shitta housing scheme.