Once you have decided to buy a landed property anywhere in Nigeria, you will need to do three things to ensure you are actually buying a genuine one. There are more, but with these three, you can't go wrong.

All the steps taken are very important in saving you from losing your hard earned cash, as well as endless court cases. As you know, some of these supposed land agents are fraudsters who can go as far as pitching a claim on a vast property and start a quick advert to get sellers to buy and pay in installments. One such cases happened in PortHarcourt, where a group of "land agents" mapped out and began selling lands belonging to another community. How did they succeed in the presence of the real owners of the property?
For a whole week these guys had the police engaged to arrest any of the community residents from disrupting their deals. They brought in bulldozers and surveyors to do the mapping, whilst their adverts where being circulated to targeted buyers. Of course, some buyers fell prey and where scammed FREE. When the affected community finally got higher powers from Abuja to investigate what the real motive of intrusion was, the fraudsters quickly discovered the move and promptly disappeared. Wondering how they paid the police for a whole week, including the surveyors and owner of the bulldozers?
A police "head" was lured into the deal and was promised some plots of land just to help them ward off the real owners during the process of selling. Apparently they presented fake community Chiefs and proofs to him claiming ownership of the land. And yes, they did same to the equipment owner. He was already fencing his "newly acquired" fake 12 plots of land when the true owners got all necessary backings and court orders to pull all down. The police denied involvement in the deal and claimed they were only there to arrest cultist. The equipment operator and surveyors on ground were all arrested.
Now, what do you do to avoid being the buyer of such a land or the equipment owner and the police chief who got played?


Step 1: Arrange for Site Inspection

This is very vital. Never be too lazy or busy to go check what you are buying. In fact you can go any number of times because its your money, not the seller's yet. Look around the area for existing features or houses. Are there marked survey pillars on ground already? Has a fence trench or an actual fence been dug before now? Are there any obvious signs of it being pre-owned?
If you notice any discrepancies, ask the agent and keep his response in mind. Analyse his response to each question he answers and see if they really make sense.
During site visits, you can be fortunate to note some dwellers close to the intended land who you can revisit on your later trips (without the land agents selling to you) to ask pertinent questions concerning the land in question.

Step 2: Ask Vital Questions

Try to ask as many questions as possible to get to know what you are buying into. For example, who are the original owners of the land? In case its a resold land, who is the new owner(s)? How much of land space is truly available for sale by the owner? Is the land waterlogged? What is/are the access roads to the land?, etc.
Mandate that the seller tells you exactly the history and features of the proposed land to avoid getting into trouble.

Step 3: Do Your Own Research

The third step is doing your own research. Go back to the community and ask the CDC (community development council) Chairman of the existence and availability of the said piece of land. They truly know the original and history of the lands in their community and should be able to give you these key information. In case they are not up-to-date, they will readily lead you to any indigene or chief who has the information you seek.
There are cases where there have been several owners to the plot of land along the line. You can ask/pay someone (preferably a known and trusted land agent) to verify the authenticity of the documents presented by the new owner. If the land is not vast, community verification may just be suitable to make necessary conclusions before sealing the deal. However, in the case of a vast space of land, thorough investigation should be made to verify the respective purchases and sales of the intended land by the previous owners.

There it is! With these tips, you should now be able to make a better decision when it comes to buying a property either for yourself or for someone else.

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