Questions to Ask Before Paying for Land or a House in Nigeria

Before paying for land or a house in Nigeria, ask questions that force the transaction to connect: Who is selling? What exactly is being sold? Why can that person sell it? Which evidence supports the title? Does the physical property match? What can it lawfully and practically be used for? What does the agreement require? Who will receive the money, and why?

The value of a question lies in the evidence that answers it. A confident verbal response is not a substitute for inspection, survey work, official searches, legal review or a controlled agreement.

Table of contents

• How to use this checklist
• Questions about the listing
• Questions about the seller and participant
• Questions about the exact property
• Questions about title and survey
• Questions specific to land
• Questions specific to a house
• Questions about planning and intended use
• Questions about price and total cost
• Questions about the agreement
• Questions before payment
• Questions for diaspora buyers
• Frequently asked questions

How to use this checklist

Do not send all the questions to one person and accept one combined reply. Direct each question to the party or professional capable of answering it.

1. Listing/platform
2. Status and discovery facts
3. Seller/participant
4. Identity and claimed authority
5. Lawyer
6. Title, parties, agreement and searches
7. Surveyor
8. Identity, boundaries and survey evidence
9. Planner/technical adviser
10. Use, approval and condition
11. Buyer/bank
12. Payment control and records

Write the answers down. Attach supporting evidence. Mark unresolved items. Do not let the transaction advance merely because the seller wants an answer before your advisers have one.

Use the pre-payment verification guide alongside this checklist.

Questions about the listing

1. Is this exact property still active and available?
   Ask through the accountable listing route and reconfirm before inspection, offer and payment.

2. What is the listing reference and date of the current information?
   Preserve it so material changes can be compared.

3. Does the listed price include or exclude any material item?
   Clarify furnishings, development charges, agency arrangements or other stated inclusions without assuming they are lawful or final.

4. Is the public location broad for privacy, or is the property identity uncertain?
   Broad disclosure can be appropriate. The exact property must be securely identifiable for inspection and due diligence.

5. What verification scope has the listing passed?
   Ask what was checked, when and what remains.

Start with structured property listings on Smart Estate MLS, but remember that a platform status is only one layer of the transaction.

Questions about the seller and participant

1. Who is the legal owner?

2. Who is proposing to sell or transfer the interest?

3. Are those the same person or entity? If not, what is the legal connection?

4. Who introduced or listed the property, and in what professional capacity?

5. What evidence shows current authority to market and negotiate this transaction?

6. Does a representative rely on a power of attorney, corporate authority, probate role or another instrument?

7. Does anyone else need to consent or execute the transaction?

Your lawyer should review the answers and evidence. Where a company is involved, the Corporate Affairs Commission company search can help confirm entity identity and recorded details. It does not prove that the company owns this property.

The Smart Estate route to verified real estate agents in Nigeria can improve participant discovery. It does not establish transaction-specific authority.

Questions about the exact property

1. What exact land, house, unit or interest is being offered?

2. Can the physical property be matched to its survey and title description?

3. What are the measurements and boundaries?

4. Who currently occupies or controls it?

5. Is vacant possession promised, and when?

6. Are there tenants, caretakers, family members, communities or other parties whose rights or claims require investigation?

7. Is access legal and practical?

8. Do the listing images, inspection and agreement all describe the same property?

Inspect the exact property with appropriate representatives. Do not accept a show house, sample plot, neighbouring unit or video of another property as a substitute.

Questions about title and survey

1. What interest is the seller claiming?

2. What is the root and chain of title?

3. Which documents support each transfer or interest?

4. Are names, dates, plot references, measurements and capacities consistent?

5. Which official searches are appropriate for this jurisdiction and property?

6. Are there registered interests, encumbrances, disputes, acquisition issues or competing claims?

7. What consent, perfection or post-completion steps apply?

8. Who prepared the survey, and does the survey information correspond to the land inspected?

9. What remains unresolved after the searches?

10. Will the lawyer provide written findings and conditions before payment?

For Lagos property, the Lagos State e-GIS portal provides official digital land services. Your lawyer should choose and interpret the relevant searches.

No single document, including a Certificate of Occupancy, answers every question about authenticity, chain, encumbrances, identity, consent and current transaction authority.

Questions specific to land

1. Is this the exact plot being allocated or transferred?

2. Is the plot demarcated, and can a surveyor identify it independently?

3. Is the land committed, acquired, subject to excision or affected by another government or planning issue?

4. What access, right-of-way, drainage or infrastructure serves it?

5. What development is presently permitted?

6. Are there time limits, building obligations or estate rules?

7. What are development, allocation, survey, deed, infrastructure or other charges, and where are they documented?

8. If buying from an estate scheme, is the seller transferring an identified plot or only promising a later allocation?

9. What happens if allocation, infrastructure or documentation is delayed?

10. What refund and remedy terms apply?

Land should not be reduced to “title type plus price.” Physical identity, planning, access, allocation and contractual delivery matter.

Questions specific to a house

1. Was the building constructed or altered under relevant approvals?

2. Do approved plans and the physical building materially correspond?

3. What is the structural and building-services condition?

4. Are there leaks, subsidence, electrical, plumbing, roof, drainage or moisture issues?

5. Which fixtures, fittings and equipment are included?

6. What repairs or defects are disclosed?

7. Is the house vacant, owner-occupied or tenanted?

8. What service charge, estate rule, sinking fund or shared obligation applies?

9. Are any charges or utilities in arrears?

10. Who bears the risk between agreement and completion?

Use an appropriate engineer, architect, building inspector or other technical professional. A freshly painted home is not proof of sound construction.

Questions about planning and intended use

1. Is my intended residential, commercial, industrial or mixed use permitted?

2. Which planning approvals or permits exist?

3. Are there setbacks, density, height, access or environmental constraints?

4. Does a proposed renovation or redevelopment require further approval?

5. Could estate rules restrict the intended use even if broader planning allows it?

For Lagos, consult the official Lagos State agency directory and obtain property-specific professional advice. Do not assume a neighbour’s use proves your intended use is permitted.

Questions about price and total cost

1. How was the asking price determined?

2. What genuinely comparable evidence is available?

3. Does an independent valuer consider the price reasonable for the interest, condition and location?

4. What taxes, duties, professional fees, consent, registration or documented transaction costs apply?

5. What recurring service, estate, maintenance or infrastructure costs apply?

6. Are there arrears, assessments or future capital works?

7. Which amounts are negotiable, refundable or contingent?

Require a written cost schedule. Do not budget from a universal online percentage.

Questions about the agreement

1. Does the agreement correctly identify every party and capacity?

2. Does it describe the exact inspected and investigated property?

3. What interest will be transferred?

4. Which conditions must be satisfied before payment or completion?

5. What documents must the seller deliver?

6. When and how will possession occur?

7. What happens if a title, approval, condition or delivery promise fails?

8. Are refund, termination, default and dispute terms clear?

9. Who pays each cost?

10. Has my independent lawyer approved the final version?

Do not sign a blank, incomplete or last-minute substituted version. A receipt cannot cure an unsafe agreement.

Questions before payment

1. Has my lawyer confirmed in writing that the required conditions are satisfied?

2. Who is the beneficiary, and why are they entitled to receive the funds?

3. Does the beneficiary match the agreement and verified parties?

4. Have I independently reconfirmed the account through an established authorised channel?

5. Has any beneficiary or account changed?

6. Is the method traceable and correctly narrated?

7. What receipt and completion evidence will be issued?

8. Who controls the originals and post-completion process?

Any late account change requires a stop and fresh confirmation. Do not split money among unexplained accounts or rely on a forwarded message.

Questions for diaspora buyers

1. Which Nigerian advisers have I appointed independently?

2. Who will inspect the exact property on my behalf?

3. Will I receive direct written reports rather than summaries from the seller’s team?

4. Who controls original documents and secure copies?

5. Have I separated inspection, legal review and payment authority?

6. Can the proposed representative act only within a clearly defined authority?

7. How will account details be reconfirmed from abroad?

8. What happens if I cannot travel before completion?

See the complete diaspora property investment guide.

Question-to-evidence matrix

Question	Weak answer	Better evidence
Who owns it?	“Everyone knows the owner”	Lawyer-reviewed title chain and searches
Can this person market it?	“We are close to the family”	Reviewable current authority
Is this the property?	Photographs only	Inspection plus matched survey/title
Can I build my project?	“Others have built nearby”	Planning advice and relevant approvals
Is the house sound?	Fresh finishes	Independent technical inspection
Is the price fair?	Advert comparisons alone	Relevant valuation evidence
Is payment safe?	Forwarded bank message	Agreement plus independent beneficiary confirmation

This information-bearing visual shows why every important question needs proportionate evidence.

How Smart Estate fits the process

Smart Estate MLS provides structured property information, accountable participation, approved active inventory and mediated enquiries. Those features make the discovery stage more disciplined without claiming to replace transaction due diligence.

TitleSecure offers defined review pathways. Basic screening does not equal a government search or legal opinion; a Full engagement can coordinate deeper checks within its stated scope but does not insure the transaction.

The broader Smart Estate ecosystem supports legitimate professional practice through permissioned IDX, Professional Real Estate Website Development Services and AgentForge. These tools strengthen information distribution and capability; they do not create title or eliminate buyer-controlled checks.

Eligible owners and professionals can review how to list property on Smart Estate MLS.