A lot of Nigerians in the diaspora or even other states within Nigeria who want to buy land in different locations often face difficulties due to lack of trust and uncertainty in the buying process.
Many of them have gotten burnt or heard of someone who lost their hard earned money to land scams, bought disputed property or ended up with documents that later turned out to be invalid.
While these are common issues in Nigeria when buying properties without being present, there are reliable ways to protect yourself and your money.
In this article, you will learn how to buy properties in Nigeria from the diaspora, the steps involved, documents to look out for and common property scams you should avoid.
The approach you will take to protect yourself depends on the kind of property you are buying; are you buying directly from an individual, family or from a real estate company?
Table of Contents
Choose your Agency
When it comes to real estate transactions in Nigeria, it is always recommended that you have a real estate agency that you work with for different locations.
The agency you use for transactions in Delta State might be different from the agency for real estate deals in Abuja.
A proper real estate agency has surveyors, lawyers, and other agencies they work with. They are also good at marketing properties. Some of these elements are needed when you want to buy or sell a property.
So, how do you find a real estate agency to work with?
Since you are not in the country, you can do a Google search for real estate agencies in a particular state.
Take note of the top 5 real estate companies and do a background check on them. What does a background check look like?
Is the agency registered with the corporate affairs commission of Nigeria? You can confirm by conducting a free business name search.
Remove any agency that is not registered from your list.
Are they active on at least one social media platform? Running a real estate agency is hard. Most agencies give up after two years.
You do not want to work with an agency where the founder(s) have moved on to other things. Check the social media pages or websites of the remaining agencies in your list to see if they are still active.
By now, your list should be down to two or one real estate agency. Get the CAC status report of the remaining agency on your list.
The status report contains the names of the founders of the agency, their contact details, and address of the agency. By doing this, you know the real people behind the business, and you can confirm that the agency is legally registered, traceable, and not operating anonymously. This extra layer of verification reduces the risk of dealing with a shell company or individuals who can disappear once a transaction goes wrong.
Also, make sure that the company you will be working with is still active with the CAC. You can check this on the status report.
The agency that meets all the criteria is the agency you should work with.
If you want to buy a property in Akwa Ibom State, Goldcoast Real Estate LTD meets all these criteria, has the local presence, and professional network required to support buyers, especially those purchasing from abroad, through a transparent and well-verified process.
Get a Lawyer
If you are buying real estate from abroad, hiring a property lawyer is not optional, it is essential. A qualified real estate lawyer represents your interests alone, not the agent’s and not the seller’s.
Your lawyer will:
- Verify title documents and ownership history
- Conduct or review land registry searches
- Identify forged, incomplete, or defective documents
- Review and draft the contract of sale
Many buyers make the mistake of relying solely on agents or family members on the ground. While they may be well-intentioned, they are not trained to spot legal loopholes or protect you if something goes wrong.
Always engage a lawyer before you pay any deposit or sign any agreement. Ideally, your lawyer should be independent, someone not introduced by the selling agent to avoid conflicts of interest.
When buying from abroad, your lawyer is your legal shield. Skipping this step is one of the fastest ways to lose money in real estate.
Conduct a Property Search
The next step is the property search process. How do you search for the property you want to buy?
There are three main methods;
Ask Real Estate Agencies
Reach out to the real estate agency you’ll be working with and ask to see the current properties they have in that location.
Most times, you will be asked to provide the specification of the kind of property you are looking for e.g;
- Property type (Land or House)
- Location (City, Village, etc)
- Size
- BudgetÂ
Your agent will provide you with a list of properties that fits your specification. If they don’t have a direct listing, they will reach out to other agents within the location.
There are a lot of real estate agencies in Nigeria that do not have an online presence and they do not advertise their properties online, meanwhile, some of these agencies have properties for sale in great locations.
Your agent will most likely have contacts of these other agents and can help bridge that gap by reaching out to them on your behalf.
Use Property Listing Websites
Property listing websites are websites where real estate agencies or individuals list properties in different locations for sale. Most times, these properties are owned by an individual or jointly owned by a family, and the owners hand them over or mandate to a real estate agency to help sell them.
Visit a listing website like Propertyscout or Nigeriapropertycentre to find a property for sale.
When you have found a property you want to buy, take note of the name of the agency or individual selling the property and their contact details. Send this information to your agent to help you follow up.
Use Google Map
There are lands that the owners have not really thought about selling them but if they see a good deal, they will sell. This strategy is great for when you want to buy a big expanse of land.
Open Google maps and virtually explore different locations within the state, city or village where you want to buy the land. When you locate a spot you like, copy the coordinates and send it to your agency.
The real estate agency you are working with will go to the location to inspect the property, ask local community questions about who owns the land, and report back to you their findings.
Note that most real estate agencies will charge a fee for this service.
Verify the property
Ask for Legal Documents
Never proceed with any real estate transaction especially when buying from abroad without requesting and reviewing the property’s legal documents. These documents prove ownership and confirm that the property is free from disputes, government acquisition, or legal encumbrances.
At a minimum, ask for copies of the following (depending on the type of property and location):
- Title documents such as a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), Governor’s Consent, Deed of Assignment, or Registered Survey
- Survey plan, clearly showing the property’s coordinates and boundaries
- Approved building plan (for houses or developments)
- Receipts and land history, showing how the current owner acquired the property
If you are buying land, ensure the survey is verified at the appropriate land registry to confirm that the land is not under government acquisition, excision issues, or litigation. For houses, confirm that the building approvals match what is physically on the ground.
Conduct a search at the land registry
A lot of lands in Nigeria do not have any legal documents, most especially lands located in remote villages. In many cases, ownership is based on family claims or traditional agreements that are not recorded with the government.
A land registry search helps you confirm:
- Who the legal owner of the land is
- Whether the land has a valid title
- If the land is under government acquisition or committed to public use
- Whether there are existing disputes, charges, or encumbrances on the property
Tell the real estate agency you are working with to get a surveyor to survey the land under their supervision. Once the survey plan is ready, they can conduct a search at the land registry to confirm if the land is free from government acquisition, existing claims, or legal encumbrances. This step ensures the land truly exists on official records and helps you avoid buying land that cannot be legally perfected or developed in the future.
When this process is completed, always request for feedback and documentary evidence from your agent. This should include copies of the survey plan, the land registry search report, and any official confirmation or receipts issued during the verification process. Ask for clear explanations of the findings, not just verbal assurances, and ensure all documents are shared with your lawyer for independent review.
Making Payments for Properties
Before you make payment for a property, make sure your lawyer has gone through all the documents, search reports, and agreements related to the transaction and has confirmed that the title is valid, transferable, and free from disputes. Your lawyer should also review the contract of sale, payment terms, and ownership history to ensure there are no hidden clauses or risks.
The agency you work with might be trustworthy but they might not know how to properly interpret legal documents unless they have a lawyer in their team. Agents are not trained to assess the legal risks hidden in land documents.
When you get the greenlight to proceed with the payment, pay to the corporate bank account of the real estate agency you are working with.
Extra Tips
Always document every discussion you have with agents, sellers, surveyors, and lawyers. Record voice calls (inform the caller that the call is being recorded), WhatsApp chats, emails, voice notes, and any written promises or agreements. After important phone calls, send a short follow-up message summarizing what was discussed so there is a written trail. These records help prevent “he said, she said” situations and can be critical evidence if disputes arise later.
Do not start a deal through a WhatsApp conversation with an individual or company that has set WhatsApp to disappearing mode. Do not have a real estate deal through Telegram, messages on Telegram can be deleted without traces.