Lagos to London relocation?

By Yemi Edun, CEO Daniel Ford International

One of our colleagues upon stepping out of his apartment saw a long queue of at least 15 individuals in front of the apartment next door.  He inquired and found out they were all there for a flat viewing!  This story is descriptive of the U.K rental market at the mo

ment. Stock in the U.K has been extremely low over the past few months, both with reference to rentals and sales. This has given landlords far more leverage with regards to the choice of tenant and prices charged.

This shortage has come at an interesting intersection as the U.K has recently left the European Union. With this has come liberation from an outsized favoring of EU states to make up migration figures and a tilt to Commonwealth countries. The famed surge from Hong Kong is one example of this. This article was spurred by a friend of the house who similarly made the jump with his family from Nigeria to the U.K. From our perch, we are seeing migration volumes from Nigeria to the U.K that echo the “Andrew No  Check Out” era in 1984 and the Highly Skilled migrant Program era of the early 2000’s.

Whilst in Hong Kong, the migration has been spurred by China’s increasing capture of the local Hong Kong economy, the migration from Nigeria is spurred largely by the economic situation in the country at the moment. So, we’ve seen a lot of movement of Nigerian professionals into the Medical field, Consulting, Finance, Tech and Law. The UK Nigeria corridor is an attractive one for migration as beyond the historical ties of empire both countries share a similar lingua Franca, there is little to no culture shock and Nigerians tend to settle in here quickly due to having a wide network of Nigerians and lifestyle accommodations. This takes us back to our friend of the house.

This gentleman, we shall call him Toks, moved to the U.K with his medical doctor wife and baby during the pandemic. Now, Toks had most of his education in the U.K, so he is extremely familiar with the lay of the land and has an extensive social network here. When he decided to move his family down he had multiple offers from Friends and family to stay with them while searching for a place. But due to his familiarity with the U.K and wanting to not cause an inconvenience to his potential hosts, he chose to settle for an Airbnb instead. Now housing is an essential need of man and generally, people rent before they buy, however as mentioned earlier there has been an acute shortage of properties available. One unhappy coincidence for Toks is that because of the imbalance between supply and demand, Landlords became a bit more hesitant to give their properties to people coming into the U.K recently as they can’t be vetted or referenced like someone with a credit history in the U.K

So, it is safe to say Toks was shocked by the realities he had to face in getting a property for his family.  When he called to book a viewing at a property he was asked for his CV and then a full vetting was done. For whatever you know of the U.K market, this is on the more extreme end of the vetting scale. Also, when you see a property advertised, more often than not, you expect to knock down the price. However, in this instance the advised price is just a guide price. When he passed the vetting he realised he was one of  2 – 5 people shortlisted and invited to put forward their best and final offer. As a result, it took Toks 3 months to get a property for his family against his expectation of a few weeks.

With constant updates to Anti Money Laundry laws, questions would be asked and verifiable source of funds required before you are considered.

So we’re in times where it is not a case of having money and people giving you their property on just that metric alone. Now don’t get me wrong, the U.K is willing, able, and ready for the incoming stream. But knowledge is always profitable to direct your path. If you’re one of those looking to make the leap from Nigeria to the U.K be conscious of the potential housing situation. Come prepared with all the necessary documentation in your name from Nigeria and if possible, make sure your documents have the right names on them. However, above all come with the patience required to navigate the current market.

Comments and questions welcomed @yemiedundf

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