How to Buy Property in Nigeria From the US or Canada

You can buy property in Nigeria from the United States or Canada, but the purchase rests on four things you arrange from North America: a Nigerian property lawyer who acts only for you, independent inspection and survey on the ground, a power of attorney that has been notarised, authenticated and then legalised for Nigeria if someone will sign for you, and payments sent in stages to beneficiaries you have confirmed by phone. Nigeria is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so the apostille you may know from other countries is often not the end of the chain.

Know the limits of any platform you use. Smart Estate MLS identity-verifies agents, not properties, and its TitleSecure title check covers Lagos State and Ogun State only.

Table of contents

• What changes when you buy from North America
• Step 1: Set the brief, budget and time zone rules
• Step 2: Build a team in Nigeria that reports to you
• Step 3: Inspect and check title in the right state
• Step 4: Power of attorney from the United States
• Step 5: Power of attorney from Canada
• Step 6: Move money without losing it to fraud
• Step 7: Tax and reporting at home
• Step 8: Completion and after
• Where Smart Estate MLS fits
• Frequently asked questions

What changes when you buy from North America

The legal steps in Nigeria are the same wherever the buyer lives. Three things are harder from the US or Canada.

Time zones. Lagos is several hours ahead of North American time zones, so messages arrive while you sleep and decisions get pushed to "first thing tomorrow". Fraudsters use that gap. A payment request that lands at 3 a.m. your time with a same-day deadline is a reason to pause, not to act.

Document chains. A document signed in North America has to be accepted by a Nigerian lawyer, registry or court. That usually means a notary, then a government authentication, then the Nigerian mission. Each step takes time, so start early.

Distance from the property. You cannot drop by unannounced. Everything you know about the property comes through someone else, so who that someone is, and who pays them, matters.

Task	Where it happens	Who is responsible
Brief, budget, approvals	US or Canada	You
Inspection and survey	Nigeria	Inspector and registered surveyor you engage
Title search and contract	Nigeria	Your Nigerian lawyer
Power of attorney	Signed in the US or Canada, used in Nigeria	You, a notary, the authentication office, the Nigerian mission
Transfers	From your bank or a registered provider	You, with beneficiary confirmed by your lawyer
Tax and reporting	US or Canada	You and your tax adviser

Step 1: Set the brief, budget and time zone rules

Write down what you are buying (a family home, a rental, land to hold), the acceptable areas, the property type, the total you will spend and when you need to complete. Budget for the full acquisition: legal fees, survey, inspection, searches, Governor's Consent, stamp duty and registration, repairs, estate service charges, transfer costs and a contingency. Ask your Nigerian lawyer for a written estimate of the state charges, because they vary by state.

Then set rules for time zones and agree them with your team:

• No payment is made on the same day it is requested.
• Every payment instruction is confirmed on a video or phone call at an agreed hour in your time zone.
• Documents are sent to you for review at least a set number of days before signing, a number you agree with your lawyer.

Shortlist areas with Smart Estate neighbourhood guides, then confirm roads, flooding, power and security at the property itself.

Step 2: Build a team in Nigeria that reports to you

You need a Nigerian property lawyer, a registered surveyor and, for a building, an inspector or engineer. Engage each one yourself, in writing, with a scope, a fee and a direct reporting line to you. A relative can arrange access, but the professionals report to you.

Check firms on the Corporate Affairs Commission public search, which shows whether a company is registered; it does not prove competence or authority to sell. For the agent presenting the property, you can find an identity-verified agent on Smart Estate MLS, whose national identity and business registration have been checked and name-matched. For property in Lagos, an agent may also be registered with LASRERA, the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority; that registration applies in Lagos only.

Choose your own lawyer. A lawyer suggested by the seller's agent may be capable, but you want advice from someone who gains nothing if the sale closes.

Step 3: Inspect and check title in the right state

Search current property listings, send enquiries through the platform and save each listing as you first saw it. Ask your own inspector for a live video inspection that starts from a named public road and follows a continuous route to the property, showing boundaries, access, occupants, drainage and condition. Use the guide to checking a listing before paying for warning signs.

Title is a state matter. Under section 1 of the Land Use Act, land in each state is vested in the Governor, and section 22 says a holder of a statutory right of occupancy may not transfer or mortgage it without the Governor's consent first obtained. Your lawyer should search the land registry of the state where the property is, confirm the seller's chain of title, check for government acquisition and encumbrances, and give you a written report of what was searched, when and what was found. The land title guide and the diaspora title checklist cover these checks in detail.

Step 4: Power of attorney from the United States

If someone in Nigeria will sign, collect documents or attend searches for you, your Nigerian lawyer should draft a power of attorney limited to this transaction: the named acts, the property, an end date and a revocation clause.

The United States is a party to the Apostille Convention, but Nigeria is not listed as one on the Hague Conference status table. USA.gov explains that if the country where you will use a document is not a Convention member, you need an authentication certificate rather than an apostille. The chain usually looks like this, but confirm each step for your state before you start:

1. Notarise. Sign before a notary public in your state.
2. County and state. Some states require a county step first. New York, for example, says notarised documents must be certified by the County Clerk of the county where the notary is commissioned, before the Secretary of State issues a Certificate of Authentication.
3. Federal. New York's page also notes that a Certificate of Authentication may need an additional certification from the U.S. Department of State before it goes abroad.
4. Nigerian mission. The document is then usually legalised by the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, DC, or a Nigerian consulate. Contact the mission that serves your state for its current requirements, fees and timing.

Your Nigerian lawyer will tell you whether the power must also be stamped or registered in Nigeria before it is used for land. Read how to appoint a representative without losing control before you choose who holds it.

Step 5: Power of attorney from Canada

The Apostille Convention entered into force for Canada in January 2024, according to the Hague Conference status table, but Nigeria is not a member, so a Canadian apostille alone may not be accepted.

Global Affairs Canada's authentication requirements say that if you plan to use a document in a country that is not in the Apostille Convention, you may need to get it legalised, after authentication, at that country's embassy, high commission or consulate in or accredited to Canada. The page also sets rules for the notary's signature and seal, and says documents notarised in Alberta, Ontario or Saskatchewan go to that province's competent authority. In outline:

1. Notarise the power of attorney with a notary who meets the requirements on the Global Affairs Canada page.
2. Authenticate it with Global Affairs Canada or, where the page says so, your province's competent authority.
3. Legalise it at the High Commission of Nigeria in Ottawa, which lists document authentication among its consular services. Its published legalisation page covers other document types, so contact the High Commission directly to confirm how it handles a power of attorney, and at what fee.

Step 6: Move money without losing it to fraud

Send money from your bank or through a registered money services business. In Canada, FINTRAC publishes a registry of money services businesses; it notes that registration does not mean FINTRAC endorses or licenses a business, only that it has met the legal requirement to register. In the US, FinCEN offers an MSB registrant search.

Then control the beneficiary:

• Pay in stages tied to documents your lawyer has approved.
• Confirm every account by calling a number you already hold, never one in the message asking for payment.
• Treat a change of account details as a warning sign. Stop and reconfirm.

The Federal Trade Commission's advice on how to avoid a scam notes that scammers want you to act before you have time to think, and warns against paying anyone who insists on a wire transfer service, cryptocurrency, a payment app or gift cards. In the US, report a scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. In Canada, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre takes reports online through reportcyberandfraud.canada.ca or by phone on 1-888-495-8501. Tell your bank at once if you think you have sent money to the wrong account.

Payment event	What must be true first	Stop if
Deposit	Lawyer confirms refund terms and beneficiary	You are asked to pay before documents are reviewed
Contract payment	Approved agreement signed, searches complete	Names or property description differ
New account details	Confirmed by call on a known number, approved by your lawyer	Request is urgent or arrives overnight by message only
Balance	Originals ready, possession agreed	Occupiers remain or originals are elsewhere

Step 7: Tax and reporting at home

Get tax advice in your country before you buy, especially if you plan to rent the property out.

• United States. The IRS page for U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad says you are subject to tax on worldwide income from all sources. It also explains that people with foreign financial accounts above the reporting thresholds must file FinCEN Form 114 (the FBAR). A Nigerian bank account opened to receive rent or pay bills may count.
• Canada. The Canada Revenue Agency's questions and answers on Form T1135 explain that Canadian residents must report specified foreign property when its total cost is more than CAD 100,000 at any time in the year. Property held primarily for personal use is excluded, but rental property is included.

Keep a folder of transfer receipts, exchange rates, source-of-funds evidence, the signed and legalised power of attorney, and your lawyer's reports. This article does not give tax advice.

Step 8: Completion and after

At completion your lawyer should receive or hold the signed deed, the seller's title documents, receipts, survey plan and keys, with a written note of who holds each original. Make sure no tenant or caretaker remains who did not know about the sale.

Then perfect the title: Governor's Consent, stamping and registration in the state. Read the guide to Governor's Consent, and ask your lawyer for a written list of remaining steps with an owner for each.

1. Brief, budget, time zone rules
2. Team engaged by you
3. Inspection and title search
4. Evidence matches?
   • NoPause or withdraw
   • YesNotarise, authenticate, legalise
5. Notarise, authenticate, legalise
6. Staged payments, beneficiary confirmed
7. Completion and title perfection

Where Smart Estate MLS fits

Smart Estate MLS keeps one record per property, the listing agent declares the mandate (with a claims review if it is disputed), agents can be identity-verified, and enquiries go through the platform. Read how Smart Estate MLS checks agents and titles and what an MLS means in Nigeria. None of this confirms a property's title or condition.

For property in Lagos State or Ogun State, you can order a TitleSecure title check on a specific property. Basic (₦20,000) is a title check on land, results in 24 hours, with no Certified True Copy (CTC). Advanced (₦50,000) is a full property check with a CTC of the title document and a written legal opinion, in 3 to 5 days. It is not offered on rentals, does not guarantee title and does not replace your solicitor. TitleSecure is not yet available in other states; there, rely on your lawyer's land registry search and a registered surveyor. The diaspora property investment page has more for buyers abroad.