The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and Brekete Family and Human Rights Radio have agreed to work together in advancing affordable housing programs for Nigerians.
The President and Founder of Brekete Family and Human Rights Radio, Ordinary Ahmed Isa and the consultant of the communication outfit’s planned Smart City Estate paid a courtesy call to FMBN’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday to discuss how they can partner with the bank to deal with challenges common people are facing in accessing housing finance; challenges for people with disabilities in accessing mortgages and loans; challenges for first time entrants for mortgage plans who are required to make huge down payments they can barely afford, and the challenge of unreliable developers and primary mortgage banks whose misdeeds and unprofessional practices have left a lot of people in misery and disappointment.
According to Ahmed Isah, it is against this backdrop that they decided to start the Brekete Smart City Estate which he said had up to 3600 subscribers within the first 3 weeks of announcement. This he believes was because of the trust Nigerians have come to have in them and their platform.
‘’So, we made this visit because we want to collaborate with a reliable bank like FMBN so that some of our contributors who want to access the National Housing Fund can do so. We shall also seek for funding to aid the development of our project and to use our platform to educate more Nigerians about the mortgage and housing finance packages offered by FMBN,’’ he said.
While giving them a warm welcome, the Managing Director of FMBN, Ahmed Dangiwa commended the media outfit and for their smart city estate project which he said will contribute to the reduction of housing deficit in Nigeria.
He said that they are a peoples’ bank and are willing to partner with all Nigerians to have access to their multiple home ownership packages.
He said, ‘’we offer very affordable housing mortgages as low as 6% and currently have estate projects in over 20 states in the country. We have loans for cooperatives and individuals, and have the rent to own scheme and many more. So I encourage your people to take advantage of these opportunities.’’
Dangiwa advised that the Brekete estate must take into consideration affordability and that for its members to benefit from FMBN packages, they must register and key into the NHF.
Reacting, Ahmed Isah commended FMBN and said that the bank has what it takes to solve at least 80% of Nigeria’s housing need.
‘’The outcome of today’s meeting is very encouraging. I have just been educated by the managing director and I believe that the FMBN has the capacity to deliver affordable homes Nigerians. We have established an official relationship to educate Nigerians as regards their programs and how they can take advantage of them,’’ he said.
Through the meeting, Dangiwa said they have realized that there is a gap between what they are doing and what Nigerians need to know.
‘’So there is a greater need for us to collaborate with a communication outfit like Brekete Family so that Nigerians and the world can know what we are doing to reduce housing deficit in Nigeria.
Speaking on their Rent To Own scheme, he said it was introduced because of the issues Nigerians have with accessing mortgage from primary mortgage banks, and also because of the issue of equity.
‘’We sat down as a bank and fine-tuned the best way we can help Nigerians to access affordable mortgage. As the name implies, those who key into it will gradually rent the homes till it becomes theirs. Instead of paying rent to a landlord, you have the option of paying your mortgage as a rent. The rent can be paid monthly, quarterly or annually,’’ he said.
