Diaspora Property Verification Checklist

This is a checklist you can work through, stage by stage, when buying property in Nigeria from abroad. Each stage lists what to check, the evidence that shows it is done, and the signs that should make you stop. Do not move to the next stage until the current one is complete, and do not send money at any stage your lawyer has not approved.

Two limits to know first. Smart Estate MLS identity-verifies agents, not properties, so a listing on the platform is not a title check. And TitleSecure, the platform's title-check service, is available for property in Lagos State and Ogun State only; elsewhere you rely on your own lawyer and surveyor.

Table of contents

• How to use this checklist
• Stage 1: Before you search
• Stage 2: The agent and the listing
• Stage 3: Your team in Nigeria
• Stage 4: The exact property and its condition
• Stage 5: Title and the right to sell
• Stage 6: Planning and building approvals
• Stage 7: Authority documents
• Stage 8: Contract and payment
• Stage 9: Completion
• Stage 10: After completion
• The whole checklist on one page
• Frequently asked questions

How to use this checklist

Keep a private file for the purchase, on a drive only you control. For every item, record one of four results: confirmed (with the document or report that proves it), conflicting (two pieces of evidence disagree), missing (not yet received) or not applicable (with a reason). A tick without evidence is not a result.

Share the file with your lawyer, not with a family group chat. Title documents, identity documents and account details do not belong in open messaging groups.

If you are buying from a particular country, read the country guide alongside this one: buying from the UK, buying from the US or Canada or buying Lagos property from abroad.

Stage 1: Before you search

• Write a one-page brief: purpose (home, rental, land to hold), acceptable areas, property type, total budget, completion date.
• List every cost, not just the price: legal fees, survey, inspection, searches, Governor's Consent, stamp duty and registration, repairs, service charges, transfer costs, contingency.
• Decide who makes decisions (you alone, or you and a spouse) and write it down.
• Agree one secure channel for documents and one for payment confirmations.
• Decide whether you can travel at any point, and for which stage.

Done when: you can hand the brief to an agent and a lawyer and they would both understand what you want and what you will not accept.

Stop if: someone is already pressing you to pay to "secure" a property before you have a brief.

Stage 2: The agent and the listing

• Save the listing as you first saw it: date, price, location, description, photos, agent's name.
• Send your enquiry through the platform rather than an unrelated phone number.
• Check the agent's identity. On Smart Estate MLS you can find an identity-verified agent, whose national identity and business registration have been checked and name-matched.
• For a Lagos property, ask for the agent's LASRERA (Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority) registration and check it yourself. LASRERA applies in Lagos only.
• For a company, check it on the Corporate Affairs Commission public search. Registration shows the company exists, not that it may sell this property.
• Ask who instructed the agent and in what form (owner, family, developer, another agent).

Done when: you know who the agent is, who they act for, and you have a saved copy of the listing.

Stop if: the photos appear elsewhere under a different address, the price keeps changing, or you are asked for a "viewing fee" or deposit to hold the property. The guide to checking a listing before paying lists more warning signs.

Stage 3: Your team in Nigeria

• Engage a Nigerian property lawyer yourself, not one chosen by the seller's side.
• Engage a registered surveyor for the land or plot.
• For a building, engage an inspector or engineer.
• Get an engagement letter from each: scope, fee, deliverables, and that they report to you directly.
• Check each firm independently (company search, professional body, address).
• If a relative will help, write down what they may and may not do.

Done when: each professional has a signed scope and has sent their first report to you, not through an intermediary.

Stop if: one person proposes to find the property, choose the lawyer, receive the documents and collect the money.

Stage 4: The exact property and its condition

• Your inspector, not the agent, does a live video inspection starting from a named public road and following a continuous route to the property.
• Boundaries, access, neighbouring buildings and any beacons are shown.
• Anyone living on, farming, storing goods on or claiming the property is identified.
• For a building: roof, walls, damp, wiring, plumbing, water, waste and repairs are recorded.
• Drainage and flooding are checked, ideally after rain.
• Your surveyor confirms the land inspected is the land on the survey plan.

Done when: your inspector and surveyor have each sent a written report on the same, identified property.

Stop if: you are refused a daylight inspection, or the land shown does not match the survey plan.

Stage 5: Title and the right to sell

Land in each state is vested in its Governor under section 1 of the Land Use Act, and section 22 bars a holder of a statutory right of occupancy from transferring or mortgaging it without the Governor's consent first obtained. So title checks happen at the land registry of the state where the property is.

• Your lawyer has copies of the seller's title documents, including the root of title.
• A search has been made at the state land registry for this exact parcel, with the date and result in writing.
• Certified True Copies (CTCs) of registered documents have been obtained where available. A CTC is a copy certified by the registry as matching its record.
• Names, dates, survey plan numbers and land size agree across every document.
• Earlier transfers in the chain had consent where required.
• Mortgages, charges, court cases and other encumbrances have been checked.
• The surveyor has confirmed whether the land is under government acquisition.
• If a family is selling, the people signing are entitled to sign for the family, and no family member disputes the sale.

Done when: your lawyer has written a report stating what was searched, where, when, what was found and what remains open, and you have read it.

Stop if: the registry record names someone else, the survey plan falls in an acquisition area, or "consent in process" is offered as an answer.

For Lagos, the state's housing and lands services include an online property search by address, property number or parcel ID, and CTC requests. The title verification checklist for diaspora buyers goes deeper into this stage alone.

Stage 6: Planning and building approvals

• For a building, the seller or developer has produced its planning permit.
• The permit matches the building as built: floors, use and footprint.
• Any building control or completion certificate the state issues has been produced and verified with the issuing agency. In Lagos, the state's housing and lands page offers verification of a Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) certificate.
• For off-plan property, the developer's title to the whole site and its approvals have been checked, not just the unit's sale agreement.
• Property rates or land charges are paid up, with receipts. In Lagos, ask for Land Use Charge receipts.

Done when: your lawyer confirms the approvals in writing.

Stop if: the approvals are "with the developer" and never produced.

Stage 7: Authority documents

If someone in Nigeria will sign or act for you, they need a power of attorney.

• Your Nigerian lawyer has drafted it for this transaction only: named acts, the property, an end date, and how it can be revoked.
• You have signed it before a notary where you live.
• It has been authenticated in your country and then legalised for use in Nigeria. Nigeria is not listed as a party to the Apostille Convention on the Hague Conference status table, so an apostille alone may not be enough. Confirm the steps with the Nigerian embassy, high commission or consulate that serves you.
• Your lawyer has confirmed whether it must be stamped or registered in Nigeria before use.
• No blank or pre-signed documents have been sent to anyone.

Done when: the legalised power is with your lawyer and you hold a copy.

Stop if: anyone asks for a general power over all your affairs, or for signed blank pages. See how to appoint a representative without losing control.

Stage 8: Contract and payment

• The sale agreement has been drafted or reviewed by your lawyer and matches the property in your reports.
• Each payment is tied to a stage your lawyer has approved, in writing.
• Each beneficiary's name and account has been confirmed by calling a number you already hold.
• Money is sent through a bank or a regulated transfer provider in your country.
• You know how to report fraud where you live (your bank first, then the national fraud reporting service).

Done when: each payment has a receipt, a matching approval from your lawyer and a record of how the beneficiary was confirmed.

Stop if: account details change by message, a payment is demanded the same day, or the beneficiary is not the seller or an account your lawyer has confirmed.

Payment	Approve only after	Stop if
Deposit	Lawyer confirms refund terms and beneficiary	Asked to pay before documents are reviewed
Main payment	Agreement signed in approved form, searches complete	Names or property description differ
New account details	Phone confirmation on a known number and lawyer approval	Urgent request by message only
Balance	Originals ready and possession agreed	Occupiers remain or originals are elsewhere

Stage 9: Completion

• Signed deed or assignment received or held by your lawyer.
• Seller's original title documents, survey plan and receipts handed over.
• A written register of who holds each original, and where.
• Keys and possession handed over, with no unexpected occupants.
• Utility accounts and estate service charges checked and transferred.

Done when: you have a completion statement from your lawyer and photographs of the originals.

Stage 10: After completion

• Application for Governor's Consent submitted, with the receipt. The guide to Governor's Consent explains why this matters.
• Stamping and registration done, with the registration particulars.
• Power of attorney revoked in writing if it is no longer needed.
• Tax position in your country of residence checked with an adviser, especially if you will rent the property out.
• Your purchase file stored securely, with copies of everything.

Done when: the transfer is registered and you hold the evidence.

The whole checklist on one page

Stage	Main question	Evidence you should hold
1. Before you search	What am I buying and for how much?	Written brief and full budget
2. Agent and listing	Who is selling this, and for whom?	Saved listing, agent identity, mandate
3. Team	Who reports to me?	Engagement letters, direct reports
4. Property	Is this the property, and what state is it in?	Inspection and survey reports
5. Title	Can the seller sell it?	Lawyer's search report, CTCs
6. Approvals	Was the building approved?	Permit, verified certificates, rate receipts
7. Authority	Who can act for me, and how far?	Limited, legalised power of attorney
8. Payment	Is each payment approved and to the right account?	Approvals, receipts, confirmation notes
9. Completion	Do I hold the originals and the keys?	Originals register, completion statement
10. After completion	Is the transfer perfected?	Consent, stamping and registration evidence

Where Smart Estate MLS fits

You can start with current property listings. 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. That covers parts of Stage 2; it does not replace Stages 3 to 10.

For property in Lagos State or Ogun State, a TitleSecure title check can support Stage 5. Basic (₦20,000) is a title check on land, results in 24 hours, without a Certified True Copy. 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 ordered per property, not offered on rentals, does not guarantee title and does not replace your solicitor. TitleSecure is not yet available elsewhere; outside Lagos and Ogun, use your lawyer's registry search and a registered surveyor. More for buyers abroad is on the diaspora property investment page.