ESTATE MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA(REAL ESTATE)

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I am writing this article in fulfilment of the promise I made in one of my previous blogs, that I would share with you all the little i know on my course of study. Hope you would learn from it.

**INTRODUCTION **

It's a very interesting course of study as it teach us how to manage properly our land and landed properties so I would like us to know if not all, a little about this course.

Estate management or land economy as a discipline and a career is a comparatively new field of study and practice in Nigeria when you compare it with such other disciplines like medicine, law, engineering and accountancy (Ekpeyong, 1970). This was the lamentation of the first president of the Nigerian institution of estate surveyors and valuers (NIESV). Many people did not know the crucial roles of estate management profession to national development, in that sense, the statement made above, maybe correct.

Estate management or land economy is basically concerned with the use, management and development of land.

In Nigeria and basically, all parts of the world, land is an important aspect of human endeavour. Land is the most valuable asset of the nation; indeed, the very life-blood of every nation without which social and economic activities cannot be attempted, let alone achieved (Umeh, 1970).

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The subject matter of estate management is 'land' and all types of properties. Land and man are the two most important assets on earth. No creatures, individuals, corporate institutions and governments can deny the fact that they need land for one thing or the other. Its need is ever increasing and it will continue to be in demand as long as human population is continuous. If this is true, the management of land and it's resources will continue thus makin the practice of estate management education to be required I all fields of human endeavour.

MEANING OF AN ESTATE

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Literally, estate is the totality of one's asset. i.e all assets whether real or personal property and liabilities.
In the French states, the three estates are: The church, Nobility and Townsmen. The fourth estate is referred to as the Press(Journalism). In American usage, the phrase fourth estate is contrasted with the fourth branch of government, emphasizing the independence of the press. The phrase personal interest in lands, tenement implies that estate is a right which may be enforced in a court of law, that is to say, it is a legal entity.

Landed properties are commonly referred to as housing estates. In this context, estates can be either be real estate (land and buildings) or chattel (personal things) such as car, shoes e.t.c.

Thorncroft (1965:4) defined estate as a

legal entity which indicates the character and quality of right an owner possesses in real property.

Thorncroft (1965) went further to explain the fundamental notion of an estate by saying that

each estate is imbued with four major characteristics or personalities which are: physical identity, economic condition, legal status and management character.

1. PHYSICAL IDENTITY
   This describe the physical features of an estate, which refer to the natural material components of land such as location, size, shape, topography, climate and geology as well as man-made improvements on it.

2. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
   Land is one of the four factors of production (land, Labour, capital and entrepreneurial). ESTATE is an economic unit because it has productive resource capable of satisfying human wants.

3. LEGAL STATUS
   The degree and quality of control, which can be exercised under the law over an estate defines it's legal position which is determined by the quantum of rights enforceable at law over it by an owner or a rightful occupier.

4. MANAGEMENT CHARACTER
   For purposes of administration, each estate can stand on it's own supervision, planning and control known as it's management character. Real estate consist of a single managerial entity; the only exception is in an estate with large portfolio with varied properties. However, the process of management would involve development, planning and implementation of the estate initiative to the benefit of the owner and users.

NOW WHAT ACTUALLY IS REAL ESTATE?

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Real estate is the physical land and appurtenances affixed to land e.g structure (Appraisal institute, 2001). It can as well be seen land and IMPROVEMENTS to the land such as buildings, specifically, PROPERTIES that are fixed in location. It also include that natural part of land such as trees and minerals.

It is however worthy for us to know that blockchain technology is set to have a massive impact on both the real estate transaction process and real estate financing in the coming years.

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DEFINITION OF SOME KEYWORDS IN REAL ESTATE

1. Improvements: This is anything affixed with the intent of being permanent and is considered to be part of the land and, therefore, real estate.

2. Property: Literally, this means something owned or possessed. It may be a tangible or intangible property. Ratliff (1972) quoting Fisher 1930 defined property as "the exclusive rights to control an economic goods".
   There are 3 main classes of property; real, personal and intellectual properties.

MEANING OF MANAGEMENT

The term 'management' encompasses a range of different functions undertaken to accomplish a task successfully.
Drucker (1993) defined management as "supplying knowledge to find out how existing knowledge can best be applied to produce done". Mary Parker (undated) as getting things done through human beings or people.

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However, it is the way and process of how one achieves one's target or goals and it is in results.
Management is the effective utilization of human and material resources to achieve organization goals.

Now, having known all these, it would be also very important to know the meaning of estate management in general

Estate Management: As an academic discipline and a career, it is primarily concerned with the study of the principles on which decisions are made about land and all forms of property for the purpose of achieving the particular objectives of the owner. From an economic point of view, the best decision is the one that secures the maximum returns. In this regard, Thorncroft (1965:1) defines estate management as

Direction and supervision of an interest in landed property with the aim of securing the optimum return.

ITS NOMENCLATURE

Estate management is called different names in different countries and institutions of learning. For example, the nomenclature is estate management in Nigeria, England, U.K and some other countries of the world. Land economy as is used in Cambridge university, university of Wisconsin (USA), Ghana, Kenya and many other countries. In Canada mostly, they prefer to use the term Real Estate and Appraisal, as it is employed in (the university of Georgia, University of California, University of Reading e.t.c.

The reason for these differences in name or nomenclature is due to varying perceptions of the philosophy and ideology of the subject by it's founder. For example, in the UK, it is founded on the premises of surveying, which covers a wide diversity of occupations while in the U.S. it is founded on the premises real estate broker who scout land for those in need.

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