Patrick Ogungbola
MD/ CEO, BLUEHEDGE REALTORS
We welcome you to the beautiful month of April, 2016. Lo and behold, the first quarter of year 2016 is over; this month happens to be the beginning of the second quarter of the year. Our unfulfilled expectation shall be met this month.
No doubt, owning some piece of real estate is everyone’s dream. Properties can be bought for various reasons; investment, owner-occupation, prestige/ status symbol, political reasons, historical reasons, etc.
Buying of property is one of the most important decisions people make in their life time. The reason being that the purchase of property is capital intensive, atimes involving people’s entire life savings, hence the reason not to make any mistake about it. Please note that property here refers to either land or buildings, or both.
The principle of buying properties in any part of Nigeria is basically the same, save for few peculiarities in certain states/ regions/ communities. The emphasis of this article is on Lagos property market, since Lagos accounts for the highest number of real estate transactions in Nigeria, and also with the believe that if you can successfully master the ‘tricks’ of buying properties in Lagos, you can adopt similar method to buy properties in any part of Nigeria.
The following are 10 essential points to buying properties safely in Nigeria without tears:
1. Be certain about your reason for property acquisition. Only you can answer the question of ‘why’ you need to buy a property. You need to properly define your motivation for wanting to acquire a property. Is it for owner-occupation (you want to live there), investment purpose, speculative purpose, status symbol, or for any other reason, ensure the reason is justifiable.
2. Be certain about the type of property you need. Almost everybody wants a very big, spacious, exquisitely finished property, but not everyone can afford that. Hence, in determining the type of property you want, you need to put into consideration your budget. There are various types of properties in the market. You need to decide on what you need. Are you looking out for a bungalow, block of flats, maisonette, terrace house, detached or semi-detached house? You also need to know how many bedroom house/ apartment you need. In addition, you need to list out special requirements/ features/ fittings that are essential in your dream house such as; brand new house, fully fitted kitchen, all room ensuite, lush garden, Olympic-size swimming pool, fully equipped gymnasium, POP finishing (as against PVC/ asbestos), colour and quality of tiles, sanitary wares, cabinets/ wardrobe, etc. Is boys-quarter/ gatehouse essential, balconies, number of storeys, how many sitting rooms, what is the water condition of the house/ the area, etc? As funny as it may seem, recently, a couple refused to buy a house in Osapa area of Lekki just because the house doesn’t have a balcony, although they love every other thing about it.
3. Be certain about your budget. There’s a limit to the amount of money you have (or set aside) to buy a property. A classical economic theory teaches that ‘human wants are unlimited, but the resources to satisfy them are limited’. For instance, to get a standard house of N20million from Lekki phase one to Chevron area in Lekki is almost as good as impossible, but it is possible when you move towards Ajah environ. Be realistic that your budget can buy the property in your chosen location.
4. Be definite about your preferred location. It’s been said severally that real estate is all about location!, location!!, and location!!!. People love different locations for different reasons. It is worthy of note that the price of a property is highly dependent on its location. For instance, Lekki phase One and Ikoyi are close in terms of distance, but the margin of difference in property prices are wide apart. Also, in deciding on location, you may need to consider security of the area, infrastructural facilities/ amenities, proximity to workplace, market, place of worship, airport, steady electricity supply in the area, road condition, etc.
5. The need to engage an experienced, reliable and trusted estate agent. The choice of an estate agent is very important because usually, he/ she will be your first point of call after you’ve made up your mind on the property purchase. In addition, you will be limited to the number of properties the agent shows you and also limited on the facts he decides to release on the property. It is usually advised to engage reputable, trusted and experienced registered estate agents/ estate surveyors and valuers to be on a safe side. The appointed estate agent must be versed and experienced in property transactions in your chosen location. Thoroughly discuss your brief with the agent.
6. Go for physical inspection of your choice properties. The agent will come with various properties that may meet your expectation. Ensure you personally inspect the properties, especially, with your spouse or someone you hold in high esteem; remember, two good heads are better than one. The essence of this is to ensure you make the best choice. The question you need to ask yourself is: will you be happy and fulfilled each time you see the property. Acquiring a property can be likened to the decision of getting a spouse; will you be happy every time you see this property (spouse) for the rest of your lifetime. Your answer to this question should influence your decision on the property.
7. Don’t be too emotional. Never ever let your emotion override your sense of judgement. Utmost patience is required in the ultimate decision making of property purchase. Even if you already fall in love with a property, do not show it, as this may affect your bargaining power. You always need to remind yourself that you did not make the money for the purchase in one day or one week, hence, you don’t need to conclude the transaction in one day or one week. Many people have saved themselves from fraudulent transactions just by waiting, don’t ever be pressurised or cajoled to make payment because another person is also on the line to pay. Most often, those are the tricks of charlatan agents.
8. Follow your instinct. Instinct can be right. Many atimes, we’ve taken some clients to certain properties, though everything looks beautiful and perfect, but they will tell us that ‘my spirit tells me something is not right here’; whereas you’ll take them to some other properties, and amazingly, they will tell us, ‘this is what we’ve been looking for, don’t show us any other properties’. Instincts can be a guide to taking the right decision.
9. Proper due-diligence cannot be overemphasised. You need to ensure you engage experienced real estate professionals, such as structural engineer to perform integrity test on the building, estate surveyor and valuer to advise on value and also negotiate on your behalf, lawyer to ensure searching and charting of property including preparation of legal documents. You can get good referrals from relations or friends on trustworthy and experienced property professionals. Due diligence is not only limited to the choice of these professionals, but also in the choice of property, verification as to the genuineness of the title documents and also of the vendor/ seller of the property, amongst others.
10. Taking possession and ownership of the property: Once payment for the property has been made and confirmed, ensure you collect all the original documents on the property, and also ensure proper execution and transfer of the property in your favour. Thereafter, go and perfect the title at the relevant land registry (in Lagos, it’s at Alausa, Ikeja). While doing this, you also need to immediately take physical possession of the property, by moving in to live there, or getting a tenant to occupy. For bare land, you can erect perimeter fence with gate, and engage a security personnel or mai-guard to watch over it.
As usual, we want to remind you that we care so much about you, and that when it comes to your real estate investment, we are always here to give you the very best service you can never get elsewhere. That is our promise, and will always be.
We wish you the very best in the month of April.
Thank you.
