Start Now or Save For The Future: Breaking the Cycle of Inflation.

Imagine spending years with the discipline of saving, only to realize that rising inflation has cut your purchasing power in half. It’s disheartening. And yet, many find themselves in this exact position, left with savings that simply cannot keep pace with escalating property prices or the rising cost of construction materials and land. It’s frustrating to realize that had they started small with what they initially had, they might have been much closer to their goal today. But with the seemingly impossible high costs, many are forced to save for “later,” waiting for the perfect financial moment that often doesn’t arrive.

My Frustration with “Saving & Investment”.

When I started my career, I'd imagined myself owning my own home within 5 to 10 years. I remember when I first started saving with the dream of owning my own place in Lagos. It felt like a solid plan – work hard, set money aside, and invest in what seemed like reliable financial schemes. Especially since I had extra sources of income. I was making money from private gigs as an architect apart from my 9-to-5 salary.

For years, I was committed to the idea that if I stayed disciplined and avoided the temptation to splurge, I'd eventually have enough to buy a property. But as the years passed, I watched inflation eat away at the value of those savings. The rising costs of everything – land, construction, even basic building materials – were far outpacing my efforts. 

Everytime I picked up a copy of Castle magazine, I would flip through, anticipating that I'd find something within my savings. But with the prices of land alone…my hope goes out the window. To add salt to my injury, when I think of documentation fees, surveying, approval, Omo-onile drama and building materials, it was certain that I won't be able to afford a home even if I'd continued for another 10 years. It was a moment of real frustration, even helplessness, realizing that my plan wasn’t going to get me any closer to my dream.

I Was Saving, but Getting Nowhere

I had done everything by the book – budgeted, avoided unnecessary expenses, researched investment options – but despite all that, the market had shifted so drastically that the dream of homeownership felt even more impossible than when I started. 

Maybe it was just me, but it seems the more you save, the more the dream of saving enough for a home fades away. That realization was too bitter a pill to swallow.

Getting Stuck between "Saving & Waiting" and “Starting Small”.

Looking back, I remember wondering whether to continue saving or if it would’ve been smarter to just start small. Whether to settle and ‘grab’ whatever opportunity came my way, instead of waiting for the perfect life I envisioned for myself and family. In theory, saving and investing was equally smart, dependable and a safe pathway to homeownership. On the other hand, starting small seemed like the feasible alternative to getting closer to homeownership.

But back then, that wasn't a real option. The reality (for me, and many others) was that we were up against huge entry barriers. There was no easy way around the costs of land and expensive construction fees. Even if I'd settled for cheaper land, I'd have to put up with unfavorable living conditions, from spending long hours in traffic to spending much on transportation. 

The opportunity cost wouldn't match the alternative forgone. 

Besides, even though starting small might imply lower entry costs, it required a very high level of trust. This was another risk, especially in a city like Lagos, the legal and logistical requirement needed to navigate title documentation, planning approval, building permit, and even dealing with Omo-onile, made starting small a less favorable option.

Trust – An Equally Expensive Barrier.

Another factor that worsens this issue is the lack of trust. Many like me hesitate to invest or collaborate with others, fearful of fraud, hidden charges, or shady deals. The truth is, there's an anxiety that comes with co-owning/sharing land or property with strangers. The potential lack of accountability that might arise when dealing with multiple parties makes many of us wary of going through the hassle.

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A New Approach: PetitHaus.

While we can not change the cost of land, or reduce the cost of cement, let alone do anything about inflation, what if there was a way to own property and build slowly, even with the small capital you have now? What if we don’t have to save and wait anymore? What if we could find a way to make people trust better? 

This is not a hero's journey type of story where I will tell you my PetitHaus experience and how I now live in a mansion. Because I don't, but maybe you can relate to my pains and frustrations, or maybe you've just been looking for an easier approach to homeownership. I partnered with a few like-minded people and we co-founded PetitHaus to find answers. I can also tell you that this works, and we've had results.

PetitHaus helps you start whenever and however you choose. Having broken down the entry (financial) barriers that previously made homeownership seem like a distant dream. You can start now, instead of saving against future inflation. With our co-ownership model, groups of people can come together, jointly buy a Land, own it in equal fractions, reducing the financial burden of land acquisition while giving each member equal right to the Land title.

This model, among many other advantages, will help individuals and families avoid the trap of inflation by putting your money into a real, tangible use—land & housing development, no matter how slow or small. We will also guide you through the process of documentation, pre-development, and eventual construction.

But perhaps more importantly, we've incorporated technology to solve the issue of trust. We're building a Tech-enabled platform to ensure that transactions are transparent, traceable, and accountable. Whether it's tracking the progress of your property or monitoring payments and managing communication within other co-owners, everything is made visible through digital tools. 

With this, we will eliminate fear of hidden fees, underhanded deals, or mismanagement that so often deters people from fractional property ownership/investments.

More on Transparency

Incorporating technology to facilitate secure and trustworthy transactions is at the core of PetitHaus’s mission. Every step, from acquiring land to development and ownership documentation, is digitized for easy access, tracking and communication. 

This is geared towards building trust and accountability, ensuring that all parties involved know where they stand financially and legally at every point in the process. Upon launch, our user-friendly design and real-time updates will ensure that even co-owning property with others can be done with confidence, knowing that you’re protected against fraud or mismanagement.

Why Wait Till We Have The Answers?

The frustrating cycle of saving and inflation doesn't have to be your reality anymore. By starting now (small or BIG), and leveraging the co-ownership model that PetitHaus provides, you can take ownership of the future today. Rather than waiting until the cost becomes impossible to handle, you can secure your portion of a property now and build over time.

Saving and investing is a great choice, but we're considering another alternative. We're building PetitHaus on a framework that combines years of professional expertise, deep research into the housing problem, and personal experience with modern financial and technological instruments. We take each day as an opportunity to make this better.

So even if we don't have the answers yet, we can boldly tell you that this journey is one that ends where regular people like you and me don't have to wait until we have N30B before we can own a home.

With PetitHaus, we can start small, build slowly, and make your homeownership dreams a reality—even in Nigeria’s most expensive urban cities.

What Next?

Why wait for the perfect financial situation? Secure your piece of the future now with PetitHaus, where even small steps lead to big dreams.  Book your free consultation to get started.