Mainland Garden
Concern remained high at the weekend that off-plan sales strategies, which have become popular among property developers may be taking its tolls on prospective subscribers as complaints are mounting within the authorities, following the plights of subscribers of Property Mart Real Estate Investment Limited, in Magodo over an alleged ill treatment in the Mainland Garden scheme situated in Papalanto road, Ofada, Mowe in Ogun State.
About 20 subscribers were introduced to the scheme ten years ago as one of the best investments estimated to appreciate at between 200 per cent and 250 per cent per annum.
Specifically, the subscribers besieged the company’s office recently to register their grievances. Their grouses include: ONE: Lack of documentation after full payments, which included survey fee, documentation fee. TWO: The issuance of backdated letter of allocation. THREE: Delayed physical allocation of land and in some cases, allocation of different plots from ones not shown or ones that are not within the Mainland Gardens. FOUR: Non-issuance of survey plans at full payment for plots.
One of the aggrieved subscribers, Taofeek Abdulmalik has already petitioned the Assistant Inspector General of Police, ZONE 2 Command, Onikan, Lagos against Property Mart on allegation of obtaining money by false pretence.
In the letter, Abdulmalik said he subscribed sometime in 2009 to the company during their promo for two plots of land in the total sum of N1.1 million payable over a period of time. “I immediately commenced installment payment for the two plots. Subsequently, I requested for an inspection but my request was stalled and I stopped all payments pending the inspection.
“I was thereafter contacted sometime in December 2011- January 11, 2012 to come for an inspection and I was taken to the two plots of land allocated to me at Mainland Garden. On April 7, 2014, I made final payment for the two plots of land and a receipt was issued indicating full and final payment.
“Further to that, I also made payment for survey fee in the sum of N300, 000 and N40, 000 as documentation fee. However, to my utmost shock and disbelief, no documentation was done and there was no sign that anything was to be done.
“I made several calls and wrote letters expressing my displeasure but to no avail. Instead, a provisional letter of allocation was issued to me. I decided to write again on May 30, 2015, which was almost a year after the provisional letter was sent; it was also a futile effort.
“On September 14, 2015, I wrote another letter to the company further expressing my displeasure and a letter of allocation was eventually issued, backdated to July 9, 2015.
“It was at that point I realized that the company deliberately and fraudulently back dated the Letter. Also the survey for the plots was not made available at the time the letter of allocation was given to me despite full payment for both. After a lot of pressure on my part, a drawing was eventually made available with no signature from either the management or the surveyor or government official.
“Though the description of the landed property was on it, which indicated that it was for two plots of land at Mainland Garden Estate, Ofada , Mowe Ogun State.
“Despite several calls and messages for physical allocation of the land in November, 2015, I was only given the contact of the Company’s Surveyor, one Mr. Bankole for physical allocation and this was done on January 21, 2016.
“In fact, I went with my builder for immediate commencement of construction on the land. On getting the site for physical allocation of the land, I discovered that it was different from that shown to me earlier. I began to question the surveyor who told me that the land he was instructed to allocate to me doesn’t fall under the Mainland Gardens and that he thought I was properly briefed at the office.
“I was highly disappointed and felt deflated when we got to a place that has just been cleared and was totally different from the place earlier shown to me by the company.
“This however prompted my making enquiries from people and I came into the knowledge that the company had fraudulently received monies from quite a number of people for a non-existing land. I tried to independently purchase a plot of land around there but realized that the value of land there had doubled considerably”, he said.
Abdulmalik , is therefore calling for the recovery his money, alleging that it was fraudulently obtained by Property Mart Real Estate investment Limited in the total sum of N5.440 million , being the total sum of N1.440 million collected by the Company and the sum of N4 million being the additional monies required to purchase two plots of land independently around the area.
He stressed that the money represents his saved up pension and other accrued annuities. “This organization is fraudulent and all effort to get my allocation so far as proven abortive”, he lamented
Reacting to this development, a senior staff of Property Mart , Tobi Osho, said the organisation is working an amicable resolution of the compliant of Mainland Garden subscribers.
He said series of meetings have been held with the subscribers in this regard as the main issue was that many of them were not keen at developing their land.
He reiterated that the company remains a leader in off- plan development in real estate with many projects to attest to that. Another subscriber also confirmed that they are meeting with the firm to resolve the dispute.
