While most Nigerians wish to buy houses or
apartments in Nigeria, it is unfortunate that they do
not know the things they can do to protect
themselves and their investments from fraudulent
sellers as there is inadequate information on this.
apartments in Nigeria, it is unfortunate that they do
not know the things they can do to protect
themselves and their investments from fraudulent
sellers as there is inadequate information on this.
The glossy fliers and captivating advertising make a
lot of buyers susceptible to the antics of these
property sellers. They forget that the seller is only
after their money and that very pleasant and
persuasive real estate agent is after his
commission.
Here are a few points every buyer must consider
before paying for that house in Nigeria.
Get a property lawyer to conduct due-diligence and
guide you on the transaction.
This is important as your property lawyer acts as an
interface between you and the seller. He ensures
you are not shortchanged or your rights as a buyer
infringed on. Also, he interprets legal documents
and points out clauses in these documents which
may be unfavorable to you.
Request for all title documents over the land the
building is on.
Another step is for the seller of such property to
provide copies of title documents over the land the
building is built on. The type of title document
possesed by the seller determines whether he has
the legal right to sell or not. Also, it determines the
quality of title the buyer gets from the
seller.Furthermore, the title possessed by the seller
determines the type of documents to be signed by
both parties.
Get your land surveyor to obtain the coordinates
of the land and chart it.
It is very important for the buyer to contact his land
surveyor to pick the beacon numbers of the land to
determine if it falls under government acquisition or
not. Also, the surveyor measures the size of the
land to determine if the size is up to the advertised
size.
Investigate the title of the land.
After obtaining copies or information of title
documents held by the seller of the property, the
next step is to investigate if the title exists or not
and if there are any encumbrances on the title. The
title investigation can take place in Lands Bureau of
the State where the property is located, the Federal
lands Registry or relevant government agencies.
However, if the seller doesn't have government title
over the property, your lawyers can contact the
original owners of the land to confirm if they indeed
sold to the seller who in turn wants to sell to you.
Have your property lawyer read through the
Conveyance documents to point out unfavorable
clauses.
This point is very important and most of the cases
of real estate litigation stem from failure of the
buyers to get expert legal counsel when buying. In
fact, a lot of buyers of property in Nigeria have been
sold leases instead of total assignments and the
danger of this is that very soon, the property would
revert back to the sellers while the buyers would be
left high and dry without money or property.
Ideally, the buyer's lawyer drafts the documents to
be executed between both parties but some estate
developers insist that their lawyers draft the
documents. In cases like this, the seller's lawyer
must thoroughly inspect the documents to ensure
that ridiculous and fraudulent covenants are not
inserted.
Get a structural engineer to ascertain the building's
quality and point out defects.
Mere looking at an existing building, the seller may
not be in a position to determine if it is structurally
sound or not. However, a structural engineer would
accurately inform the buyer of structural defects on
the building. This is very important as it saves the
buyer from disaster.
Demand for copies of the Approved Building plan,
Architectural drawing and Survey plan.
If there is a building on that land, then it must have
an approved building plan. If it doesn't have it, you
are buying a house that would be demolished
someday.
Also, the buyer must request for copies of the
approved architectural plan as well as registered
survey plan.
Request for evidence of payment of outstanding
rates and taxes on the property.
The seller must prove that he isn't owing the
government or any of its agencies taxes, rates and
fees of any kind. One way of ascertaining this is to
ensure that the seller shows receipts, tellers, tax
certificates or such other evidence of payment as
applicable.
If the buyer buys a property with outstanding taxes
owed the government, such buyer would never be
able to perfect his title documents with the
government unit he has paid all outstanding sums
that the seller owes.
Speak to other neighbours living in or around the
property.
From experience, some of the most helpful
information comes from those who live on the
building or around it as they possess information
which the seller might have been withholding. Every
buyer needs to speak to at least one person living
near the property such buyer intends to buy.
All payments made should be duly documented
and receipts issued.
Payments for property should be made in such form
that it is traceable to the seller. Cash transfers into
accounts bearing the name of the seller or bank
drafts in the seller's name are advised. This is
because it makes it very difficult for the seller to
deny receipt of payment when official bank
documents of payment are in his name.
