‘Mortgage' Has More To It Than Meets The Eye

“Property is theft”, declared the ‘father of anarchism’, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. We are all grand larcenists, suggests Andrew Leci, who asserts that the word ‘mortgage’ has more to it than meets the eye.

- Andrew Leci

There’s a well-known phrase in the real estate industry that refers to the three most important factors when choosing a property. I may not have this entirely right, but I believe it is, ‘location, location, location, location, and maths.’

The nub and the gist of it appears to be that the property itself is of no great concern, but its situation and locale are of paramount importance. I decided to put this to the test with a little research to discover whether the aphorism rings true or whether it was invented by an agent when trying to sell a cardboard box under a bridge in San Francisco.

I started looking for property in Nigeria. A nice little homestead, I fancied, might do the trick. Maybe a bit of land to grow some okra or sweet potato, because, after all, I yam what I yam. A well-constructed house would be a bonus, with hot and cold running Wi-Fi and a capacious utility room for laundering.

I managed to contact a few agents in Lagos (and one in Abuja) who couldn’t believe the coincidence as, apparently, I had been left $250 million by a former bank manager in Ibadan who died intestate. Seriously, what were the chances? I supplied my bank details and my mother’s maiden name in less time than it takes to say ‘escrow’, and I am very excited.