lawyer: Every day I get phone calls and emails from people stating their intention to buy lands and ask me to recommend lands for them to buy that I think is a good deal and has no Omonile Wahala but we all forget something and that is the cost implications of purchasing a land. A lot of people think if they have one amount of money set aside in a bank, that covers the amount to purchase a land in Lagos and the rest is history.

But that’s where we are all wrong. Purchasing Land in Lagos is a Tough and difficult experience that requires skill, prayers, financial acumen and smartness. Many of the abandoned Lands scattered all around Lagos boils down to lack of proper budgeting and planning and that’s why so many Omoniles have the guts and opportunity to resell other peoples lands and today I want to us to learn from the experiences I have garnered over the years on how to properly budget and plan ourselves before we venture into the process of buying a land.


[size=14pt]1.Never buy a Land based on Emotional Reasons.[/size]

Just because your neighbor bought a Land or colleague or family member recently purchased a Land and you have that amount of Money and you throw it into purchasing a land too, you would run into a lot of futuristic problems and would be left with no choice but to resell it unceremoniously. You have no idea why they bought that land at that moment and how their account balance is compared to yours and what exactly they intend to do with that land. Follow Follow isn’t good without any concrete plan. Buy because there is a concrete reason not emotional buying.

[size=14pt]2. Always Plan Ahead and prepare your mind that you want to buy a land at a specific time.[/size]

Whether its during the dry season or raining season, choose the moment you intend to venture into it and stick with it. If you plan to buy a land in December and you have the money in July, don’t say because you have the money now, and its best you buy it now because it looks cheap, you will run into problems when you don’t have time to tend to the land, fence it and sort other unforeseen financial obligations you weren’t prepared for. Don’t let Agents push you to buy lands that you’re not prepared to purchase financially. Be firm and stick to your guns and budget because the Agent won’t help you in sorting out other financial issues once the land and his Agency fee has been paid.

[size=14pt]3. Set Your Budget:[/size]

Before you buy a Land make sure you research on the following before you venture out into buying a land.

a. Check for the cost of the Land. Always negotiate and price the Land. Land isn’t a loaf of bread being sold in a Supermarket. You can always cut a few kobo here and there because the Seller wants to sell. Don’t despair if you negotiate today and the seller doesn’t agree. There is still tomorrow to negotiate harder. That money you have saved can go along way into paying other bills that you didn’t prepare for. Just because you have N2Million Stored away in a Bank and they tell you that there is a Land for Sale going for N2Million, then you have to sink all that amount at once on the land, you will run into a lot of problems financially in future. If you have N2Million for a land, don’t buy a land more than N1.2 to N1.5Million. That remaining 500,000 NAIRA will assist you in paying for other bills.

b. Always visit the Land you intend to buy at some point or sent a representative to check the texture if the soil whether it is a Dry or Swampy Land.

Whether the Land is in Badagry of Lekki phase 1, once the land is Swampy just know you will spend triple the amount you spent on purchasing the land on sand filling and solid foundation. Don’t be fooled when Agents market swampy lands for you at a reasonable price that you think it’s a steal or bargain. Be rest assured when its time to build, you will spend a fortune. Always confirm the status of the land and if you think you have the financial capability to buy a swampy land to sand fill, then go for it but if your working on a budget, learn to scout for lands that won’t require you to spend too much on the land.

c. Research all the Cost associated with purchasing a Land:

Buying a land in Lagos comes with some hidden fees that you should be prepared to compulsorily pay before, during and after a transaction. Am always surprised a lot of people enter into landed purchases without being aware of these fees associated with Land purchases.

[size=14pt] (i)Search fees:[/size] Put between N50,000 to N100,000 aside To conduct a search in the Land. It makes no sense spending Millions to buy a Land without conducting a search before you throw away all your money foolishly to Scammers to purchasing Government acquired Lands.

[size=14pt](ii) Survey Plan:[/size] Every Land bought must have a Survey Plan in your name. Survey Plan varies according to the area. Depending on location of the Land, survey fees range from N150,000 to N250,000. Always set this money aside compulsorily because its your first line of defence to show you’re the owner of the land. A land bought without a Survey to back the land up shows you just want to throw away your money.

[size=14pt](iii) Agency Fees:[/size] Most Agency Fees are 5% of the Cost of the Land, so be prepared to pay 5% of the transaction fees to the Agent after you have paid the Owner of the land.

[size=14pt](iv) Legal Fees:[/size] Most Legal Fees are also 5% the Cost of the Land. A lawyer must be brought at this Moment to draw up the contracts and documents between the Seller and You. But like most Nairalanders know because of my affinity towards you guys I give a lot of discounts during the searches and Documents fees, so you can always get in touch with me when you get to this situation so as to save some few Naira.

[size=14pt](V)Document Signing Fees:[/size] This fee is linked with lands bought directly from Omonile families. If you buy a land directly from a private Seller you don’t need to pay this fee but its mainly associated with Family land. Depending on the Area you could end up paying between N50,000 to N1Million Naira. Always cross check and ask your Agent or the Seller how much it would cost to purchase a land in that area and what their Signing on Fees are. Most are Negotiable though so play tough.

[size=14pt](vi) Ancillary Building and Community Fees:[/size] In association with paying the Signing fees another compulsory set of Fees to be paid includes the Money for Foundation which ranges between N50,000 to N500,000 depending on the Area. If you choose not to pay this fee, you will encounter a lot of difficulty with the thugs of the community who wont give your workers peace of mind to build. Other fees include COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FEES AND YOUTHS DEVELOPMENT. It varies from area to area so you must inquire thoroughly what the other fees are from your agent to ask the Sellers what your paying.

After you calculate all these fees from the cost of the land to the Omonile signing fees, you can then have an idea how much it will cost you in total to buy a land in Lagos effortlessly. Always make sure you have the money to make all these payment because when you start paying all these fees instalmentally, you are attracting problems. The land will not the transferred to you 100% till you sort the bills or you will get heckled by the Agents or the Omoniles to balance up and if they sense any delay they can now engage in foul play to resell your land or make it complicated for the land to be transferred to you peacefully.

My Next Article I will write will deal with the other fees which I think you should consider to secure your land and that Includes the fees and cost implications in Fencing your land, the Land Use Charge Fees, The cost of procuring either a C/O or Governors Consent and a Building Plan approval. Till next time I wish you the best in your future land transactions.

Cheers

Joe980: @Lawyer...please what is the difference between Governors consent & C of O?

lawyer:

There are so many things wrong with what you have done in purchasing that land and I hope it doesn't come back to haunt you in future and these are my reasons:

1. Although you didn't take the loan from the bank but you cannot use another persons C/O that isn't in your name to collect a loan or collateral. This is what led to the collapse of so many banks some few years back. It's either you get a Consent in your name or a C/O in your name before you can collect a collateral. Any bank official that effects such a loan will definitely lose his job or put the bank in trouble so am glad you didn't take that option.

2. How can you do a deed of assignment without involving a lawyer? It's a worthless document once it is not signed by a practicing lawyer. You can't even do your Governors consent because the lawyer must sign on the first page that he drafted the documents and include his chambers name, address and telephone number. In law that's called FRANKING and its only a lawyer that has the capacity to draft deeds of assignment. Whenever you choose to perfect your documents at ALAUSA, Alausa gets in touch with the lawyer to confirm who drafted it, so that if there are irregularities they know who to blame and whose liable. Also if you intend selling the land tomorrow and a search is conducted and its deduced that the deeds where drafted fraudulently, your property will be a hard sell and difficult to convince people it's genuine. Please don't do that.

Finally that surveyor of yours is a quack. Would a lawyer bring out the template of another persons survey plan and advise you to use that? Why should he be giving professional advice in another field that isn't his? I just hope your survey plans are genuine? Have you confirmed if he has lodged the red copy at Alausa?

On a final note, there is no lawyer that will advise publicly on how to shortchange the government with its taxes regarding the drafting of 2 deeds and the cost ramifications.That's why you should engage a lawyer to advise you properly. I will not tell you the pros and cons of drafting 2 deeds in public so that my legal license won't be revoked. As for short changing the Agents it's ethically wrong. That's why you should negotiate with them before hand, before you purchase the property on what to pay them. The dangers inherent in short changing them is that whenever a problem arises, your first witness in your favor are the agents to fight for you. If you don't treat them well now, why would you expect their loyalty to you tomorrow? Some of them even go as far as colluding with the omonile to treat you badly when your building because you shortchanged them.

Purchasing a land should be done professionally and ethically so that your documents and witnesses to the transaction are intact devoid of any sharp malpractice. If you think you played a fast one on people, remember its your documents and money you are toying with.

Cheers

lawyer:

There are so many things wrong with what you have done in purchasing that land and I hope it doesn't come back to haunt you in future and these are my reasons:

1. Although you didn't take the loan from the bank but you cannot use another persons C/O that isn't in your name to collect a loan or collateral. This is what led to the collapse of so many banks some few years back. It's either you get a Consent in your name or a C/O in your name before you can collect a collateral. Any bank official that effects such a loan will definitely lose his job or put the bank in trouble so am glad you didn't take that option.

2. How can you do a deed of assignment without involving a lawyer? It's a worthless document once it is not signed by a practicing lawyer. You can't even do your Governors consent because the lawyer must sign on the first page that he drafted the documents and include his chambers name, address and telephone number. In law that's called FRANKING and its only a lawyer that has the capacity to draft deeds of assignment. Whenever you choose to perfect your documents at ALAUSA, Alausa gets in touch with the lawyer to confirm who drafted it, so that if there are irregularities they know who to blame and whose liable. Also if you intend selling the land tomorrow and a search is conducted and its deduced that the deeds where drafted fraudulently, your property will be a hard sell and difficult to convince people it's genuine. Please don't do that.

Finally that surveyor of yours is a quack. Would a lawyer bring out the template of another persons survey plan and advise you to use that? Why should he be giving professional advice in another field that isn't his? I just hope your survey plans are genuine? Have you confirmed if he has lodged the red copy at Alausa?

On a final note, there is no lawyer that will advise publicly on how to shortchange the government with its taxes regarding the drafting of 2 deeds and the cost ramifications.That's why you should engage a lawyer to advise you properly. I will not tell you the pros and cons of drafting 2 deeds in public so that my legal license won't be revoked. As for short changing the Agents it's ethically wrong. That's why you should negotiate with them before hand, before you purchase the property on what to pay them. The dangers inherent in short changing them is that whenever a problem arises, your first witness in your favor are the agents to fight for you. If you don't treat them well now, why would you expect their loyalty to you tomorrow? Some of them even go as far as colluding with the omonile to treat you badly when your building because you shortchanged them.

Purchasing a land should be done professionally and ethically so that your documents and witnesses to the transaction are intact devoid of any sharp malpractice. If you think you played a fast one on people, remember its your documents and money you are toying with.

Cheers

Emmy Boy: @helpee, by using a template on deed of assignment to prepare yours without engaging a lawyer, you have just committed FORGERY. Every deed should be FRANKED by the lawyer who prepared it,stating full names,address,phone number and signature so how did you get around that? My guess is that you used the details of the lawyer on the precedent you used! You may get away with this,but if any smart alec tries that with me and I get wind of it,the sorry fellow would end up in jail period! I have nothing personal against you, but services of professionals must be engaged and paid for always,no cutting of corners!

Akiika:

Na by force to patronize lawyer?...as much as i condemn forgery (if this is the case) individuals should be able to draft documents by themselves using a template and get it notarized to make it legal.
Good threads like this should encouraged especially when it'll help people save money. Although we may not be able to compare Naija to US directly, but you can get a lot of things done by yourself if you do a little bit of research....cost of services here is crazy.

ruggedlaw: C of O is what the government issues to you when you purchase a land directly from the government especially through direct government allocation or when you purchase a land that has never been registered, or the document perfected at the land registry, especially those that are not under government excision. Consent however is what you are granted when you purchase a land that already had a C of O or under excision,i.e a land formally acquired by government but later released to the community. In this case form 1C should accompany your application. Hope this attempts to answer your question.

Emmy Boy: @ Akiika and helpee. Its not by force to patronise lawyers, just as I still maintain what you did is plain forgery. U might be saving costs bt definitely would boomem
rang one day. U might get away with it now, not in some other land transaction. Are we clear on this?

sp2002: a land measuring 1227 squ. mtrs for sale. the land is situated inside abijo town, ibeju-lekki, lagos. it is about 2 nepa poles away from the express way. the land is owned by a medical doctor. N7m asking
call: 08137775986

helpee: i just bought a land last week and based on ur numerous write up, i played a fast one on everybody. i bought it for 10million but i approached my bank ist for a loan using the C of O of the land as collateral so they did the search and only deducted 10k from my accnt for that. i didnt take the loan eventually. after forcing the landlord to come all the way 4rm portharcourt he signed d deed and form 1c and i got all the originals including c of o and survey and building plan, the agents came and i told them i tut they would only collect 50k for showing me d ppty but they were mad. eventually we settled for 200k which i hope to pay this week. i took a risk though. the surveyor had a template for deed of assignment and we changed all the titles to reflect the land so i didnt pay a lawyer. But the surveyor advised me to do two deed, one for 10million and one for 2million she said so that the cost if governors consent and land use wont be much at alausa. is it allowed? what is the legal and future implication of that?

akonucheinfo:


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if i understand you rightly, if i purchase an already owned land. i will need to obtain Cof O and not governors cosent

Please what does it take to obtain CofO? i mean the processes and cost .tnx

esoorita: Lawyer, Please could you let me know what documents do I need to see from a vendor selling his land in an estate. Thanks
for your help.