Congratulations on your decision to buy a property in Nigeria. It must have taken you a lot of planning and financial strategies to decide on taking this bold step.

The processes to buying a property in Nigeria typically include making background checks and partnering with a reliable realtor. All that has been discussed in this article.

Pre-Purchase Processes

These are the steps you must take before buying the property:

1. Give It Time

One major mistake that first-time buyers make is getting into the market without giving it some time. No doubt that the thrills could move you to buy immediately – but learn to give it some time.

Focus on these:

  • Batch the timeframe. You can work with 2 months for the property search and a month to compare your options. The next 2 months will have you finalizing the process and completing the payments.
  • While taking things easy, reach out to professionals for advice on what to do and what to avoid.

2. Define Your Ideal Property

What type of property do you want to buy in Nigeria? Is it a land or a house? If it is the former, what do you need it for? If you are buying a house, are you using it for residential purposes or renting it out?

Irrespective of the type of property, prioritize the following:

  • The mass – the size of the land or the size of the land the house is built in. The spacious, the better.
  • Are amenities like electricity, water, access roads and security readily available?

3. Do Your Background Checks Before You Buy a Property in Nigeria

Whether buying a land or a house, doing your background check is very important. That way, you are sure of what you are getting into.

These should be your focal points:

  • Where is the property located? Can it be easily accessed and what are the amenities in the area?
  • Find out the real owner of the property – whether it belongs to a family, an individual or a community.
  • Find out the type of land title document the property has. Also, be sure that the seller has it before paying.

Ask questions before, during and after property inspection anywhere in Nigeria.

4. Manage Your Expectations

Sometimes, what you expected might not be what you get. This is why you should be minimal with your expectations when buying a property in Nigeria.

Steps While Buying a Property

Follow these steps to get the best deals on properties in Nigeria:

5. Choose the Best Realtor

Different real estate companies are ready to help you buy a property in Nigeria. But how do you pick the best from the rest? Here’s how:

  • Do a background check on the realtor, focusing on the (previous) customer testimonials, the genuineness of the information, whether it is registered and the physical location.
  • Check for the previous properties sold – and in the case of lands, whether they were allocated to the buyers.

6. Hire a Lawyer

You need to be on the “right side of the law” every time – and this is why you need to involve a lawyer in the transaction. Reach out to one and explain what you intend doing for professional advice.

Also Read:

7. Go for Physical Inspection

Always check for what you want to buy. Going for a physical inspection helps you to ascertain the following:

  • The exact location of the property.
  • You will find out if the land title is available – and whether the property has been surveyed or not.
  • It is also an opportunity to check for the amenities and make further enquiries about the development plans.

8. Inspect the Property and the Seller

It makes sense to double-check on the information you got about the property. If the seller claims to be the owner, ask for the documents confirming the ownership, as well as the documents permitting the resell of the property.

9. Ascertain the Price

Do you know why it is better to determine if the property is worth buying or not during the inspection? It is because that is the best time to determine whether the amenities and location of the property match the value it is being marketed for.

By the time you put the amenities, the road network, the future developments around the area and the future increase in the value of properties within the area – you will decide for sure whether or not to buy the property.

10. Negotiate with the Seller

The seller or realtor may be willing to compromise a bit if the offer is good. Negotiate the price of the property and see if you can pay less for it.

Sometimes, a reduction in the price could be because of these reasons:

  • You are buying more properties.
  • The amenities in the area do not measure up with those in areas with the same valuation and;
  • Determining if the valuation represents the Fair Market Value (FMV) of the property.

11. Prepare the Documentation

The realtor or seller should provide the documents for the land. This helps you have a legal paperwork to pass off as your evidence of being the new owner.

Note that some land title documents do not fully confer such rights on you. With the help of the lawyer, you should be able to draft the best documentation to reflect your ownership of the property.

12. Pay for the Property

While there are a variety of ways to pay for property in Nigeria; cheques and bank/electronic transfers top the chart. Those are better options for tracking the payment and help you get evidence of payment. 

Post-Property Purchase

When you are done completing the paperwork, here are the steps to take to finalize your ownership of the (new) property:

13. Erect a Structure

Some new property owners in Nigeria make the mistake of leaving the land bare (assuming what you purchased is a land). It is not advised because someone (land-grabber) can infiltrate the property and lay claims to it.

Hence, erect a structure, no matter how small. That is a better way to establish authority and send signals that you indeed paid for it.

Also Read:

14. Safeguard Your Investment

Depending on what you intend the property for; it wouldn’t hurt to engage the services of a real estate company to manage it.

Conclusion

In about 14 steps, you would move from being an amateur to an investor in the Nigerian real estate market. Follow the steps in this article to the latter to buy your first and subsequent properties in the country.

Would you like to buy land or house in Epe, Ajah, Lekki, Ibeju-Lekki or anywhere in Nigeria? Reach out to us on +234 806 400 3456 or send an email to support@godslandempire.com. We are ever ready to assist you on your property ownership journey in Nigeria.