NIESV Urges Govt. To Establish Real Estate Transaction Agency

The newly elected president of Nigeria Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), ESV Bolarinde Patunola-Ajayi has called on the federal government and State governors to establish Real Estate Transaction department to avoid illegal extortion by quack agents and surveyors.

Briefing newsmen in Abuja shortly after the maiden Council meeting since his assumption of office, he noted that the agency already functional in Lagos State would checkmate the excesses of non-registered agents as provided by the law.

He however regretted that 5000 Registered Estate Surveyors is grossly inadequate to serve over 160 million Nigerians adding that he intends to increase the number of its members through training for effective representation of the institution at various levels of the economy.

According to him, “My administration will stress more on capacity building to upgrade the knowledge of our members so that we will raise the standard of our practice in line with international best practices and render effective services.

He revealed the possibility of relating with the three tiers of government for improved service delivery stressing that most governors are ignorant of the importance of Valuation, Maintenance and Estate departments.

“We want to maintain international relationship with other professional bodies outside Nigeria like the Royal institute of chartered surveyors, American society of appraisal, and South Africa Association of Valuers among others so that our members will adopt Global best practices that is obtainable in every part of the world.

Patunola-Ajayi maintained that NIESV is organized into 10 business group such as property and facility management, valuation, business group of estate agency, glass and equipment, reconciliation and arbitration, housing and among others adding that NIESV is the only licensed profession backed by law to carry out valuation of property.

“At our yearly programme, the housing faculty business group makes recommendation on how to improve housing delivery and we will do a lot of advocacy to see that our recommendations are used by the government to provide houses for all Nigerians.

He noted that the professional body was working assiduously to group the estate agents spread across the states by placing them under restriction and code of conduct that would make them perform as professionals.