What is the Land Use Act of 1978?

Basically, this law was created in 1978 to change the way land was owned in Nigeria. Before this act, land ownership was often complicated and varied from region to region. The act aimed to make things more uniform and put all land under the control of the government.

The main purpose of the Land Use Act was to:

• Make land more accessible: The government wanted to make it easier for people to get access to land, especially for development and economic growth.
• Control land speculation: They wanted to prevent people from buying up land just to sell it at higher prices later, without actually using it.
• Ensure fair distribution: The idea was to make sure land was distributed more fairly among Nigerians.

Benefits of the Land Use Act

While the act has been a subject of many debates, it was intended to bring some benefits, like:

1. Simplification of land ownership processes (in theory).
2. Potential for planned urban development.
3. Government control over land for public projects.

Want to learn more?

The Land Use Act is a complex piece of legislation, and it’s important to understand it if own a piece of land in Nigeria, intend to acquire one, or you’re involved in any land-related activities in Nigeria.

Click the button below to download a Free PDF copy of the Nigerian Land Use Act of 1978

Need help buying property in Nigeria? Talk to our real estate experts to help you make the decisions of which property to buy, where to buy it, and how to get the best deals in town. Click here to send them a message.

You’re not rich if you don’t own a Land. This is one of the old truths that most people are still struggling to swallow. And that’s not all, the main scary truth is that even if you have one, you still don’t own the land if you don’t have the right documents.

So, what this means is that – if you buy land in Nigeria without the right documents, you’re on the same level (if not worse off) as a person that has never owned land. And if you’re lucky, you’ll only lose your money, if not – you risk going to jail for fraud or illegal possession of the property.

And the scary truth is that you don’t (really) own the land if you don’t have the right documents.

The Truth About Land Documents In Nigeria

Let’s face it – the two major causes of land document fraud and property scams in Nigeria are ignorance and greed.

Ignorance plays a major role, in that majority of the people that are buying real estate properties in Nigeria are one time investors or people buying for their personal use; which causes them to pay less attention to the rules of real estate investing in Nigeria.

On the other hand, Greed plays quite a significant role – this is because most peole wants to play smart and follow the fast route – dancing on the beat of real estate scammers who will capitalize on their weakness to scam them of their hard earned money.

So, What Next?

Whether you’re a complete beginner on real estate investing, or you’re a real estate rockstar – one thing that is common is that you must have a document for every property (Land or House) that you own.

So, it is of paramount importance if you know every bits and pieces you possibly can about land documents in Nigeria.

And to help you achieve that goal, we’ve taken out time to prepare a complete step-by-step guide on ‘Understanding Land Documents In Nigeria’. Click here now to download your free copy.

What You’ll Learn In This Guide.

When you download the Free guide on ‘Land Documents In Nigeria’, you’ll learn

• Different types of Land documents in Nigeria
• How to process your documents after you purchase your land
• The benefits of each documents
• How to measure lands in Nigeria
• How to know and avoid governemnt reserved lands or disputed lands
• What to do when you buy into a disputed lands
• And lots more…

Ready to get started, click here to download your free copy now.

Final Thought…

Now, you’ve seen how important it is to pay attention to understing land documents in Nigeria. Ignoring this will be to your own peril, espessially if you have properties in Nigeria or intending to have one in the nearest future.

An Author, Motivator, and Conference speaker, Paul Adefarasin is one of the most respected and sought-after ministers in Nigeria. His weekly television programme “SOMETHING IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN!” is broadcast to millions of homes across Africa and Europe. Paul Adefarasin is well known for his clear message of hope, healing, and empowerment. In great demand globally as a conference speaker, he is widely regarded as a visionary leader and bridge-builder. His ability to transcend Race, Tribe, and Creed with his unique approach to ministry has seen to the forging of many strategic relationships between the church and secular communities in Africa.

Watch the video below to hear what Pastor Paul Adefarasin has to say about the huge value of real estate investment in Nigeria, and what you should do to key in.

A Written Excerpt – The Value of Real Estate Investment

One of the best places to buy land in the whole world, in fact, the best place to buy land in the whole world, in terms of value is right here in Lagos Nigeria. The most expensive land in the world is right here in Ikoyi and Banana Island…

That’s not conjecture, that’s the fact, economic fact. Lagos is growing by 6000 people daily, which is nearly 2 million people every year. It means Land is becoming scarce, that is, if you buy land today, tomorrow your land will be worth very much money.

You may not be able to afford Banana Island or Ikoyi right now, but please go and buy land somewhere quickly because God transfers wealth by giving you land.

After a period of time after you’ve bought the land, He increases the value of the land, because you being on that land adds value to it, as a result, more people want to come.

Anytime there is a major wealth transfer in the Bible, He gives the people He’s transferring wealth to, land. You have nothing in terrestrial terms unless you have land.

My father bought land for something like £2000, nearly 50 years ago on Victoria Island. It was the federal government or Lagos state government allocation on Akin Adesola.

From the revenue, he generated from building the house for free, because G-Cappa built it for him for free and collected the rent for 5-10 years and that was the payment for the house. That house or the two houses he built there paid my education and my brother’s education in the finest schools in the world…

After it paid for my education and generated revenue, my family decided they were going to liquidate the property and they liquidated it and the value that came to me in my equity was phenomenal, from £2000, 50 years ago. It provided for me nearly the value of a million dollars.

You don’t know what land you buy today for peanuts that will be millions tomorrow for your children to inherit.

With the city that is exploding so massively as far as population is concerned, today we are buying land and there is hardly any land to buy.

Tomorrow we’ll be buying floors like they do in New York. What land costs today, floors will cost tomorrow and there will be 100 floors, 50 floors, and 20 floors and if you own the land underneath those floors, you are multiplying wealth for your children.

They will be kissing your photograph whilst you’ve been in the grave for 5 generations saying: “Oh we bless God for great, great, great, great grandpa” while your bones are rotten in Ikoyi cemetery and your spirit is dancing on the streets of Gold…

When you get land, it means God is securing your future because real estate doesn’t just secure today, it secures tomorrow.

My father bought land for nothing and it was not of much value then, but 50years later it’s worth billions. What you buy for millions today will be worth billions half a century from now, maybe even less with the kind of population explosion that we have. Victoria Island: nobody wanted to buy land there, it was a marsh, re-claimed land, but 50years later that property with buildings on it is worth a billion.

According to Pastor Paul Adefarasin, He said, We bought for ₦25 million, 10 years ago; House On the Rock bought just under 10 acres of property on the Lekki Peninsula for our worship site… today, without the brick and mortar on it, that land by the valuers is valued at ₦3 billion.

In other words, we’ve created an asset base with 10 years differential of ₦3 billion with just ₦25 million. When you put the building on it and is finished and furnished, they told me the value will be at least 10 billion Naira today. What about 50 years from now?

Summing Up – The Value of Real Estate Investment

Go and buy land and go and buy it quickly because without Land you are not really a power base.

If you’re planning to buy a property in Nigeria, there’s a possibility that you’ve popped up your smartphone on one or two occasions to search for “3 bedroom bungalow for sale in Lekki” or “lands for sale in lbeju-Lekki”, or whatever property type you’re looking to buy.

The thing is that many buyers and property investors have resulted in going in for a DIY (Do it yourself) type property searching – after all, any info you might need is at your fingertips online, so they believe.

Dear Investor, Yes we know you can do it on your own. But you really, really shouldn’t. This is likely the biggest financial decision of your entire life, and you need a Real Estate Agent if you want to do it right. Here’s why:

1. They work for you free of charge

Yes! You heard that right. Real estate agents are independent consultants working for many real estate developers in other to get a commission for every property they sell. So, their money comes from the property developers, and not you.

And the truth is that whether you chose to use a realtor or decide to walk straight into the developer’s office to buy it yourself, the price is most likely going to be the same.

2. They have turbocharged searching power

The Internet is awesome, and you can find almost anything! But even with the increase of online property listing websites, a real estate agent has access to even more listings. Sometimes properties are available but not actively advertised. So, a real estate agent can help you find those hidden gems.

Plus, a good local real estate agent is going to know the search area way better than you ever could. So, if you have your eye on a particular neighborhood, but it’s just out of your price range – a real estate agent is equipped to know the ins and outs of every neighborhood, so they can direct you toward a property in your price range that you might never find on your own.

3. They have high negotiating powers

In the Nigerian real estate industry, everything is negotiable. And many real estate agents have the capacity to swing the bills to your own favour. This can come in terms of physical money discounts, mortgage loans, or extended payment plans.

This is possible because most agents work for established developing companies that have many laid down incentives to make their agents comfortable and happy to keep up the good work. And some agents even go to the extent of sacrificing part of their commission to help their clients secure the property.

On the other hand, you might never have the opportunity to find out some of these add-on benefits if you try to play it on your own.

4. They’re connected to everyone

Real estate agents might not know everything, but they make it their mission to know just about everyone who can possibly help in the process of buying your new property.

Mortgage brokers, real estate attorneys, land surveyors, interior designers, home decorators, bricklayers – the list goes on, and those are possible names that you might likely need their services in the future.

5. They’re willing to do the leg work for you

Apart from going to inspect your desired property before you make the purchase – many real estate agents are willing to stand in for their clients during the physical allocation (for cases of Estate lands) to help them get the best spots, while others offer to help their clients process their title and documents.

In many cases, some real estate agents have offered to help their clients get contractors who will fence their estate lands, furnish their homes, and do many other non-real estate-related building tasks that might have been a point of concern for you the buyer – even after the purchase has ended.

6. They’re your non paid property advisor

One great thing about real estate agents is that they wear a lot of different hats. Sure, they’re salespeople, but they are actually trained to do a whole lot more to earn and secure their commission.

Most real estate developing companies in Nigeria are constantly drilling their agents with series of training and workshops – so, their vast property and market knowledge can come in handy any time you need them in the future.

So, whether you’re planning to buy more properties, sell the ones you have, or find out what’s the latest happenings in the industry – you already have a free property advisor in your network that you can call any time any day.

In Summary

So, if you have read to this extent, am sure you must have picked out one or more good reasons why you need a real estate agent when buying properties in Nigeria.

And, whether as a beginner or prolific investor, having a good real estate agent in your network will definitely do you more good than harm, and the most beautiful part is that it won’t cost you an extra penny – as most of them are only out for your satisfaction.

We hope this article helps you in your quest to improve and grow your real estate investment portfolio in Nigeria. You may also want to see our property bucket list for the best properties to buy in Nigeria, and our picks of the best locations to buy property in Nigeria.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe, like, and follow us on social media for our daily real estate tips and updates. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Have a budget in Mind

Like any other project, buying land in Nigeria requires budgeting. This will help you later when deciding on the size of land to get. Budgeting also helps you decide which location to buy land.

This is because the price of land varies at different locations. For instance, the price of land in Port-Harcourt is not the same in Abuja, even if there are both of the same sizes.

Choose A Strategic Location

It is very important to understand the benefits of a strategic location when investing in real estate land. The future value of a land depends so much on its location. A piece of land will appreciate at different rates in different locations.

A lot has to do with infrastructure, market sentiments, and proximity to key locations. In essence, the more developed an area is, the higher the cost of land.

Obtain relevant land owners documents

Before buying land in any part of Nigeria, make sure you get the necessary documents. These include the certificate of occupancy, the survey plan, tax clearance certificate, and deed of assignment, depending on the type of land, your budget, and of course the location of the property. Click here to see the different land documents available.

Also, make sure you obtain the original copies of those documents that applies to the type of property you’re going for, or better still make sure that the process of getting it is clearly stated out before continuing the transaction.

Verify The ownership of The Land and Its Availability

The next step after receiving or getting a concrete assurance of the copies of the land document is to authenticate them. Make sure the documents are not fake but actual copies signed by all parties in the right order.

Request for proof of ownership. If necessary, hire an expert to investigate the ownership claims. Don’t allow “good deal” to sway you. Many people have fallen victim to fraud by jumping on what they believe to be a good deal.

Ask Questions

For a foreign investor or people living abroad, this might be a challenge. But, there are estate agents who can carry out these duties for a price.

Considering the magnitude of your investment, hiring an agent to run around and do the needful isn’t a bad idea. Most of these agents have a good knowledge of the area and know the right people to meet for information. These questions are important especially to avoid problems with land grabbers.

Inspect the Land

Physical inspection is the best assurance. If you have no idea what to look for then, hire a professional who knows what to do. Make sure you inspect the land in person to avoid surprises. Do not easily trust the words of the landowner or agents as the case may be.

Document all Transactions

For this step, it is advised you get yourself an attorney. Make sure that every transaction is well documented and has the signatures of all parties involved. Do not neglect the importance of this step. Proper documentation especially in the presence of an attorney will prevent future land disputes.

You must also make sure that the following documents are available; Receipt of purchase, Land survey document, Letter of Allocation, Power of Attorney, Gazette, and Deed of Assignment.

Check with the Ministry of Land and Housing in the state where the land is located to get these documents. Also follow-up with all processes that are mandatory for new landowners as stipulated by the Ministry of Land and Housing.

Conclusion

Real estate requires a cool headed approach, when negotiating a buy, otherwise you might be seriously bruised and most times with no one to blame but your ignorance.

The steps listed in this article is in no way the complete deal breaker when buying land in Nigeria, but it is a good place to start when looking avoid the gold plated lies that most scammers uses, especially for first time buyers.

Investing in Nigeria is definitely a smart thing to do. Recently, a list was published of the top 7 African countries with massive opportunities for investments in retail, commercial property, logistics, and hotels – and Nigeria came out top of the list – with other countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa, Ivory Coast, and Ethiopia.

It’s no longer news that Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with almost 52% of its population in urban areas. This is because most of the country’s population is heading to the cities in search of greener pastures.

This means a higher demand for accommodation which translates to a boom in real estate. It is no wonder a city like Lagos is seeing massive real estate investments from foreign investors. A good example is the Eko Atlantic Housing Development Project.

So if you are looking for an investment opportunity in Nigeria, owning land is a great place to start. However, you must have knowledge of the best places to buy lands in Nigeria. In this article, we will highlight some of the best places to do so.

What are the best places to buy lands in Nigeria?

Nigeria is blessed with a large expanse of land. But unfortunately, not all of it will make for a good strategic investment. Some of the deciding factors on where to buy lands in Nigeria for better returns on money invested are the level of industrialization, development, standard of living, and the presence of basic social amenities. These are the major factors upon which our selections are made.

Remember: The word “Best” in this article refers to locations that guarantee a quick return on your investment within the shortest possible time. 

So far, Lagos, Abuja, and Port-Harcourt present the best opportunities to buy lands in Nigeria. While Lagos and Port-Harcourt are among the most industrialized states in Nigeria, this means the standard of living is high. Also, with many industries located here, most people migrate to these states in search of job opportunities.

Abuja, on the other hand, might not have as many industries when compared to the other two states, however, being the Nation’s capital, and the seat of the presidency, it boasts a great deal of wealth, making it also one of the fastest developing states in Nigeria.

Now, coupled with the high standard of living and the endless inflow of people into these 3 states, they top our list of the best places to buy lands in Nigeria, especially for investment purposes.

Without further ado, let’s now take a deeper dive into the top locations within the states mentioned above.

1. Ibeju Lekki [Lagos State]

The biggest city in Africa is no doubt the best place for any investor looking to buy land. Lagos has a population of over 9 million, a thriving economy, great infrastructures, and it’s a center of industrialization.

Owning land in Lagos is a great investment. However, among the many promising locations in Lagos, Ibeju-Lekki is our best pick for now, and here is why.

Ibeju-Lekki favours the government and private organizations – and this is due to the seaport. This area is set aside for several government developments like the Lekki Deep Seaport, Lekki Free Trade Zone, and Lekki International airport.

Also, multinational corporations and companies are not left out. Dangote refinery, Power oil, Kelloggs, and Dano Milk are just a few of the companies that will soon be operating here.

In addition to this, the area is also spiced up with top sites for tourist attractions like the La Campagne Beach Resort & Park, the LUFASI nature park, Lekki International Golf Course, and Lekki Conservation Center.

At the moment, these projects are still in their developmental stage. This means that it is still possible to get good land deals. The cost of land in Ibeju-Lekki is sure to increase sporadically with the completion of the projects. The price range for land in this area is within ₦500,000 to ₦10Million, depending on your budget and location.

2. Jahi [Abuja]

Jahi has a good prospect of becoming one of the centers of development in the near future. Its proximity to areas like Gwarimpa, Kado, and Katampe makes it a prime real estate.

Also, Jahi is a few minute’s drive from the Central Business District (CBD), Abuja. This area is the focal point of the city. It is used primarily for businesses with a few residential buildings. This means most of the residential houses will be in areas that are close to the CBD.

3. Lugbe [Abuja]

Lugbe has a strategic location that places it among the top places to buy land in Abuja. Although it already has a considerably large population, Lugbe still has plenty of land spaces.

The area sits between the International airport and the city center. This places it within the neighborhood of the planned Centenary City. Centenary City is a self-sustaining city that the Nigerian government is planning to build, similar to those in Dubai and Singapore.

4. Mpape

Mpape is a fairly large area and well-known for the Mpape crush rock which has become a tourist site. Most of the area is still underdeveloped. However, this is soon going to change. Its proximity to Mataima and hilly landscape is slowly transforming Mpape into one of the most sort after residential locations in Abuja. This can be seen by the outcrop of new hotels in the area.

5. Greater Port-Harcourt Area

The Greater Port-Harcourt area is a metropolitan area that is still under development. It spans over an area of 1900 square kilometers, and it’s known as the “New Port-Harcourt”. Major infrastructural development is going on here.

Being an extension of the old Port-Harcourt city, this area is strategically positioned to de-densify the old city. The Greater Port-Harcourt Area Project is similar to the Centenary project in Abuja. It offers investment opportunities in real estate, energy, and waste management. The project is sure to bring development to the surrounding environs.

6. Peter Odili Road

This is one of the fastest developing areas in port-Harcourt. Two prominent real estates in this area are the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas and Rainbow estates. It is also part of the Trans-Amadi Industrial district and only a few kilometers from the main city.

It is a perfect location for those who want to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. This area also has good security and road networks.

7. Ada-George Area

The area surrounding the Ada-George Dual carriage road has become a prime real estate location. Due to the construction of the road, this area is now active.

The road connects with other major roads in the city creating free-flowing traffic. This makes it easy to conduct business and encourages real estate development.

The Ada-George road is a long stretch of road that brings life and opportunity to the surrounding land. As an investor, this is a good opportunity to swoop in and get a piece of land close to the road.

Prices of land in Port-Harcourt lie within the range of ₦500,000 to ₦850Million

Conclusion

In most cases, Land is about the only asset that doesn’t depreciate in value with time. All things being equal, a plot of land that is strategically located will definitely appreciate in value. Buying and holding land, when followed by the best practices, is a safe and stable form of investment, which doesn’t require much knowledge as compared to other investment opportunities like trading stocks.

Over the years, Real Estate has proven to be one of the safest means of investment to many Nigerians, but one which requires a clear plan to be able to yield its full benefit. And so, this has made many people interested in the booming industry. And because of that, one of the most popular questions people ask is “How Do I Get Started in Real Estate Investing?”

We’ve created this guide to help simplify the process of figuring out how YOU can get started in real estate investment in Nigeria; and of course, this guide is not an all-encompassing “how-to” manual about every aspect of real estate investing, but a broad-stroke overview of the best ways to start down your path to financial freedom through real estate investments.

If you are ready to begin this Ultimate Guide to Real Estate Investment in Nigeria, click below to turn to Chapter 1…

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 How to get started in real estate investing

Learning how to invest in real estate doesn’t need to be complicated, difficult, or expensive. In this beginner’s guide, you will learn how to get started investing in real estate from beginning to end – with no hype, false promises, or pitches.

1.2 Why Invest in Real Estate?

One of the most commonly stated reasons that people give for investing in real estate is that they are seeking out financial freedom, but there are others as well – of course, each person will have their own personal reasons why. They are typically seeking one or several of the following:

• Appreciation
• Cash Flow
• Depreciation
• Leverage
• Tax Benefits

The decision to begin investing in real estate is a personal one, and we absolutely recommend you make sure
you and your family are 100% committed before deciding to move forward in doing so.

1.3 Can I Invest in Real Estate if I Have a Full Time Job?

You don’t need to make real estate your career in order to build wealth in real estate. If you love your job, you don’t need to quit it to invest in real estate. You can achieve the same or better results as a full- time real estate investor by investing on the side.

The truth is, there are hundreds of ways to make money in real estate. Some of these techniques or strategies might require forty hours a week, while others might only require forty hours per year. The amount of time it takes to grow your real estate business largely depends on your investing strategy, your personality, your skills, your knowledge, and your timeline.

A) Advantages of Investing While Working a Full-Time Job

By keeping your day job, you have several advantages over full-time investors. First, you do not need to live off any of the cash flow you make – that’s what your 9-5 is for. By reinvesting all the profits from your investments, you can fully realize the incredible benefit of exponential growth. Additionally, you have a much easier ability to get long-term bank financing thanks to the stable income from work, which can also help increase and stabilize your wealth building.

Investing in real estate while keeping your day job can be done in many ways, such as:

• Partnering in a larger piece of property
• Buy-and-hold property with property management
• Serving as a private or hard money lender
• Investing in notes (mortgages)

Real estate can be highly profitable as a career or if you’re just investing while working a “normal job.” However, the choice is yours as to which path you take. Don’t simply decide to quit your job and become a full time investor because you read about other investors who have been successful doing it that way. Having a concrete plan for how you’re going to proceed in real estate is essential; we’ll get into that a little later in the guide.

That said, life is too short to be stuck in a job you hate. Choose a career that makes you excited to wake up in the morning, energized throughout the day, and content when you fall asleep at night. If that desire leads you to full-time real estate investing, welcome to the club! Just make sure you are not simply building a career, but building a future.

1.4 Do I Need to Pay Some Expert In Order to Be Successful?

Absolutely not. Countless investors have become successful without the help of the so-called real estate expert. The goal of many of these individuals is to sell you on the dream of fast riches, fancy cars, easy money, and so on – many prey on people who desperately want to make money and often use very slick and often dangerous (for you) techniques to sell you on their very expensive courses, bootcamps, mentoring, training, etc. In fact, the tactics used to get you hooked are very well documented, and there is absolutely no such thing as a free lunch.

1.5 Can I Invest in Real Estate if I Have No Money?

The simple answer is: yes, it is possible to invest in real estate if you don’t have any money at all. However, there is money involved in every real estate transaction. The issue, therefore, is not whether you’re investing with “no money,” but instead whether you’re investing with “none of your own money.”

Investing in real estate without using any of your own money requires using Other People’s Money (OPM) – learning to strategically invest in real estate without any of your own money is one of the most complex but important tools you can develop in your real estate investing career.

The key to investing in real estate without any money of your own is simple: bring something to the table. If you lack money, there are other things you can bring to the table in a transaction — if structured correctly — including education, time, connections, confidence, intelligence, and creativity.

Many investors use little or none of their own money when investing in real estate by using one of several methods that include:

• Wholesaling
• Using partners
• Using lease option strategies
• Via serviceable Mortgage plans
• With home equity loans or lines of credit
• Using private/hard money.

1.6 Working in Real Estate Without Investing at All

Many would-be real estate investors get their start by simply working in the real estate industry – earning money while gaining a solid hands-on education. Here is a brief list (far from exhaustive) of careers you can take on to learn the real estate business:

• Real Estate Agent
• Property Consultant
• Appraiser
• Construction Worker
• Resident Manager
• Project Manager

If you are looking to get into real estate investing with no experience and no money, choosing one of these careers may be a great way to get your feet wet in the industry and to help you begin plotting your career into full time real estate investing. The experience you’ll gain from mastering one or several of the other trades in the industry can be invaluable in helping you be successful.

1.7 Is Real Estate Investing a Way to “Get Rich Quick?”

While many real estate investors do build significant wealth over their careers, real estate investing is not a “get rich quick” scheme. Yes – there are some who make a lot of money in a short time; however, these situations are generally the exception, not the rule.

Investing in real estate takes planning, patience, and persistence. Don’t expect to make millions of Naira in your first year. Instead, plan on creating a business through real estate that will grow steadily year after year to enable you to meet your financial goals – and hopefully your dreams. No matter what you might hear otherwise, being successful in real estate requires hard work, just like it does in any other field.

It is also important to know that there are no shortcuts to being successful in real estate – there are no products or tools that will do the work for you, either. You must learn the fundamentals and then apply them. Of course, our goal here is to help you with that.

2. REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT EDUCATION

This chapter is very important in your real estate investment journey. Without a clear understanding of the principles found in this chapter, you are at a much higher risk of failure and defeat in your real estate dealings. In fact, if you only remember one chapter in this entire guide, we sincerely hope it’s this one. Let this be your first step to a successful future in your quest to kickstart your real estate investment in Nigeria.

2.1 Don’t Skip Your Real Estate Investing Education

As we discussed in the previous chapter, real estate investment is not a “get rich quick” scheme. Just as any solid home needs a strong foundation, the same is true when it comes to your real estate education – a solid foundation is key to a long-lasting business.

This guide, while not exhaustive on every aspect of real estate investing, will help develop that foundation. We put it together to be a first step in your real estate education – and as an introduction to the possibilities that come with real estate investment.

There are many different ways to get educated in real estate investing, and you don’t need to pay hundreds or thousands of Naira to learn the business. Below, you’ll find a list of a few sources of real estate investment education; be sure to consider each before making a final decision on how you’re going to move forward – what works for one person may not work for another.

A) Books

As the old saying goes, “Those who lead, read.” Books are fundamental in gaining an education in real estate and perhaps the most widespread learning method for investors.

Real estate books are produced each year by the thousands, and every major bookstore in the world contains a whole section on real estate investing. Chances are, if there is a way to make money from real estate, there has been a book written about it.

If reading books, however, is not within your arsenal of skills, you are in luck. Today, we live in a world where nearly every new book is also made into an audiobook.

B) Blogs

Blogs can be an amazing source of information, and there are fantastic ones for every topic you can imagine. There are many great ones written by many Nigerians living in the trenches of real estate that is worth checking out and learning from.

You need not limit your learning to only Nigerian blogs, as there are thousands of other real estate investment blogs written by other authors outside the shores of this country that you can learn one or two things from too.

c) Mentors

Perhaps the most powerful way to gain a good education in any field of study is through a mentor – and the same holds true in real estate. While there are dozens of professional real estate mentors who charge for their service, there are also millions of mentors all over the Nigeria that will cost you as little as a cup of coffee – they are your local investors.

People enjoy sharing what they know, and seasoned real estate investors are no different. By introducing yourself to a successful local real estate investor who you would like to become more like, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from someone in the field who knows your market and who can ultimately become a partner as you come to become successful yourself.

D) Podcasts

One of the newest innovations in the world of real estate investor education is the Podcast. A podcast is simply a recorded audio program, similar to a radio show, that can be produced by anyone with a computer and a microphone. There have been a number of great podcasts that have emerged in the last few years. If you have a smartphone or MP3 player, you can listen to hundreds of hour long shows covering a wide variety of real estate topics whenever you want – whether in the car, jogging, or lying in bed – for free.

2.2 Real Estate Terms And Mathematics

You don’t need to be a college calculus student to understand real estate math. In fact, most of the math you’ll need is O’level maths. This section is going to quickly touch on some of the basic concepts and math formulas you’ll need in your real estate investment career.

A) Income

Income is simply the amount of money that comes in from a property. This math is perhaps the easiest of all: simply add up the amount of rent and any additional fees that comes in.

For example – you own a rental house. The home rents for ₦100,000 per month; and the tenant also pays ₦15,000 for the use of the garage.

Your total income was ₦115,000

Income could also include late fees, application fees, or any other value you receive from your rental.

B) Expenses

Expenses are simply the things that cost you money on an investment. For example, the garbage bill for a home is ₦5000 per month, the loan from the bank was ₦50,000 per month, and maintenance & security was ₦10,000 per month.

The total of these three expenses is ₦65,000.

Your total expenses for this example were ₦65,000 for this particular month. Keep in mind that there are many other expenses that you’ll face as a real estate investor, including things like taxes, insurance, management, holding costs, capital expenses and various others.

C) Cash Flow

Cash flow is simply the amount of money left over at the end of the month after all expenses are paid. To determine the cash flow, simply subtract the total expenses from the total income:

Your total cash flow in the above example property was ₦50,000 for the month. Let’s look at a few more math equations.

D) Return on Investment

Your “return on investment” (also known as ROI) is a fancy way of describing what interest rate you are making on your money per year.

For example, if you invested ₦2Million and you made ₦2Million from that investment (for a total of ₦4Million) over the course of one year, you would have made a 100% return on investment.

Similarly, if you invested ₦50,000 and made an additionally ₦25,000 over the course of a year (for a total of ₦75,000) you would have made a 50% return on your investment.

The actual calculation for Return on Investment looks like this:

ROI = (V1 – V0) / (V0), (where V1 is the ending balance and V0 is the starting balance)

A simple scenario for using ROI to calculate an investment return would be as follows: On January 1, you put ₦1000 into a bank account. On the following January 1, you cash out the account for ₦1100. Your ROI on the investment is:

ROI = (1100 – 1000) / (1000) = .1 (or 10%)

You start with $1000 and end up with $1100 after a year for a return of 10%.

These simple concepts present the foundations upon which almost all other real estate calculations are based. The rest will come in time, but most calculations are simply related to these.

3. REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT – NICHES & STRATEGIES

While at first it may seem important that you learn everything you can about real estate investing, in reality, it is best to focus on two things: an investment vehicle and a strategy for using that vehicle. There are dozens (if not hundreds) of different ways to make money as a real estate investor, and it’s up to you to choose the niche you want to get into.

This chapter is going to introduce you to some of the most popular investment vehicles, as well as the most common strategies for moving forward.

Remember: Once you know the niche you want to get started with, you will be able to narrow down your focus, become an expert, network with individuals within that niche, and begin building wealth by taking action and executing a plan of action.

3.1 Choosing Your Real Estate Investment Niche

The following list includes the most common property types that you are likely to deal with as a real estate investor. Each of these has many subsets as well, but remember, you don’t need to know them all. This is merely a list to help you get started understanding what options are available for you.

A) Raw Land

Raw land is nothing more than basic earth. Land on its own can be improved to add value, and it can be leased or rented to create cash flow. Land can also be subdivided and sold for profit.

Some investors choose to buy raw land with hopes (or plans) that someday the land will become much more valuable due to external developments like the construction of a freeway or from a development being built nearby.

B) Single-Family Homes

Perhaps the most common investment for most first time investors is the single family home. Single family homes are relatively easy to rent, easy to sell, and easy to finance. Although, in many areas, the rents derived from SFRs (single family rentals) won’t be enough to provide a steady and positive cash flow.

C) Duplex/Triplex/Quads

Small multifamily properties (2-4 units) combine the financing and easy purchasing benefits of a single family home. Bought properly, these can cashflow quite well, and there is often less competition than what you’d run across bidding on single family homes. Best of all, these properties can serve as both a solid investment as well as a personal residence for the smart investor.

For investors buying through loans, one advantage of this small multifamily property is the ability to take advantage of “economies of scale,” as only one loan is needed to secure the 2, 3, or 4 units in the property. One of the things that makes these investments so appealing is that most banks look at small multifamily properties with four units or less with the same guidelines as a single family house, which can make qualifying for a loan much easier.

D) Small Apartments

Small apartment buildings are made up of between 5 and 50 units. Though the line between small and large apartments is not set in stone, most investors typically draw the line between small and large apartment buildings at around 50 units.

These properties often provide significant cash flow for the investor who can deal with the more management-intense nature of the properties. And the value of these properties are based on the income they bring in. This creates a huge opportunity for adding value by increasing rent, decreasing expenses, and managing effectively.

E) Large Apartments

Large Apartments – refers to the large complexes you might see all across the country that often include pools, work-out rooms, full time staff, and high advertising budgets.

These properties can cost many millions of Naira to purchase, but can produce stable returns with minimal personal involvement. Many large apartments are owned by “syndications,” which are small groups of investors who pool their resources.

F) REITs

REIT stands for a Real Estate Investment Trust. In the most simplistic definition, a REIT is to a real estate property as a mutual fund is to a stock. A large number of individuals pool their funds together, forming a REIT, and allow the REIT to purchase large real estate investments, such as shopping malls, large apartment complexes, skyscrapers, or bulk amounts of single family homes.

The REIT then distributes profits to individual investors. This is one of the most hands-off approach to investing in Real Estate, but do not expect the returns found in hands-on investing.

G) Commercial

Commercial investments can vary dramatically in size, style, and purpose, but ultimately involve a property that is leased to a business. Some commercial investors rent buildings to small local businesses, while others rent large spaces to supermarkets or big box megastores.

While commercial properties often provide good cash flow and consistent payments, they also may carry with them much longer holding periods during times of vacancies; commercial property can often sit empty for many months or years. Unless you are starting from a very solid financial position, investing in commercial real estate is not recommended for beginners.

H) Capital Investor

This type of investment niche is available for people that doesn’t want to engage with all the intricacies of building, maintaining & managing physical buildings.

So, instead of being the builder themselves, these class of investors lends money to popular real estate developers who develops properties for sale, and in return they are paid some agreed percentage depending on the period of investment.

This niche has the lowest risk, and it is perfect for anyone that is just starting out, or people living abroad that doesn’t want to be scammed, and also people that just wants to make passive income with real estate while doing other things.

Summary of the Real Estate Investment Niches

We’ve just outlined 8 different investment niches, or vehicles, that you can invest in to take you on your journey through real estate investment in Nigeria. And when starting out, it’s helpful to simply pick one (or, at most, two) niches to focus on and become a pro at that niche. You can always expand later as you get more experience and knowledge.

Next, let’s take a look at the several different strategies that investors use to make money with the various niches already covered.

3.2 Choose Your Real Estate Investing Strategies

When learning how to invest in real estate, it is not enough to simply know what these property niches are. Instead, as an investor you will use a variety of strategies when dealing with these investment niches to produce wealth. The section below explores three of the most common strategies that you can use to make money with these vehicles.

A) Buy & Hold

Perhaps the most common form of investing, the “buy and hold strategy” involves purchasing a property and renting it out for an extended period of time. It’s probably the most simple and purest form of real estate investing that there is.

Essentially, a “buy and hold investor” seeks to create wealth by renting the property out and either collecting monthly cash flow or simply holding the property until it can be sold for a gain in the future.

Among the advantages of this strategy is that during the time that you hold the property and rent it out, the mortgage (if purchased through mortgage) is paid down each and every month, decreasing your principal balance and increasing your equity in the property.

One of the most important things for a new buy and hold investor to understand is how to evaluate deals and opportunities. By far the most common mistake that we see new investors make with this strategy is buying bad deals because they simply don’t understand property evaluation. Other common problems include underestimating expenses, making bad decisions on tenant selection, and failing to manage properly.

These mistakes can all be avoided, however, if you simply learn the business; jumping in without proper education can be extremely costly financially and sometimes, legally.

To properly carry out the buy and hold strategy, an investor should learn how to properly identify the ebbs and flows of the market that a property is located in. Ultimately, when they perceive the market and the properties they are interested in to be at a low point (prices low, inventory high), the buy and hold investor seeks to purchase properties.

When the market becomes over-heated, an experienced buy and hold investor will usually stop buying until they see things settle back down. During these slow periods, they may sell or simply continue to hold their properties. Some buy and hold investors never sell a property, choosing instead to live on the cash flow.

B) Flipping Real Estate

One of the most popular tactics for making money in real estate, is flipping houses. House flipping is the practice of buying a piece of real estate at a discounted price, improving it in some way, and then selling it for a financial gain. In reality, the flipping model is quite similar to the “buy low, sell high” model of most retail businesses.

The most popular type of property to flip is the single family home. Following a rule of thumb known as the 70% rule, an experienced house flipper will buy a home for 70% of its current value less any rehab costs.

For example: Home A should be worth ₦20Million if it were in good condition, but it needs ₦2Million worth of work.

A typical house flipper will purchase the home for $50,000 (₦20,000,000 x 70% – ₦2,000,000) and seek to sell it for the full ₦20,000,000 when completed. This is simply a rule of thumb, and actual numbers must be verified and adjusted to ensure a successful and profitable flip.

One of the key aspects in flipping a house is speed. A house flipper will attempt to buy, rehab and sell the property as quickly as possible to ensure maximum profitability and to avoid many months of expensive carrying costs. These carrying costs can include monthly bills such as financing charges, property taxes, utilities and any other maintenance bills required to keep the house in good financial standing.

Remember: Flipping is not a “passive” activity, but instead is just like an active day job. When an investor stops flipping, they stop making money until they begin flipping again. Many investors choose to use flipping to fund their day-to-day bills, as well as provide financial support for other, more passive investments.

C) Wholesaling Real Estate

Wholesaling is the process of finding great real estate deals, writing a contract to acquire the deal, and then selling the contract to another buyer. Generally, a wholesaler never actually owns the piece of property (land or housing) they are selling; instead, a wholesaler simply finds great deals using a variety of marketing strategies, puts them under contract, and sells that contract to another for an “assignment fee.” Essentially, the wholesaler is a middleman who is paid for finding deals.

In Nigeria, most real estate developers fall under this category, were they find a great location with potential, make a deal with the community or family, then develops the property and start selling to the general public. They either develop as an Estate land and the buyers build their own choice of house, or they develop the buildings and sell on completion or off-plan.

Many investors choose to begin with wholesaling due to its reputation of being an easy strategy and one with low start up costs when first beginning. Because the property is never actually owned by the wholesaler, there are no rehab costs, loan fees, contractors, tenants, banks, or other complications.

Wholesalers must continually seek out the best deals in order to have inventory to sell to others and must have a well designed marketing funnel to continually attract these leads. While promoted as a strategy that anyone can do – even someone with ZERO money – you ultimately do need to have financial resources to build your marketing funnel.

Rounding this section off

Buy now, you are probably excited to get started making money in real estate. But before you do, however, there is one major step that will make all the difference between early success and failure: building your business plan. The next section will explore this topic.

4. CREATING YOUR REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT BUSINESS PLAN

No great building is made without a careful planning. This plan serves as the map for the development of the structure, without which the building just won’t come together. In the same way, carefully crafting your real estate business plan is an integral part of your journey.

This chapter will focus on the options you have in building that plan and will prepare you for your entrance and long-term success in real estate investing.

4.1 Creating a Real Estate Investment Business Plan

The hit the gold spot in your real estate investment in Nigeria, you should craft a business plan which includes the following:

A) Mission Statement

When people ask you what you do, what do you tell them? This mission statement should clearly define your purpose and should include the benefits your business provides. Do your research and come up with a solid mission statement. This is the “why” in your road trip.

B) Goals

Where do you want to go? What do you want real estate to help you to achieve? If your goal is to make ₦5Million per month in passive income – write that down.

If you goal is to flip four houses per month – write that down. These goals may change over time, affecting the rest of your business plan – and that’s okay. Make sure to put down both short and long term goals. By setting smaller, more achievable goals, you’ll give yourself something to always look forward to accomplishing – this will help you stay motivated.

C) Strategy

There are hundreds of ways to make money in real estate – but you don’t need hundreds. You simply need to pick one strategy and become a master of it. That strategy (vehicle), if dependable, will carry you through to your destination (your goals).

If you are choosing to flip homes to generate cash in order to save up enough to fund another business or quit your day job – write that down. If you are looking to build passive income from small multifamily properties for your retirement – write that down.

Don’t worry if you don’t understand or know how you’re going to accomplish everything in the plan. Remember, your business plan can and will change in time, and as you learn, you’ll fill the plan out with more details.

D) Time Frame

What is your time frame to reach your goal? Be realistic, but don’t be afraid to reach, either. Do you want to retire in ten years? Are you planning on quitting your job next month? Document your timeline here. You can do this in accordance with your goals, as mentioned above.

E) Market

Define your market. What kind of property will you be looking for? Low income? High Income? Commercial areas? As a beginner, choose an area you feel most comfortable with. Most new investors should plan on investing within a short driving distance to your home, rather than investing long distance (unless your location makes it impossible).

Doing this will help you to become an expert in that area, which will help you more easily analyze deals and opportunities. It will also help you know the players in the area, which will ultimately help you find partners – and again, opportunities.

F) Criteria

Before you go out and start looking for deals, you need to establish the criteria which those deals must fall in. You’ll want to define your loan to value, cash flow requirements, max purchase amount, max rehab amount, max timeframe, etc.

One of the most important lessons you can possibly learn is to stick to your criteria and walk away from any deal that does not meet your criteria. Too many new investors get excited and buy the first deal that comes their way. By having clearly defined criteria, you are able to easily reject the 99% of properties that are not a good deal.

G) Flexibility

If you are not finding enough deals to cherry pick from, you can change your market and/or strategy. This part of your business plan is one of the most important to fully understand and clearly define.

H) Marketing Plan

How are you going to create a marketing system so motivated that buyers come to you? How will you find the best deals that are listed? Will you use the Network Marketing model, affiliates, agents, online searches, direct mail to lists, or other means of finding deals?

I) Financing Deals

How do you plan on acquiring your deals? Are you using conventional, hard money, private money, equity partners, seller financing, lease options, or some other creative method?

Finding financing is often a challenge in today’s market, and private money provides a tremendous solution. Learn to attract private money, so you’ve always got a steady flow of finance when deals present themselves.

J) How You’re Going to Do Your Deals

How are you going to turn a purchase of a property into profit? Clearly define the steps. Make sure to document all your income and expense sources and prepare for the unexpected. You also want to prepare several exit strategies in case the first one doesn’t work out as planned.

K) Teams & Systems

Clearly define your team and the systems you and they will use to delegate and automate tasks. Who will be on your team? Will you need an attorney, Marketer, etc.? You don’t necessarily need to know who those people are, simply what roles you will need on your team.

L) Exit Strategies & backup Plans

Having multiple clearly defined exit strategies is one of the most important parts of your business plan, especially for new investors. How are you going to exit the deal? What are your backup plans? Do you flip, lease option, wholesale, sell the entity holding title, rent and hold, or some other technique? What is the end game? This needs to be clearly defined.

M) Illustrate Example Deals

One of the parts of the business plan that seems to get new investors excited is to illustrate the future of your business. What would an ideal, but feasible next ten years look like? Illustrate purchases, cash flow, appreciation, sales, trades, cash on cash return, and more, to demonstrate what your path might look like.

This goes somewhat hand in hand with your goals – it just illustrates possible ways of making them happen. Additionally, this will change with time because, of course, ideals are not real life. However, it is good to see what is possible.

N) Financials

Include a personal description of where your financials are today. What do you bring to the table? Do you have any equity you can use? Are you starting with nothing? Document your current situation and update it as often as it changes. As you move forward with your investments, it is always important to have at the ready your complete financials.

Final Note

remember that road maps and business plans are guides, not rules. A business plan is meant to give you direction and to motivate you to follow it. When you have a clearly defined business plan, carrying out the plan and envisioning the end becomes much more attainable.

If you talk to investors who have failed in this business, you’ll find that the majority of them did so primarily because of a lack of preparation and planning. Don’t fall into this trap.

4.2 Assembling Your Real Estate Team

While as a real estate investor, you are required to wear many different hats, you don’t need to (and can’t) wear all of them. Instead, you need a team. When we refer to “team,” we’re not suggesting you go out and hire a team of employees to work under you.

A “team” is merely a collection of individuals in various different businesses that you can rely on to help you move your business forward. Here’s a brief look at who should be on any winning real estate investing team:

A) Your Mentor

Every successful entrepreneur needs a good mentor: a guide. By training under the watchful eye of one smarter than us, we can only get smarter.

B) Mortgage Broker/Loan Officer

A mortgage broker is the person responsible for getting you loans – especially if you are going “conventional” (not hard or private money).

You want someone who has the experience of working with other investors, and you want that person to be creative and smart.

Many loan officers have a pipeline of buyers (or future buyers); real estate investors can use the help of local loan officers to build a list of buyers and lease purchasers for their properties.

C) Real Estate Attorney

It is important to have someone on the team who can go through contracts and who knows the legalities of all your moves. Don’t try to pinch pennies by ignoring this valuable member of your team. You don’t need to meet for hours with your attorney each week, but want someone to be available when you need them.

Having an attorney who is skilled with real estate investing is highly important for the success of your career. Keep in mind, attorneys can also be compensated through fees collected at acquisition or disposition of a property.

D) Accountant

As you acquire properties, doing your own taxes and bookkeeping becomes increasingly difficult. As soon as possible, hire an accountant (preferably a Certified Public Accountant). Your numbers guy should also be well aware of the ins and outs of real estate. Come tax time, this is the man to help you through the write-offs. A good tax accountant will save you more than they cost.

E) Insurance Agent

Insurance is a must, and as an investor, you will probably be dealing with a lot of insurance policies. Be sure to shop around for both the best rates and the best service. Do not skimp out on getting insurance, as you never know when you’ll need that policy.

F) Contractor

A good contractor seems like the hardest team member to find, but can often make or break your profit margin. You want someone who gets things done on time and under budget! Be sure that your contractor is licensed/insured to protect you. Don’t simply hire the cheap guy.

G) Supportive Family & Friends

Having the support and backing of loved ones is important in any endeavour. If your spouse or family is not on board, don’t invest until they are.

H) Realtor

An exceptional real estate agent is fundamental in your investing career. You or your spouse may even choose to become a real estate agent yourself to gain access to the incredible tools that agents have. Either way, having an agent who is punctual, a go-getter, and eager, is important.

Real estate agents are paid from the commission when a property is sold. In other words – for the buyer, an agent is FREE. They can be an excellent resource for contract real estate work, which may include the following activities: referring buyers, showing properties, open houses, broker price opinions, etc.

I) Property Manager

If you don’t want to actively manage your properties, a good property manager is important to have. A good property manager can be hard to find – but finding one who can efficiently manage your rentals will make your life significantly easier.

J) Great Handyman

Someone to take care of the little things that come up on a daily basis is imperative to have on board.

Remember: One of the best sources for finding these team members is through referrals from other investors. In general, another investor would be happy to refer their handyman, mortgage broker, or accountant to you because it reflects well on themselves and their relationship with that professional.

4.3 What Makes a Great Real Estate Team?

Lastly, a great real estate team is defined by their ability to consistently produce reliable RESULTS. As you might suspect, that’s WAY more difficult to construct in real life than it is to talk about it.

Investors, especially ones with either large portfolios or those who flip a lot (often both), rely on their team daily. When one member fails, the entire endeavour suffers, sometimes to the point of sabotaging the team’s goals altogether.

5. FINAL THOUGHT

As you have seen from the above-detailed chapters, that starting a successful real estate investment in Nigeria takes more than just a mere wish. Though on the other hand, instead of allowing fear of starting up to completely paralyze you and stop you from taking notable actions, it’s advisable to start from where you are and what you have at hand to build from there.

For many people, it might be to start with Buying Estate Lands or single homes, as individuals – then gradually growing it into a full-fledged real estate investment business that involves more team members and more real estate portfolios.

Lastly, to win in this game of real estate investment business, you must continuously stay ahead of the curve with the latest information and best practices. So, make sure you bookmark our website for a continuous doss of real estate investment knowledge, the best properties in town, and hot locations that you can buy from.

The acquisition of land is as important as the documents associated with it. A lot of people do not understand this importance until they are faced with problems, especially when it means they are going to lose it to either the government or another individual.

The family receipt is one document most people take as a land document. The family receipt is just a piece of paper showing a receipt of a certain amount of money for the purchase of land but actually does not hold any water when it comes to possession.

A lot of people are easily deceived when they are advised to go and build a structure on the land as a means of securing ownership. No matter the structure on the land, it is the person who provides the right documents that owns the land. And the law states that everything that is on the land belongs to the land so your structure automatically belongs to the owner of that land.

That being said, let’s take a deeper look into the different types of land documents in Nigeria, and what makes each of them unique.

The Land Use Act

Land administration in Nigeria was in the hands of the traditional rulers before 1978. Different administrative systems operated in different parts of the country. Land control in the North and South were the two distinctive systems.

It was during the Obasanjo regime as a military leader that the different tenure systems were overhauled which gave birth to the Land-use act decree of 1978 which vested all lands in the hands of the government. The act abolished all land tenure arrangements in all parts of the country.

The Land Use Decree succeeded in removing these barriers when land is being acquired.

• Brings a government control that can facilitate programs for land use.
• Removing bitter controversies that land has caused in the past.
• Eliminates Land Speculation.
• Promotes balanced regional development and growth.
• Protects and preserves the rights of all Nigerians as beneficiaries to hold, and to enjoy land in Nigeria.
• Streamlines and simplifies the management and ownership of land in the country.
• Enhances The Development/modernization of the agricultural sector of the economy.

Land Classification

Before we dive into the different types of land documents in Nigeria, let’s talk about the classes of Land as relate to the Nigerian real estate sector.

Land can be classified as either free or acquired. A parcel of land is considered free if the government has not indicated any interest whatsoever in that land. Such land is safe to buy because the title on the land can be perfected without issues.

In most cases, such lands will either have a gazette, a C of O or a governor’s consent.

Now that you understand what it means for land to be free, you should also know that all lands that fall within areas that are designated as ‘urban areas are under government acquisition until deemed committed or free.

There are two types of acquisition:

1) Committed Acquisition

A parcel of land is said to be under committed acquisition when the government has indicated an intention to use that land for a specific purpose such as provision of amenities.

Such lands belong to the government and can never be available for use by individuals. If you purchase land that is under committed acquisition, it will be impossible for you to perfect your land title and you’ll only be occupying the land until the government comes to kick you out.

2) Global or General Acquisition

Lands that are under “general acquisition” or “global acquisition” can later be confirmed ‘FREE’ or ‘committed’ as the case may be.

“A land under general acquisition can become free by a process called excision.”

“Excision is a process whereby the government releases a portion of an expanse of land that is not committed” If a parcel of land that was formerly under acquisition becomes excised; it is then considered free and becomes gazetted.

The gazette then becomes the title on the land and such land is safe to buy because a proper title can be processed on the land.

A second case where lands under general acquisition can be released is if an individual purchased a land that was under acquisition without going through an excision process.

Such lands can go through another process called “ratification” or “regularization” in which the land owner pays for the land to be ratified or regularized. To simplify it, it means the process of allocating Government Land to someone who had previously occupied landed property without lawful authority from the State Government. And it is subject to 7 Conditions:

• The property must not be situated in a Government Scheme, Estate, or Committed area.
• The Property must be situated within an Area that conforms to Urban and Regional Planning Regulations and Standard of the State.
• The Appropriate Set back of the Land must be observed.
• The Appropriate distances from drainages, Canals, NNPC pipelines, Gas Pipelines, NEPA transformers, High Tension Wires, Water Pipelines, and other restrictions laid down by the Physical Planning and Town Planning.
• The land must not fall on road Alignment.
• The land must not fall within a Committed Government Area.
• The Land must fall within the Permitted Regularization Areas.

Note: Conditions for ratification may differ from state to state.

Estate In Real Property

The amount and kind of interest a person has in real property is called an “Estate in land”. There are two major classifications of “Estate in Land” and they are :

• Freehold Estates
• Non-Freehold Estates.

1) Freehold Estates

Lands or estates under this classification have an indefinite duration and can last forever. These are estates with full-time ownership with government intervention. Lands under freehold are not under acquisition and such lands can easily be inherited by the heirs of the original owners. There are two major types of freehold estates.

• Fee Simple:
  The holder is entitled to all rights in the property. It is the highest type of interest in real estate recognized by law. The estate is of unlimited duration and when the owner dies, the estate passes on to the heirs of the owner. Freeholds are the type of titles you get in Epe, Lagos State Nigeria. With Freehold, processing your Certificate of Occupancy is faster.

• Life Estate:
  A life estate is limited in duration to the life of the owner, or to the life or lives of some of the designated person(s). Unlike fee simple, the life estate is not considered an estate of inheritance.

2) Non-Freehold Estates

These estates are also known as Leasehold estates because they are not inheritable and exist “without ownership”. They are created through written and oral leases or some form of rental agreement. Examples are:

• Tenancy for years:
  A tenancy for years is created by a lease with a definite beginning and an end. The lease terminates automatically at the end of the specified end. This is also called estate for years.

• Tenancy from period to period:
  This is a tenancy for a definite initial time but is automatically renewable for an indefinite period unless the owner or tenant terminates it with prior notice. It is also called estates from year to year. An example is the monthly or yearly rent paid for use of the property.

• Tenancy at Will:
  This tenancy can be terminated at any time by either the owner or tenant. It is also called estate at will.

• Tenancy at Sufferance:
  This is the lowest form known by law. It exists indirectly as a result of circumstance and is never created deliberately. It happens when a person who has a legal right to use a property remains on the property without the legal right to do so and without the owner’s consent.
  
  The only difference between a tenant at sufferance and a trespasser is that the former had the right to be on the property at some point but stayed beyond the terms of the lease of the agreement while the latter has none. It is also called estate at sufferance.

What is a Survey Plan?

A Survey plan is a document that measures the boundary of a parcel of land to give an accurate measurement and description of that land. The people that handle survey issues are Surveyors and they are regulated by the office of the Surveyor general in Lagos (or your state) as it relates to survey issues in the state. A survey plan must contain the following information:

1. The name of the owner of the land surveyed.
2. The Address or description of the land surveyed.
3. The size of the land surveyed.
4. The drawn-out portion of the land survey and mapped out on the survey plan document
5. The beacon numbers
6. The surveyor who drew up the survey plan and the date it was drawn up
7. A stamp showing the land is either free from Government acquisition or not.

Finally, another advantage of the Survey Search is that it will allow you to know what the zone was designated for.

Land Documents In Nigeria

Now that you understand the classifications of land, the Estate in Real Property, and what is Survey plan, let’s now look at the meaning of each land documents that we have here in Nigeria.

1) Deed Of Assignments

A deed of Assignment is one of the most important documents you must-have when you conclude a Land Transaction.

A deed of Assignment is an Agreement between the Seller of a Land or Property and a Buyer of that Land or property showing evidence that the Seller has transferred all his rights, his title, his interest, and ownership of that land to that Seller that has just bought the land.

The Deed of Assignment acts as a main document between the buyer and seller to show proof of ownership in favour of the seller. The person or Seller who transfers his rights or interests in that property is usually called the Assignor and the person who receives such right or interest from the Seller is called the Assignee.

A Deed of Assignment therefore is an Agreement where an assignor states his promise that from the date of the assignment or any date stipulated therein, the assignor assigns his ownership in that Land to the assignee. The deed contains very pertinent information for a real estate transaction. For one, it spells out the date when the ownership of the property transfers from one owner to the other. The deed also gives a specific description of the property that is included in the transfer of ownership.

The Deed of Assignment spells out the key issues in the transaction between the Seller and the Buyer so that there won’t be any confusion or assumption after the property has been transferred to the new owner. Such Key issues include:

• The Parties’ to the Agreement e.g. between Mr. A and Mrs. K
• The addresses of both parties and how it is binding on their successors, friends, colleagues, and those representing them in any capacity.
• The history of the land in question is how it was first obtained down to the moment it’s about to be sold including any documents it previously had till this date.
• The agreed cost of the land and the willingness of the Seller to finally accept that price paid for the land.
• The description and size of the land to be transferred.
• The covenants or promises both parties choose to undertake to perfect the transfer of the document.
• The signature of the parties to the Assignment and Witnesses to the Transaction.
• Finally the section for the Commissioner of Oaths or Governors Consent to sign and validate the agreement.

Always consult a property lawyer before you buy a land to help prepare a deed of assignment. It will be your greatest mistake if you don’t have one.

And, it is very compulsory and mandatory for a Deed of Assignment document to be recorded at the appropriate land registry to show legal evidence as to the exchange of ownership in any land/landed property transaction in order to make the general public and government aware of such exchange or transaction.

See sample of a Deed of Assignment below…

Summary of the above sample

• The Cover of the Deed of Assignment must show the parties to the transaction and the description of the land sold.

• The first page of the Deed of Assignment must contain the parties to the transaction and the brief history of how the land became the Sellers’ property.

• The third page must contain the description of the land to be sold, the surveyor that did it, the cost of the land, the acceptance of the cost of the land, and the promises both parties will make to themselves to abide by after the deal has been sealed.

• The last page must show the signatures of the parties and the witnesses to that transaction and finally below, the section for the commissioner of oaths to endorse or the Governor to assent his consent to this transaction.

2) The Gazette

The land use act coupled with other laws made it possible for the Governor who was now the owner of all lands in the state to actually have the power to acquire more lands compulsorily for its own public purpose to provide Amenities for the greater good of the citizens. The Acquisition of land from the Family by the Governor to take the general control and management of all urban land and any area designated as an Urban area by the Governor shall be published in an Official Government Record book known as the Gazette.

So, basically, a Gazette is an Official record book where all special government details are spelt out, detailed and recorded.

A gazette will show the communities or villages that have been granted excision and the number of acres or hectares of land that the government has given to them. It is within those excised acres or hectares that the traditional family is entitled to sell its lands to the public and not anything outside those hectares of land given or excised to them.

A Gazette is a very powerful instrument the community owns and can replace a Certificate of Occupancy to grant title to the Villagers. A community owning a gazette can only sell lands to an individual within those lands that have been excised to them and the community or family head of that land has the right to sign your documents for you if you purchase lands within those excised acres or hectares of land.

If the government, based on some reasons best known to them, decides to revoke or acquire your land, you will be entitled to compensation as long as it’s within the Excised lands given to that community as land to buy.

The best way to know whether a land is under acquisition or has an excision that has been covered by a Gazette is to get a surveyor to chart the site and take it to the surveyor general’s office to do a land information to confirm whether it falls within the gazette and spell out which particular location it can be found.

Features Of a Gazette

• The Cover of the Gazette must include the Number of the Gazette, Page of the Gazette and Volume of the Gazette. It must also Include the Date and Location it was issued.
• The first page of a Gazette must have the following unless it is a dubious or fake Gazette:
  • The Logo of the Country and the inscription of the title “LAGOS STATE OF NIGERIA OFFICIAL GAZETTE”
  • Underneath it must have the Number, Volume, Page, Date, and the Location it was signed into law e.g No 26 on pages 200 to 291, Volume 87 dated 14th of August 2011, and have the contents of the list of the Villages, Settlements, and parcels of land excised back to the community.
  • The description of the Area or Village excised.
  • The number of Acres or Hectares of land excised to the Village.
  • Where the boundaries of the beacons start and stop.
  • The page the description of the Village excised is.

3) Excision

An Excision means basically taking a part from a whole and that part that has been excised will be recorded and documented in the official government gazette of that state. In other words, not having an excision means the land could be seized by the Government anytime without compensating you even if you bought it “Legitimately” from the Baale or the Original dwellers on the land.

So for example, if in 1981, Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Lekki were all part of one big Community joined together called Oniru and it had no separation to know which area is called ikoyi, Lekki, or V.I then, and it has an approximate total area square meters estimate of 100,000 square meters and the Government is interested in that area and decides to take 70,000 square meters for itself for its own personal use as an Urban Area or public purpose, it will record this acquisition in the official government which is Gazette and also record that the remaining 30,000 square meters (EXCISED PORTION) have been left alone for the traditional family to have and do with it whatever it pleases it to do.

4) Certificate Of Occupancy And Governor’s Consent

A simple formula to follow is this. The first person on a virgin Land that has neither been occupied by another person nor under acquisition by the Government is entitled to get a Certificate of Occupancy on that land.

If that person with the C of O decides to sell his land to another person after so many years, that person must now obtain the consent of the Governor before that transaction can be deemed legal in the eyes of the Government. If the new buyer now decides to sell the land again to a third owner in the future, that Third owner must also obtain a new Consent of the Governor before that transaction can be deemed legal in the eyes of the Government and the process continues every time the property changes hands to a new buyer.

In other words, the first person on a land is the only person or group of persons entitled to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy. Every subsequent buyer of that land must get a Governor’s consent. There can only be one (1) Owner of the Certificate of Occupancy on that Land and it will not be replicated for another person once the land has been sold or transferred to another person.

The powers of the Governor to Consent to such transactions can be found in Section 22. Of the LAND USE ACT 1978 as amended which states thus:

“It shall not be lawful for the holder of a statutory right of occupancy granted by the Governor to alienate his right of occupancy or any part thereof by assignment, mortgage, and transfer of possession, sublease or otherwise howsoever without the consent of the Governor first had and obtained”

With this power, the Governor has the right to grant consent to any transaction which it thinks has not contravened any Law of the land and if the consent has been obtained fraudulently, the Governor is entitled to revoke such consent immediately.

All in all, a Governor’s Consent is a very good document to obtain and I advise you to get it so as to free yourself from Omoniles 100%. An advantage of having a Governor’s consent is that you can transfer your land to another person without going to the Omoniles or Family Baale to sign your deed and Form 1c which are compulsory requirements needed before you can process a Governor’s consent.

It is very important for a purchaser of land to perfect his or her document by obtaining a Governor’s consent so as to have a complete rest of mind. Although it’s good to buy a land that already has a Global C of O or the Land has a Gazette, it still doesn’t give you the full satisfaction that you own the land without any form of fear or intrusion by the Omoniles. Your documents have not been perfected and the consent of the Governor to that transaction has not been obtained.

Obtaining a Governor’s Consent from the Land Bureau isn’t the easiest thing to get quickly despite the importance attached to it and the urgency needed to secure a land from Omoniles.

On the Government website, it is stated that a Governor’s Consent can be obtained in 30 days but that has proven to be very untrue due to unscrupulous civil servants who would do everything to frustrate the process of obtaining the document without giving them huge kickbacks. A Governor’s consent that should cost N200,000 naturally could end up costing N600,000 Due to kickbacks, Egunje, Bribes, P.R, etc, and that 30 days could translate to 6months or a Year.

The Omoniles pray seriously for the Owner not to have a Governors consent so that they can make a lot of money running into their Thousands whenever the Owner requires the signatures of the family to start the Governors consent.

Do you now see why C of O is not the ultimate? Stepping aside the criticism of those in charge of processing the C of O, You should try as much as possible to get a Governor’s Consent for all your genuine lands so as to eliminate Omoniles completely and live a straightforward life devoid of Omonile wahala.

The Governors Consent must contain the Following:

• The Form 1c must be signed by the Omonile traditional Family that has either a Gazette or Global C/O or in the case of an individual that has a private C of O granted to him by the Governor
• A Deed of Assignment must be prepared by the Buyer’s lawyer who must include the parties to the transaction, the cost of the land, the size of the land description of the land, the copy of the survey attached to it, and signature of all the parties and witnesses to the transaction.
• The Consent will be heavily stamped from the beginning to the end and upon completion and payment of the requisite fees, the Governor or his representatives such as the Commissioners will sign and date the Consent and stamp it with their official Seal.
• The land bureau after that will assign a Consent number to that document for reference purposes for life and it’s with this Consent number, your documents will be registered and recorded in their archives for future references.

Deceased Land Without Will

What happens when you intend to buy a land or property but you later discover that the original owner of the Property has died without writing a will and has left a host of children, wives, extended relatives or close friends behind that are all interested in the property as the new owners? Who then has the capacity to sell that property to you?

So many buyers have had their fingers burnt buying lands or properties from people who claim to be the authorized representatives of the deceased only to later find out that they have bought that land from the wrong representative.

If you don’t want to buy into a problematic property like the one mentioned above, you should keenly watch out for the following:

• If the deceased left no will.
• If there is no letter of administration granting ownership of the property to a person or group of persons to act as executors and administrators of that property.
• If there are so many family members such as wife or wives, children or stepchildren that the deceased left behind without instructing anyone to be the sole owner or in charge of the property.
• In some cultures, the extended family of the deceased owns the property too and can lay claim to the ownership of the property that their Son, brother or nephew left behind.
• Also, some cultures wholesomely transfer title to the first son and what if the first son isn’t around at that moment or you do not know.
• If some family members intend to get a letter of administration but because of the pressing need to sell the land, they avoid going through the court system to get a letter of administration because of the lengthy delay associated with getting a letter of administration.
• If the owner of the property has C of O or Governor’s consent, the property cannot be sold to another person without a letter of administration unless the government will not recognize it.
• Do you know the number of wives or children the deceased left behind that you do not know that also has access to sell that property?

If you have encountered one or more of these scenarios painted above, how do you go about it to prevent yourself from being sucker punched by a false relative who has no capacity to sell the property legally? Here are some of the ways you can go about it:

• Get in touch with a lawyer that is well experienced in Property and Family Law. There is no way around it to do it yourself.
• Investigate properly to know all the wives, children, and extended family members that the deceased left behind.
• Insist on getting that Letter of Administration but if they can’t get it, make sure that all of them draft and sign a Memorandum of Understanding all jointly agreeing to sell the land to you. That Memorandum of Understanding must be duly stamped and sworn to at the Court.
• All payments, documentations, and forms must all be signed by all the surviving relatives of the deceased jointly.
• Pictures, videos, and any form of digital capture must be used at all times as evidence in case something goes wrong.

These examples only work in simple situations when you have less than 3 surviving members of the deceased and it’s very clear that either the widow or widower is the only person that the property can be transferred to. Also if the kids are minors under the age of 13, the above scenarios can work. Once you’re dealing with 3 or more survivors and the children are above 16, please contact your nearest property lawyer because you could be buying a very fantastic Lawsuit that could devastate you.

Understanding Land Sizes & Measurements

In Nigeria’s Real Estate Sector today, Lands are measured in Hectares, Acres, Meters and Feet. Also, land and sizes differ in different parts of the country. Below is a table indicating the different sizes of lands.

Courtesy: Durand Infomatics

Using the land measurement chart above, let’s calculate the actual land sizes for Plots, Acres, and Hectares.

1) Plots:
In Lagos State, the standard size of a plot is 60ft x 120ft (18m x 36m i.e. 648 sqm), while in some other cities of the country, plots are measured in 50ft x 100ft.

2) Acre:
An Acre is a standard unit of measurement used by Land sellers, and it is almost equivalent to the size of a standard football field. An Acre is a product of any rectangular plot of land giving a total of:

• 6 plots (each measuring 60ft x 120ft)
• 43,560 sq ft, OR
• 4,046sqm.

3) Hectare:
A hectare is one of the least known metric units and one which potential buyers and Estate developers seem to struggle with. It is a land measuring:

• 15 plots, OR
• Two and half acres, OR
• 328ft x 328ft, OR
• 100m x 100m, OR
• 10,000 sqm.

The size of a plot can vary for different reasons but according to Nigeria’s land division, the appropriate plot for a house construction is 50 x 100ft which can accommodate a standard house with a small compound. Am sure this will go a long way to help you as a real estate investor, and even as a Landowner.

Conclusion

A thorough understanding of this post can save you from going to prison. Land is a very sensitive investment, and that is why transferability must be highly documented and one has to be very careful. To buy land, you must first of all chart the course to get coordinates and check at the appropriate office to know if it is under committed acquisition.

Don’t just jump into acquiring any land because you feel it is cheap or the Omoniles have guaranteed you that they will protect you. If it is government land, you have thrown away your money.

If you must remain in this business, understanding land documents in Nigeria is a crucial part that you cannot just overlook.

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