Nigerians have been urged to embrace real estate cooperative society and co-investment models in the built environment sector to resolve the high cost of capital and reduce potential risks in the real estate business. According to them, the concepts provide opportunity to negotiate for fund, ensure efficiency in the use of capital and enhance effective delivery in housing through the expertise of members. The President, Bersama Multipurpose Society, Mr. Akin Olawore who made the call at its first annual general meeting in Lagos, said real estate requires large capital, especially fund that is not readily available hence, the need for people to co-own and engage in joint ventures by pulling funds together to save the cost of financing projects. Bersama is a real estate cooperative multipurpose society that provides members with secured, vetted, yield-driven real estate investment portfolios. This is achieved through investment in diversified real estate projects and asset classes, working with partner developer. Olawore who is also the president, Nigeria-British Chamber of Commerce said, “Cooperative is a model the society needs because the cost of capital is high and you can’t just, sit down and say capital is high, individuals must do something by getting involved in cooperatives to solve their housing problems. However, people in cooperatives must share the same value and have deep understanding among members to get along”. Making a presentation at the forum, an estate surveyor and valuer, Samson Agbato emphasized that co-ownership/ investment is an efficient and cost effective investment vehicle that give investors a direct interest in real estate and allows for participation in capital-intensive market that would be impossible, impractical, or less desirable for individual investors. “Benefits of co-investment include; it help managers build stronger relationship, helps investors achieve their goals and assists manager to execute deals. The co-ownership/investment is structured as a trust whereby one of the co-owners holds the legal title in trust for the remaining co-owners who are beneficial owners entitled to the receivables from the land”, he said. Over the past few years, investment in the real estate industry has been challenged by paucity of funds, which has worsened home’s affordability. However, experts say adopting real estate cooperatives model with alignment of interest and co-investment strategy would go a long way in mitigating the problem as well as improve business portfolio in the sector.