Many people wanting to invest in Nigeria real estate have lost money while trying to buy land in Nigeria from abroad.
There are some certain risks involved when buying land in Lagos especially whether you are in the country or abroad. And if you are abroad, the risk is multiplied.
Specifically speaking, for people living outside Nigeria and want to buy land in Lagos or anywhere in Nigeria, there are some few challenges they probably would face. They are;
- Can I trust him/her with my money?
- Will he/she actually buy the land for me?
- How am I sure he/she won’t buy me a swampy land?
- Or how am I sure he/she won’t buy the land in a bush far away because it’s cheaper just to keep the balance?
Well, there are only 3 options involved when trying to buy land in Nigeria while you’re living outside the country.
Option #1: Send Money to a Friend or Family Member
This option, which is very common among our people abroad, seems to be the fastest and easiest way to buy land in Nigeria.
It is very easy, right?
Yes, I mean, you just send the money to a friend or a family member living in Nigeria and they will help you buy the land.
But there is a problem with this option and it’s one of the reasons it’s started declining.
Many people have been scammed with this option because, by the time they come back to the country, they either find out that the person they think can be trusted has actually been chopping their hard-earned money.
I mean… we’ve seen most of these stuff on Nollywood movies but it is as real as the palm of your hand. You just find out that your supposed honest friend or brother or sister of yours have embezzled the money you sent for them to buy land for you.
Most people abroad are now getting wiser and they are no more using this method. Only a few who still have honest friends and relatives still use this option to buy land in Nigeria.
Don’t get me wrong please, there are still honest people and many people abroad are still using this method to buy land in Nigeria. So it’s still a good way to purchase property while in the diaspora.
Option #2: Make a Trip to Nigeria
The safest option in buying land in Nigeria for those outside the country is to come down to Nigeria, inspect the property personally and run a search before making payment.
This shouldn’t take more than a few days, then you can travel back to your base.
You may get your Purchase Receipt, a Letter of Acknowledgement and a Contract of Sale immediately after payment before returning while other documents like Deed of Assignment, Survey and Letter of Allocation may take about 6 to 8 weeks to process. So you may have to come back or have it picked up by your realtor, a friend or relative on your behalf.
Also, for most companies, physical allocation of land is not immediate as most take about 3 months after payment to physically allocate plots to buyers. You can come back for this or someone can represent you as well.
One reason this option is good is that you will see what you are buying with your korokoro eyes, see who you are buying the land from and you will handle the payment yourself.
Option #3: Use a Trusted Realtor
With me, this option has been the most popular recently and the reason is not farfetched.
Sending money to a friend or a relative in Nigeria is just not working for most people. And traveling down to Nigeria doesn’t look easy as you will have to factor in your work or business over there, the high ticket fees, the stress, etc.
This is the major reason most of my clients chose option 3.
For any property acquisition that fails, it all started from the realtor or agent. Once you get it right from the start, your property purchase should be a success.
So, most of my clients, which over 85% of them are based outside Nigeria, chose to work with me and I helped them through the process – safe, genuine and fast.
Here’s the Process to Buy Land in Nigeria While Staying Abroad Without Traveling to Nigeria
Step 1: Inspection
You’d be wondering how someone who’s not in the country would inspect a property in Lagos, right?
Well, this is what I do;
I make videos of almost the estate in my portfolio, so I just showed it to my clients. Then at an arranged time, I go to the estate, make a live video call to the client so he/she can see clearly what he/she is buying.
With this, they get to see the land live, confirm if the land is actually dry or swampy and to see the neighbourhood.
Step 2: Run a Search
The next step is for the client to run a search on the property by the help of a third party.
This search is to verify the status of the land; if it is actually free from government acquisition or not.
To do this, the service of a property lawyer or a surveyor is required and the document required for this search is the Survey of the land or its coordinates, which I will be glad to make available once requested.
Then once the result is out, we move to step 3.
Step 3: Application Form and Payment
Once the person doing the search is back with the result and all went well (which should), then I will send my client the Estate Application Form for them to fill and sign and then send it back to me.
Then they make payment into the company’s bank account. Some make the payment using their Nigerian account, some pay into the company’s dollar account (for those that have it) while some choose to make payment through foreign exchange services or their bureau de change guys.
It’s that simple and safe!
One of the common questions I got asked and which is expected is because of trust issues… how would I make a payment just like that without seeing you?
Well, it’s a wise question and this is what I tell them.
You are not paying to my account. You will be paying to a corporate account which would carry the name of the company that owns the estate.
Here is a caution;
When paying for any property here in Nigeria, always make sure you are paying to the company’s account directly. It is not advisable to pay into any agent or realtor’s bank account. If you meet any agent that requested that, you should be careful of that agent.
And while paying into the corporate account of the company that owns the estate, make sure to crosscheck the account name to be sure it’s same with the name of the company.
I do not request to be paid or handle your money. You are not even paying me any dime from the above step 1 to 3.
So, this is how I have been helping Nigerians abroad to purchase landed properties here in Lagos without them losing their hard-earned money and I can help you too through the process of buying land or properties in Nigeria with or without traveling down here.
I’m just a call and chat away; 08036129474. Feel free to speak or chat with me any time, let’s work together in helping you invest in real estate in Nigeria.
