Are you planning to buy land in Nigeria? Before buying land in Nigeria, there are things you need to consider in order to avoid regrets in the future. In this article, I will show you what you need to know before you buy land in Nigeria. This article will help to be confident enough to insure that when you’re buying land you’re buying the right land for you.
Things to Consider Before Buying Land in Nigeria
1. Purpose of buying
This is the first thing to consider before buying land in Nigeria. what do you want to use the land for there are a ton of different uses for land so you really want to know what you want to use the land for before you actually buy it. It can be for farming, residential or even land banking. Land banking is simply buying land at a cheap price, then selling it when the price goes up.
2. Budget
You should consider how much you have saved or are willing to invest in buying land. Your budget will determine where to buy. The cost of land in Nigeria is quite different depending on the location. For example, the cost of land in Lagos is not the same as the cost of land in Imo. Lagos land is considered to be more expensive than Enugu land. You can see Places to Buy Cheap Land in Nigeria.
Furthermore, it is very necessary to make a breakdown of the cost of purchasing land and the extra fees that are associated with it like legal fees, agency fees, the cost of putting up a fence in order to secure your land after purchase; and also the cost of getting all the required documents such as Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), Governor’s consent and so on.
3. Method of Payment When Buying A Land
No matter what you do, DO NOT PAY IN CASH when buying land. The method of payment when purchasing land is very crucial and could just be the singular cause you are scammed or not. You must ensure everything is well documented from the cost of the land to the receipt of survey fees, legal fees and so on.
The best way you can save yourself from unnecessary tension in the future is by keeping good documentation of all the payments. No matter how small the payments might be, take a good record of them. Instead of paying in cash, and possibly losing your hard-earned money to fraudsters, it is important you pay via cheques or bank transfers.
This way you can smoothly track your payments made when buying land from any agent in case things go wrong. Also, it can be used as a piece of evidence that can be used in court unlike when you pay cash.
There are no particular ways to really determine a fraudster by his/her skin colour or face or even relationship. A Fraudster is s a fraudster no matter how they look. One of the typical mistakes people make when buying land is trusting their relationship with the land seller.
It is not uncommon to see people in court with cases of relations duping them over a sale of land. It is crucial to consider this when buying land for investment or any other purpose in order to avoid being scammed. Also, you should whether the payment can be done in instalments, this can help you in owning a property if you don’t the money in bulk.
See>>> Where you can Buy Cheap Land In Lagos With Installmental Payment
5. Location
Definitely, there is more to just buying land. A lot of things are considered before making a purchase; one of which is choosing the perfect location for your land. Like many other real estate properties, the location plays a vital role in the overall value of the land. The price a particular land might be sold for is dependent on many factors, one of which is the location of the land.
The price of land in Lagos would definitely be different from that of Land in Ogun. Another thing to be considered when choosing the location of the land is the potential growth of the area. You would want to ask yourself what the growth of the particular area would be like in ten to twenty years’ time. Inasmuch as land does not depreciate, having a strategic location would increase your chances of making more value on future sales.
6. How is the Land Zoned
Is it residential, commercial or industrial? The reason this is important is, you don’t want to buy land that is zoned let’s say industrial but you want to build a house on it which should be zoned residential. So this is an important key and it ensures that you’re not wasting your time looking at land that’s not zoned the way you need it to be.
7. Are there any Easements on the Property
An easement is a legal right for someone else to use or access someone else’s property for example could be a walkway to a public beach, etc.
8. How is Access to the property Achieved
Is there public access, is there an easement that we just talked about or is there no legal access at all? This is an extremely important question you really need to know and understand. How are you actually going to get access to the property that you own if there is no public road that sits beside it? Then you need an easement from someone else’s property to gain access to this property.
If there’s no easement and there’s no legal access that means you essentially have to trespass through someone else’s property to gain yours. And that could be a huge issue if the land you’re looking at has no legal access rights then I definitely recommend looking at something else.
9. Has the Land Been Surveyed
You need to know if the land has been surveyed and if so when. Surveyed land means essentially that the boundaries of the land have been mapped and documented so that the owner knows precisely what land is. The reason this is important is, you don’t want to be messing with someone else’s land when you’re buying.
You want to know exactly what land is yours, the last thing you want to do is buy land assuming that the boundaries that you originally thought were yours are not and that they’re actually someone else’s.
10. Are there any known Environmental Defects or Issues with the Property
If there were any chemical spills oil spills or other pollutants to the property you definitely want to know about it
11. Are there Any Public Utilities Around
If you plan to build a house or have some type of structure, you’re going to need access to electricity gas or running water. If there are public utilities around it makes it a lot easier to bring those services to your property and it also makes it a lot cheaper. if they’re very far away it could be very expensive to bring those types of services to the property that you own. Also, you need to consider the proximity to market place, shopping mall and so on.
12. What is the Current Owner Using The Land For
If the current owner is using the property as a coal mine and you want to build a farm it’s probably not the right property for you.
13. What Are Your Neighbours Using Their Property For
If your neighbours are using the property for industrial use and you want a residential house on yours and you didn’t know that. You’re probably going to regret it because you’re going to have an industrial property next to you which could be pretty loud.
14. Are there any trails or Roads on the Property
This is beneficial to know because if it’s a large property you want to be able to commute and travel within it pretty easily. So if there are any trails and roads built in it it makes your job a lot easier if that’s already there.
15. Is it Secure
What is the news about the area? Is it safe now? What is the crime rate in the area? Is it somewhere you would still want to stay for 5 to 10 years? These are some of the things you need to know before buying land. It does not matter whether you are buying for commercial or residential purposes.
It will be foolish to be aware that a certain area is experiencing unrest and yet insist on buying land in that area with the expectancies of building your dream home there or not. The security of an area also adds importance to your property. No one wants to leave in a neighbourhood where they would be able to rest at night or a place whereby they are not sure if their businesses would still be there the next morning.
16. Get The Necessary Documents When Buying A Land
It might sound like the silliest of things to forget, but people still fail to get the necessary documents needed in order to claim ownership of the land they have purchased. It is one of the common mistakes or traps people tend to fall into from fraudsters or land grabbers. Buying land without getting the necessary documents is a recipe for disaster. The reason why you would request a certificate after the completion of a course is the same reason you need to get the necessary documents needed.
There are certain documents that are needed in order to claim complete ownership of land. It is not just showcasing adverts of various lands in different parts of the country. The big question when buying land is, does the land seller have the authority to sell the land? Are they the rightful owners? A fraudster can easily take pictures of the land, tag it as property for sale, and pose as the owner in order to scam people.
It is essential you ask for proof of ownership from the seller before carrying out any transaction. If a seller cannot provide enough proof, it is a red flag pull out from the transaction. There are chances that it is a fraudulent transaction you are getting into. This is possible because he/she does not have the right to transfer the property.
No matter what you do, do not go into a deal in which the seller cannot provide proof of ownership. It is also in the same vein that you must ensure you have all the documents required after the transaction, in order to avoid unnecessary issues with the government or land grabbers.
17. Use a Reliable and Knowledgeable Real Estate Agent/ Realtor
I save the best for the last. This is the most important thing to consider before buying land in order to avoid land scams. A good real estate agent or realtor will advise and direct you on what to do and where to buy land in Nigeria for a good investment of your money. Currently, Bukasin Unique Estate is running a promo on some of its lands in Nigeria. You can take advantage of this promo and get a landed property for yourself. And just for today, you get a bag of rice whenever you buy any other land from them using this coupon code Mushin Market.
Bukasin Unique Estate is here to serve, to make land buying easy and affordable for you.
Reference: Propertypro.ng
