Wednesday 18 September 2013

PenCom issues guidelines for sale of real estate legacy assets

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has directed that the valuation of real estate legacy assets being put forward for sale, should be carried out by three reputable firms accredited by the Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) appointed by the affected Pension Fund Administrator (PFA). Legacy assets are those pension assets managed by various institutions such as insurance companies, asset managers, banks and discount houses, before the enactment of Pension Reform Act 2004, which have now been transferred by some of these fund managers to licensed PFAs in compliance with the provisions of the Pension Act stipulating that the management and custody of pension funds and assets are exclusively vested in licensed PFAs and Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) respectively, as postulated in Sections 44 and 46 of the Act. PenCom stated that "The sale of properties shall be in line with the Procedure for Sale of Properties being Legacy Pension Assets transferred to PFAs, earlier communicated by the commission to all operators." In accordance with the regulations issued by PenCom, the PFA is required to obtain prior approval of the commission before the appointment of professional estate valuers. As the PFA is mandated to determine the average value of each asset from the submission of the three valuers, the commission stated that the average value shall serve as a bench mark for the selling price. Apart from that, the PFA is to obtain from the commission a ‘no objection’ of the new valuation reports on the properties and recommended sale price, as well as advertise the properties at the recommended price in at least two national dailies. While the PFA shall obtain from the commission a ‘no objection’ to engage estate agents to the sell the properties at the recommended sale price, PenCom added that the approved sale price shall be subject to review after six months if the property is not sold. Besides, the PFA must seek approval from the commission before approving valuation fees and disposing any real estate legacy asset, as well as agree with prospective buyers on mode of payment and period within which payment must be effected, otherwise the offer will lapse. PenCom added that while all payments must be made directly to the custodians, the custodians are equally mandated to obtain the approval of the PenCom before release of title documents.




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