A building, once properly constructed is expected to be in use for a very long time.  Although every society has its own problems and Nigeria is not an exception yet the very recent challenges of buildings collapsing in various locations have been giving the various arms of government and the people of Nigeria sleepless nights in view of the enormous loss of huge investments in housing, properties and human life. The major challenge on the issue of building collapse is that individuals differ radically from one another on the professional to blame as the major cause of the collapse of a building. This study reviews current challenges in the building industry in relation to collapse of buildings, loss of lives and properties. Data for the study were obtained through structured questionnaires administered to landlords and professionals in the construction industry in addition to academia in the built environment. Historical data of past collapsed buildings in Nigeria were also discussed. Findings from the three prominent groups were varied. First, building experts blamed building collapses on the use of low quality building materials coupled with employment of incompetent artisans and weak supervision of workmen on site. Second, public opinion revealed that the blames of building collapse were due to non-compliance with specifications/standards, use of substandard building materials and equipments and the employment of incompetent contractors. Third, opinion of the academia on remote causes of building collapse showed that the route causes are mainly the non-enforcement of existing laws and endemic poor work ethics of Nigerians at large. The study recommends that the press should lay more emphasis on educating the public at large on the dangers of the collapse of a building and less on public emotions. In addition, government should, on one hand, embark on proactive steps by mustering enough political will to allow th...

Landfills have for long been generally thought to have diminutionary effect on residential property values. Various researches sparked off by this contention have proved contradictory in some instances. This study attempts to examine the impact of the four State established landfills on residential property values in Lagos State, each of varing sizes and having various degrees of contamination.
A total of  229, 2 341 and 315 structured questionaires were administerd to Estate Surveyors and Valuers, residents within 1.2km distance from four landfills and Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) workers respectively and on the avearge, 78% were retrieved.  Evaluation using linear regression function of data drawn from administered questionaires showed a slight evident of statistical significance indicating that all residential property values increased with distances away from landfill sites at an average of 6% for the four landfills

The question as to whether solid waste landfills affect residential property values has long been a subject of controversy and debate. Previous studies have resulted in mixed conclusions. This study examines four landfill sites in Lagos which differ in size, operating status and history. The relationship between each landfill and property values were measured based on distances of 1.2km radii away from the landfill locations and the measurements were based on the interval of 300meters up to 1 200 meters in concentric rings.The result of the study indicated that across the four landfill sites, increase in property values were evident as distance away from the landfills increased indicating that residential houses in close proximity to the landfills suffered value loss. Property appreciation relative to distance averaged 5.75% within the concentric rings for all four landfills.

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The basic goal of an investment in real estate is to make the highest positive net return possible, and the process of attaining