USERS SATISFACTION LEVEL OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT SERVICES IN CONDOMINIUM APARTMENTS
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USERS SATISFACTION LEVEL OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT SERVICES IN CONDOMINIUM APARTMENTS
ABSTRACT
The difficulties of inadequate housing for individuals and the State as a whole have been exacerbated by increased urbanisation in Lagos State. The purpose of this research was to assess consumers’ satisfaction with facilities management services provided in typical condominium flats in Lagos State, using Egerton Place Estate in Lekki as a case study. The research study generated various research questions, to which answers were later provided.
Among the research questions are: What are the service quality parameters in condominium apartment management? Are the residents happy or unhappy with the services?
These questions were addressed using a structured questionnaire, and forty of the fifty-eight residents who were presented the questionnaire were collected and used for the subsequent study.
The study was carried out using SPSS software for frequency distribution and a SERVQUAL Model for assessing the indicators presented in the sample questionnaire and rated according to their mean item score. The findings suggest that the majority of respondents expected more, but their perceptions were modest.
Furthermore, the majority of respondents are willing to spread the word about the Estate to prospective consumers and will recommend the Estate Developer Company to their friends and others. As a result, the research suggests that: improvement should be standardised in the services provided to meet the world standard of facilities/services provision;
and facilities management service providers should always identify the most expected service(s) and understand the psyche of the users in order to meet their required satisfaction rather than devoting resources to least expected facilities or services.
CHAPITRE ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Inadequate housing schemes for home purchasers have arisen as a result of increased urbanisation in Lagos. Governments at all levels have been unable to do anything to accommodate the expanding population.
Aside from a lack of availability, the dwelling conditions in public housing complexes are deplorable. Many issues jeopardise inhabitants’ well-being and quality of life (Ocholi, 1992, quoted in Ukoha & Beamish, 1996; David Jiboye, 2012; Rahman, 2014; E. Eyiah-Botwe, 2015).
Some of these issues, according to Ocholi (1992), include degeneration of the inhabitants’ health due to overcrowding and trash that litters the environment, transportation shortages, and poor neighbourhood facilities such as a lack of designed playgrounds for children, multipurpose halls, parking areas, and safety facilities for the disabled.
According to Torbical and Stroh (2001), service is the most significant factor in determining total satisfaction. However, previous research has shown that residents of public housing are dissatisfied with their housing stock, which is low quality and does not adequately meet their needs due to a lack of basic features such as good roads,
schools, refuse disposal systems, security systems, waste disposal, portable water, stable electricity, children playgrounds, community halls, car parks, disabled facilities, fire escape routes, fire prevention and fighting, and fire prevention and fighting.
Purchasing a home is a significant event in a person’s life. According to the House Buyers Association of Malaysia (HBA), it is the single and largest capital investment in one’s lifetime. Housing has evolved from its humble beginnings as a basic shelter to a symbol of human prosperity and aspiration.
It currently includes activities that provide economic benefits while also improving quality of life. Housing should offer occupants protection, comfort, privacy, good health, quality services, and good value for money (Manuel Jose & Pedro Simoes, 2003; Nor’Aini, 2007 as referenced in Mustafa & Ghazali, 2012).
The preceding trend has resulted in a rush of private real estate developers who, having seen this gap, have ventured into micro-scale urban planning known as gated communities, which often include housing types in the form of condominium apartments (Danquah and Afram, 2014).
These condominium flats are in high demand in Lagos, Nigeria, due to a growing population, a lack of land, and the fact that state housing schemes, while inadequate, do not satisfy the expectations of house purchasers in terms of facilities management services.
Due to the increasing demand for these types of housing, real estate developers have moved their focus in housing providing from low-income earners to middle and upper-middle income earners for the past two decades (Danquah and Afram, 2014).
According to the African Development Bank’s 2011 Market Brief report, the middle class is a neglected cross-section of society, accounting for 34.5 million people or 26.8% of the population. This has favourable implications for the types of housing development that are acceptable to this group of home buyers.
According to studies, decent housing contributes to total housing satisfaction, particularly in private gated community projects. Nonetheless, there is fierce competition among developers to seize control of the market.
They invest in many aspects of service quality and cost in order to please clients and get a significant market share (Grubor et al., n.d.; Senaratne et al., 2006; Zadkarim et al., 2011).
Despite the competition, prominent firms such as ‘Aircom Nigeria Limited’ anticipate strong performance in the next two to three years due to significant unbilled sales. As of 2012, the company had completed and delivered several condominium apartment units to various buyer groups in the following estates:
Northern Foreshore Estate, Friends Colony Estate, Napier Garden Estate, Egerton Place Estate, Bourdillon Court Estate, and Milverton Court Estate (AirCom Nigeria Limited/About Us, 2015).
Certain factors influence homebuyers’ decisions while purchasing condominium units in a competitive market, as shown among private real estate developers in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos. These elements contribute to consumer satisfaction and can aid in increasing client loyalty.
Such acquired loyalty will lead to existing consumers advocating for a property developer by engaging prospective buyers in positive word of mouth, allowing them to enhance their market share and thus stay ahead of the competition.
To accomplish this feat, a real estate developer must provide superior service quality and ensure that existing customers are satisfied, as various studies have shown that providing superior quality and keeping customers satisfied are rapidly becoming ways for companies to differentiate themselves from competitors (Parasuraman et al., 1985; Zeljko M.Torbica and Robert C. Stroh., 2001).
This study aims to assess consumers’ satisfaction with the facilities management services offered by Aircom Nigeria Limited in one of its highly regarded condominium flats in the Lagos suburb of Lekki – The Egerton Place Estate.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Increased urbanisation and population increase have resulted in a shortage of public housing. Aside from a lack of supply, the conditions of public housing complexes are deplorable. A variety of issues jeopardise inhabitants’ well-being and quality of life (Ocholi, 1992, cited in Ukoha and Beamish, 1997).
Some of these issues include deterioration of residents’ health as a result of overcrowding and trash in the environment, transportation shortages, and inadequate neighbourhood facilities such as a lack of designed playgrounds for children, multipurpose halls, parking areas, safety equipment, and facilities for the disabled.
To address these issues and provide acceptable condominium housing types for people, it is necessary to examine how successful private real estate development companies have addressed issues,
particularly with regard to the management of their facilities and property assets, which have made them successful and increased demand for their housing stocks.
1.3 Research Questions
Thus, the research aims to provide answers to the following research questions:
i. How did the facilities management team fare in terms of meeting consumers’ expectations and perceptions of services across the SERVQUAL Dimensions?
ii. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the facilities management team?
iii. What are the behavioural intentions of users based on their experience with facilities management services in the case study estate?
1.4 Purpose of the Research
The study’s goal is to identify and assess the levels of satisfaction among residents in the study region (Egerton Place Estate, Lekki, Lagos) with regard to the supply of facilities management services.
1.5 Objectives of The Study
i. Assess the performance of the facilities management team in terms of user expectations and perceptions of service across the SERVQUAL Dimensions.
ii. Determine the strengths and limitations of the facilities management team.
iii. Determine the behavioural intentions of users based on their experiences with facilities management services in the case study estate.
1.6 Aim of The Study
User satisfaction in residential estates has been studied (Parasuraman et al., 1985; Ukoha & Beamish, 1997; Zeljko M.Torbica and Robert C. Stroh., 2001; Daramola, 2006; Aribigbola, 2008; David, 2010, Mohammad, Gambo, & Omirin, 2012).
However, there is little information on how these residential happiness and/or discontent statistics could be valuable to real estate developers as feedback on existing projects and feedforward to improve future designs.
This creates a void since it causes issues for many developers who would have considered such information beneficial in maintaining residential user pleasure, staying ahead of competitors, and eventually helping to preserve the company’s bottom line.
As a result, the purpose of this study was to investigate how real estate developers might use the SERVQUAL model’s service quality aspects to assess their facilities management services,
identify their strengths and consolidate on them, and identify their shortcomings and improve on them. They will achieve high residential satisfaction, enhance customer loyalty, positive word of mouth from residents, and increase the company’s market share by doing so.
1.7 Significance of the Research
This research will assist three participants: facilities managers, real estate developers, and home buyers. The survey would reflect how users who are beneficiaries rate facilities management services. This will allow them to increase service supply, which is critical to consistently pleasing condominium users.
The data will be used by real estate developers as feedback to improve current service offering and as feedforward into future designs and construction, thereby increasing demand for their housing stock and preserving their industry reputation.
Homebuyers would be pleased to have invested in a property of their choice and realised value for money in terms of home acquisition and top-tier services. As a result, all parties involved will benefit from a ‘win-win’ situation.
1.8 Scope of the Research
The study’s scope is limited to the real estate development sector in Nigeria’s south-western geopolitical zone, specifically the Lekki sub-urban area of Lagos State. It would have been ideal to expand the research to other states in Nigeria,
but the study limited its scope to the south-western geopolitical zone of Nigeria because a study of the entire country would result in conclusions that were unnecessarily broad, diversified, and impossible of clear interpretation.
Furthermore, the variables that function in the Nigerian real estate development market are not the same across the country. As a result, the study was limited to Nigeria’s south-western geopolitical zone. This choice of geopolitical zone will allow the researcher to draw precise results that are open to clear interpretations and will lay the groundwork for future research that may be expanded to other sections of the country.
It would have been ideal to expand the concept of facilities management to all sectors of the economy; however, due to the various scale of other sectors, as well as their varying difficulties and requirements, this would be burdensome and impracticable.
This would simply produce too generalised and unrealistic results that researchers, industries, and stakeholders may find unacceptable. A study targeted to the real estate sector, on the other hand, would allow the researcher to conduct a more focused investigation of one of Nigeria’s most lucrative industries.
Furthermore, the time frame for the research, as well as the accompanying logistics of covering the entire country, necessitates that the research be limited to Nigeria’s south-western geopolitical zone.
Finally, there are numerous private and public residential estates in Nigeria. Due to numerous constraints, it is not possible to cover all estates. As a result, this study focuses on a privately owned and managed residential development in the Lekki sub-burb of Lagos State, in Nigeria’s south-west geopolitical zone.
This study is an exploratory survey inquiry attempting to quantify quality management in Nigerian residential estates. In this setting, the research relied heavily on research questions in the form of questionnaires to achieve its goals.
1.9 Limitations of The Study
It is important to emphasise that the criterion of residential satisfaction has limitations (Francescato 2002). This must be considered while evaluating the findings of this study, but it does not negate the utility of its criterion.
The author conducted this investigation in a specific place due to time constraints. However, no urban area can be said to represent all cities in the country. As previously stated, geographical limitations may necessarily infuse limited bias into the survey,
limiting the application of the data to geographically distinct places. Nonetheless, the findings are expected to serve as a foundation for future research in other remote areas of the country.
As mentioned by Asika (1991), there are several hurdles to the collecting and transmission of information due to business confidentiality concerns. This is especially true if the information source is privately owned. That was the author’s experience at the location of the case study.
Another important disadvantage of this work is its restriction to the real estate sector, which makes it difficult to apply its conclusions to other areas of the economy without care.
Finally, future research should look into aspects related to the current study’s shortcomings. More thorough and extensive measurement scale testing in Nigeria would advance our understanding of cross-cultural measurement challenges.
Some scales designed in Western culture (for example, service quality measures) may not be appropriate for Nigerian culture.
1.10 Research Area
Egerton Place Estate became a residential area in 2013. It is one of the private residential estates facilitated by Aircom Nigeria Limited following the acquisition of 62 hectares of land in Lekki Lagos in its attempt to become a key participant in Nigeria’s real estate development business. It is located off Akanni Ajiran Street in Lekki, on Latitude: 6.44861 and Longitude: 3.51555.
The entire 62-hectare tract of land purchased by the development business (Aircom Nigeria Limited) also has a number of luxury privately created estates by the same company. Northern Foreshore Estate, a three-phase project with many dwelling units
Friends Colony Estate, Napier Garden Estate, Bourdillon Court Estate, and Milverton Court Estate are notable examples. These estates have been developed with block of flats, terrace houses, duplexes, and detached houses.
The availability of 24 hour electricity is a unique feature of Egerton Place Estate, as homeowners are not authorised to bring in electricity generators. According to local standards, the estate’s infrastructure and management services are excellent, with coordinated type of developments, well laid out neighbourhood, and provision of services such as security, utilities, sewage, waste disposal, treated water supply, and so on.
Egerton Place Estate, unlike some other private estates in Lagos’s Lekki and Victoria Island axis, is not prone to flooding and is not affected by rising water levels when it rains because it has a well-designed and built storm water drainage system that channels water away to the lagoon. This has allowed it to retain exceptionally good road and drainage systems, which contribute to the estate’s visual appeal to any visitor.
Because commercial operations and the operation of electrical generators are not permitted within the estate, the estate has retained a fairly calm character free of traffic and noise pollution. As a result, the estate has become a popular choice for residents looking for a well-managed privately owned estate in Lagos, Nigeria.
1.11 Definition of Terms
Intentional Behaviour
“It is defined as a person’s perceived likelihood or “subjective probability” that he or she will engage in a given behaviour” (Committee on Communication for action Change in the Twenty-First Century, 2002, p. 31).
In this study, Behavioural Intention refers to the attitude that a customer will have following their engagement with a service. This could be positive if they had a positive experience with the service, or it could be negative if the service did not fulfil their expectations.
Apartments in Condominiums
Condominiums are commonly associated with apartments in high-rise and higher-density residential complexes. The Canadian Condominium Buyer’s Guide, on the other hand, defines condominium as
“a type of real property ownership that has two distinct parts: you own your condominium apartment, to which you receive a title, and you also jointly own common property with the other apartment owners in your complex” (Mortgage & Corporation, 2013).
Each condominium type has its own set of characteristics, challenges, and opportunities. However, one feature that condominiums have in common is that they contain individual property owners who share decisions regarding management, operations and maintenance, and shared services (Facilities Management Victoria Pty Ltd, 2012).
As a result, condominium apartments, as defined in this study, are properties in which an individual owns an apartment as well as jointly owns common property with the other apartment owners in a building. Swimming pools, gyms, crèches, recreational facilities, and other community areas are examples of cooperatively owned common property.
Condominium apartments could take the following forms:
Low-rise residential structures (fewer than four floors);
Complexes of townhouses or row houses;
stacking townhouses;
duplexes (one unit atop another) or side-by-sides;
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