Incursion of non‐professionals into property management practice in Nigeria

Abstract

PurposeThe paper seeks to identify the factors that are responsible for the incursion of non‐professionals, otherwise called quacks, into property management practice in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data were collected with the aid of questionnaires served on 270 estate surveying firms based in the study area. The proportion method was used to determine the factors that are significantly responsible for the daily incursion of non‐professionals whose activities have negatively affected real estate investment in the country.FindingsThe result shows that the high income derivable from property management practice is a major factor. Other factors in their perceived order of importance include provision of unsatisfactory and less than standard service by estate surveyors, lack of confidence by clients on the estate surveyor to evict erring tenants and shortage of qualified personnel.Research limitations/implicationsObtaining the perception of practitioners could subject the findings of the study to bias. Further research targeted at the clients of property management services will provide a balanced view.Originality/valueThe findings from this study will provide professional bodies and policy makers with data to curb the activities of quacks and enhance the practice of real estate management.

Is the real estate profession under threat? Assessing the effect of the involvement of non-professionals in Nigeria real estate agency service provision

“…However, coming at a close third position in the ranking of the effects of non-professionals' involvement on real estate agency practice is unhealthy competition with a mean score of 4.16. The inherently lucrative nature of real estate agency given the characteristic high transaction values associated with real estate has invited competition from many categories of individuals; the unemployed, artisans, landlords and all manners of people thereby resulting into unhealthy rivalry with non-professionals (Oladokun and Ojo, 2011). This has given rise to flagrant contempt for professionalism in forms of gazumping, unduly long chain of agents, fraudulent increases in sale prices, etc, while real estate service consumers are often not able to distinguish between the professionals and those allegedly laying claim to real estate professionalism.…”

“…This echoes Latessa et al 's (2002) earlier work which found that non-professionals are usually more accessible, take more time to attend to clients and seem to understand clients better. Oladokun and Ojo (2011) further notes that most uninformed real estate service consumers believe that trained professionals charge more fees than the non-professionals (Oladokun and Ojo, 2011).…”

“…Relying on an online survey of three thousand estate surveyors and valuers in the country, the authors found that unhealthy professional rivalry and competition, menace of quacks, financial inducement of briefs from corporate clients by estate surveyors and valuers, gazumping, gazundering, and low remuneration topped the list of challenges confronting the profession. Meanwhile, a particularly related study on incursion of non-professionals into real estate professional practice is conducted by Oladokun and Ojo (2011). The authors identified factors responsible for the proliferation of non-professionals in property management in Nigeria.…”

Diagnosing the Causes of Quackery in Quantity Surveying Practice in Lagos State, Nigeria

“…Nemieboka (2010) argued that the activities of quacks in the real estate sector are responsible for the high sales and rental values of real estate. A study by Oladokun and Ojo (2011) looked into the incursion of nonprofessionals in property management practice in Nigeria, while Oloyede et al (2011) discussed the issues confronting the estate surveying and valuation profession in Nigeria and gave four reasons why trespassers continue to flow into real estate business. The first reason was given as the inadequacy of registered estate surveyors and valuers to satisfy the local demand for their services.…”

“…They contribute to overall project performance by deploying appropriate competencies (Nkado and Meyer, 2001;Dada and Jagboro, 2012). These competencies are aimed at accomplishing projects that meet clients' value expectations (Olanrewaju and Anahve, 2015). However, quackery has caused many damages to the practice of the profession, with attendant consequences on the patronage of quantity surveying services and construction project delivery at large.…”