Decoding The Home Buying Process In Nigeria

By Author: Chuka Ikeamaka
Total Articles: 3
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First time homebuyers in Nigeria often consider buying a property by involving the services of estate agents or their lawyers. For such prospective homebuyers, this article intends to provide all info about the home buying process in Nigeria.

Those who crave to buy a property for residential or commercial purposes always make sure to clear their doubts regarding a specific property in question before finalizing a deal. Homebuyers, regardless of their nationality, request the property owner to clarify certain things like present value of the property, seller’s flexibility on the asking price, any problems with the house, vulnerability to natural disasters and any foreclosed homes in the vicinity. When buying a home in Nigeria, the queries are no different.

After pacifying their doubts, the first time homebuyers are more than curious about the actual process that leads them to the possession of property under consideration. Here, in this article, we are trying to simplify and decode the home buying process in Nigeria for first time homebuyers.

Nature of Property

First thing prospective homebuyers ...
... need to be sure about is the nature of property they want to buy. Before investing your hard-earned money, it is always wiser to evaluate the best return on your investment. When you can get more returns, it would be imprudent to settle for anything lower than the potential growth you have projected. Moreover, you should be very sure about your purpose of buying a property.

Ownership or liability issues, if any

You may contact estate agents in Nigeria or your lawyer to provide you specific information about the ownership – both previous and current – and currently existing liabilities on the property. You may ask the state government about the possession status, pending litigations or any such issues on the property.

Final purchase and right documentation

Once you have made your mind to buy a home, or any other type of property, what you need to do is pay the asking price (after bargains) to current property owner for being the legal owner of the property. It’s always beneficial to make your payments through Bank drafts and checks, rather than sticking with Cash settlements. Consider picking mortgage from a commercial bank if you cannot afford to make full payment at once.

Since documentation is very important, you should have knowledge of documents you need to collect. The right documentation includes your purchase receipt, the building plan, the sales contract and finally, other relevant documents in original.

Certificate of Occupancy

After collecting the above mentioned documents, go for registration. For doing so, you need to provide soft copies of all your property-related documents to the state government. Once you do it, you are the legal owner of the property. In some cases, the property may have a C of O (certificate of Occupancy), which works as the Governor’s consent, attached with it. If it does not have one, you definitely need to process your C of O immediately.

Estate Agent for managing the property

Finally yet importantly, you may consider appointing an estate agent to safeguard your investment if you are elsewhere in Nigeria or overseas. Estate agents in Nigeria can help you manage your property (residential or a commercial one) when you cannot afford to devote your time or efforts. Click here to know more about real estate business In Nigeria .

Author of this article is associated with propertyfinder.com.ng that provides investors as well as property owners in Nigeria with fast solutions.