The Real Cost Of Moving Out Of Your Parent’s House
The Real Cost of Moving Out of Your Parents’ House
GRWM content, being a plant or pet mom and many other vices have intensified the pressure on young Nigerian adults to move out of their parent’s houses and get their own apartments. As they say on the internet “The pressure is getting wesser.”
If you grew up in Nigeria, you may have been seeking your independence since your teenagehood because, in an average Nigerian home, privacy is almost non-existent. A lot of siblings shared a room and if you didn’t, you can’t lock your door or have friends in your room without your parent’s permission. Some kids grew up believing the living room was only for adults because Daddy said so. For many Nigerian kids, the Nigerian Dream was growing up and getting your own space. The reality though is that no one told the kids that houses cost money.
All kids had was defiant imagination. They didn’t know jack about the economics of things or that they would later be introduced to many adulting concepts like economic depression, inflation, investments, income and so on. Now the kids are all grown and the desire to move out is stronger than ever.
If your parents aren’t buying you an apartment like Teni in Gangs of Lagos or paying your first rent like one of my very good friends when she first moved to Lagos, you’re on your own with your moving dreams and plans. And newsflash: it’s not something you can do haphazardly unless you have some good money stashed away somewhere.
It’s no news that house rent isn’t like buying a dress on Instagram. Houserent is expensive and that’s just it. It doesn’t matter where in Nigeria you live, if after paying rent, you’ll have to save for a bed, a mattress, decor, and basic utilities like an electric fan, gas cooker or TV; that rent was expensive. It’s not just that the rent is expensive, there are other excruciating factors that are involved in moving to your first apartment.
I feel like I have jumped the gun. Let me go back just a little bit.
Before you decide to move out of your parent’s house to your own apartment, there are some things you should consider.
The first one is WHY!
Why do you want to move out of your parent’s house? Is it because no one is treating you like the adult that you are or is it because all your friends now have their own places? If you can answer this question and come to very objective answers, you are really ready to move out of your parent’s house.
I remember when I first moved out of my house. The real reason I did it was because I had enough money saved just for it. I researched the amount of the type of one-bedroom apartment I wanted and I saved for it. I wasn’t even at my parent’s house while I saved for it. I was squatting at a friend’s. I didn’t move out of my parent’s house. I just kinda stayed at my friend’s longer than I had planned and while I was there, I started making plans to move to my own apartment.
I saw how my friend was being responsible and taking life at her own pace and I wanted that also. The other reason is because I got a remote gig and my mom wouldn’t just let me have the space to think and work. I couldn’t control my environment and it didn’t look good on me at work. I would be on calls and would have to be on the lookout for any looming talk or waka pass around me. It was annoying.
It’s also okay if you don’t have a reason. You just want to.
The next thing to consider is the cost of getting your own apartment. You have to do some research and some calculations. You’ll have to answer the following questions:
- What is the location?
- What type of house is it?
- What’s the budget?
- How will you pay for the recurring bills and utilities?
- How will you make it home?
When renting an apartment, the environment is one of the major things you have to consider. How is the access to basic amenities? Can you access a market, supermarket, gas station, hospital, or transport system easily? How safe is the area? How secure is it? Is it one of those areas where you can’t be out at 7 PM or there’s usually an outburst between two different gangs?
LOCATION
The ‘where’ question is almost more important than the ‘what’ question when renting an apartment. Before you set your mind on any house, you have to set your house on a location. I remember when I used to live in Surulere. It was my choice at the time because we had history. I came into my young adulthood in Surulere. My aunt who I lived with back then lived in Surulere. I liked passing familiar places and seeing how much the city has conserved the memories I have of it. I also chose Surulere because my mom lived there. I wanted a house close to my mom so I could go to her house and she could come to mine. I wanted that family closeness. I chose Surulere because it was also close to the island. At that time, my office was in Ikoyi. I’d come out of my house and get a bus right on the street to the island. In less than 30 minutes, I would get to the office unless there was traffic.
Where the house is situated is very important. As a matter of fact, in real estate, it’s one of the things you are paying for. A one-bedroom apartment in Surulere is cheaper than a one-bedroom apartment in Gbagada. Why? Because of the location. Gbagada has more gated communities than Surulere. It also has more power supply than Surulere. It also doesn’t flood as Surulere does during the rainy season. Why are houses on the island more expensive than houses on the mainland even though they are tinier and the water is what my boarding house tea looked like? Because it’s on the island! The happening place.
There are big and more affordable houses in places like Iyana Ipaja and Egbeda because the areas aren’t as bubbly and hip as Maryland or Ilupeju. It may seem weird but it’s the law of demand and supply. Once people start flooding an area and it’s being commercialized, the prices go up.
We even judge people based on where they live. That’s where the whole idea of trenches came from. As a first-time homeowner, one of the things you’re paying for is where your new house is located.
TYPE OF HOUSE
This is the next thing that makes up the rent you’ll pay. Before it was a house, it was a land. Rent is usually calculated against the market value of land in that area if it’s new or old, the cost of building the house and the extra cost it took to make it look good. New houses are usually expensive and it’s not just because they are new, it’s because many people are bidding for it just like you are. A newly renovated house is also usually expensive. How big the house is also determines how expensive the rent would be. A four-bedroom duplex is more expensive than a two-bedroom flat. I don’t know if there’s a difference in rent due to how many floors a house has. Are bungalows cheaper than two-story buildings?
BUDGET
Money! Kudi! Ego! You can’t set out to leave your parent’s house without a budget even if they are the ones paying for it. You have to know how much you want to spend on rent, total package and other service charges. Since this is your first time moving out, you’re probably looking for a space just for you.
Most people like you usually rent a mini flat and if they want to have a workspace, they rent two-bedroom apartments. There’s an average budget to have for a mini flat and all this information is online. You can get an average of what the type of house you want cost in the area you want it. Once you get this amount, you now have to focus on drawing up a budget for it. You want to know how long it’ll take you to get it.
I remember when I first moved out, I drew up how much I was going to save and how much I had to get from my family because my salary wasn’t great. Ask your parents to support you and cover the rest of the cost.
For big purchases like rent, my advice is for you to save in a high-yielding savings account, like Moni, you can get up to 21% on your savings per annum. This way you can hit your goals and have extra for furnishing, commuting and food. So you don’t move to your new house and you’re drinking garri every day. You’ll still drink garri but not as often.
Drawing up a budget helps you see the vision:
- How long it’ll take to save up the money you need
- How long it’ll take you to finally move out
- What immediate life after you move into your new apartment will look like
Another option you can use to save rent is Rent Now Pay Later. Have you heard of this yet? It’s a system that helps you pay your rent monthly. Once you find the apartment you want, head over to www.moni.africa/rnpl to check your eligibility status. Once you are eligible and apply for RNPL, Moni will pay your full rent for you while you’ll be paying Moni back each month. Isn’t that wonderful? This is what all the cool kids are doing these days. This way you can invest your money or use it to do business while you just pay back your monthly income. I can hear you rolling your eyes, saying “Moni will use interest to kill me” and that’s very far from the truth.
When you hear the interest rate, you won’t believe it. I can’t tell you what it is but I can give you a hint. When we were giving POS agents loans (POS agents have money), we were doing 6% monthly for them and that’s the best in the market. We had the lowest interest rate for business owners. Do you think we won’t do the least for homeowners too? When you use RNPL with Moni, the process is seamless and you move into your home faster than you planned because Moni will sort you out.
RECURRING BILLS
Your monthly budget will now have bills in them. Mom and Dad paid for light, water and fuel. Now that you are on your own, you have to pay for the light. If you rent a house that uses a prepaid meter, if you don’t buy units, you will sit in darkness. If it isn’t a prepaid meter and you don’t pay your electricity bills, PHCN officials will come and cut your light. Before it even gets that bad, your neighbours will stress you and follow you because you haven’t done your part. You also have to pay waste bills. Every month. And security levies. And some other bills depending on the area and type of house you rent. Utilities are necessities — you need light, water, waste management and security. You’ll have to plan for these every month.
This part is when it truly dawns on you that you have moved out of your parents. There’ll also be some unexpected and unplanned bills. The pumping machine can break and they are already discussing N10,000 from each tenant to fix it. You have to pay up so you can go back to having water.
RENOVATIONS & DECOR
How much will it cost you to make your new apartment your home? It’s a combination of renovations and decor. You won’t know how expensive things are until you’re in the market trying to buy plates and curtains. Those things can zap your money. Working with a carpenter to build you a bed and some other furniture too can be a hellish process. What about the fixes you need to make to the bathroom? This is where the real spending happens. My advice is to take it one step at a time. Start with buying only the necessary decor. You should go on YouTube and get on DIY ways to make your homework for your style and taste.
Moving out of your parent’s house is a financially, emotionally and physically exerting journey. From the day you decide to your first night all alone in your apartment, it can be a lot.
But if it’s something you know you are ready for, you can do it and Moni would love to pay your first rent. Visit www.moni.africa/rnpl to get started today.
