Buying real estate in Nigeria requires several legal steps. It is important to hire a lawyer experienced in property law to conduct a land search on the title and draft legal documents. Common ways to purchase property include gifts, inheritance through probate or letters of administration, and real estate sales. Real estate sales involve negotiating terms, signing a contract, examining the title, paying consideration, and registering the title transfer. The process has pre-contract, contract, post-contract, completion, and post-completion stages to ensure a valid transfer of ownership.

1. Buying real estate property in Nigeria is subject to several legal procedures. Engaging a lawyer to
conduct a land search on the property and look into the title document is the first important step in
buying a property in Nigeria.
Before you take any further steps, it is crucial to have a lawyer with experience in property law.
Due to Nigerian law, only a legal practitioner can draft documents (instruments) for conveyancing
or transferring an interest in land for a fee. This is because a lawyer would ensure that one does
not have legal issues with land documentation after purchasing it.
The following are common ways to purchase real
estate property in Nigeria:
1. Gift
A gift is something that is freely given without expecting anything in return. Gifts can be written
down. However, executing a Deed of Gift is frequently preferred to prevent disagreements in the
future. A deed of gift is a legal document executed during the parties’ lifetimes that transfers real

2. estate ownership from the grantor (the property’s owner or legal title holder) to the beneficiary. It
should be done voluntarily, which means without force or deception, the grantor must not get paid
for the gift they have made since, if they do, it would no longer be a gift but a sale, and the recipient
must accept the gift.
2. Letter of Administration/Probate
Probate is the procedure used to confirm a will’s legality. The process of validating a testator’s
will is one that the court has mandated. It is the power a beneficiary has to take possession of any
gifts or assets left by the testator. The rights or title to real estate cannot be transferred to a
beneficiary by a will or codicil on their own; instead, the beneficiaries must apply for and be
granted probate to have unrestricted access to the gifts made in the will. The authorization given
to an administrator to administer, manage, or distribute the assets of a decedent who passed away
without a will is known as a letter of administration.
3. Real Estate Sales
This is a highly common method of buying real estate since it entails giving the buyer desirable
consideration in exchange for the vendor’s (the owner or legal title holder of the real estate) transfer
of all rights, titles, and interests in a piece of land or a building.
A real estate transaction might involve either natural or legal persons as parties (i.e., a company).
How to Acquire Real Estate Property in Nigeria
Through a Sale
For clarity, this will be broken down into pre-contract, contract, post-contract, completion, and
post-completion stages.
Stage 1 Pre-Contract Phase
 Inspections must be conducted to determine whether the real estate is free and clear of
encumbrances, subject to government acquisition, or compliant with applicable town planning
rules.
 The potential buyer may physically inspect the property. By physically visiting the property,
it is possible to determine whether it is occupied, how much of it has been developed, the
presence of any public facilities (such as telephone or electric poles) on the property, and its
general state of preservation.
 The nature of the property can be confirmed by the potential buyer, including whether it is
meant for residential, commercial, or even a combination of the two uses. This is a crucial
consideration because it would be awful if a company bought a building meant for domestic
usage.

3. Stage 2 Contract Phase
 This step includes making initial inquiries, signing and exchanging a formal Contract of Sale,
and paying a down payment for the property.
 The potential buyer is prepared to move forward with the sale at this point since they are
definite about the home they want to acquire. The price, terms of payment, and other aspects
of the sale are negotiated at this point. The parties also sign and exchange a written contract
that documents their deal.
Stage 3 Post-contract Phase
 At this point, the parties have written, signed, and exchanged the formal contract. The buyer
is given a chance to research the vendor’s title while the vendor continues to prove his
ownership. The vendor proves that he has an excellent title to the property by presenting an
abstract or epitome of the title.
 Following a rigorous examination of the vendor’s title, the buyer or their legal counsel may
query the vendor about any uncertainties or problems with the vendor’s title. The seller is
required to respond to resolve any ambiguity.
Sidenote: In Lagos State, the buyer must search the Lands registration because the register
already gives sufficient proof of the vendor’s title; the seller is not obliged to deduce the title.
To make sure there are no encumbrances on the property, the potential buyer should also do
searches at the following locations:
 The appropriate land registry;
 The court to find out whether there is a legal conflict involving the property;
 The probate registry, if the vendor received the title through a will; and
 The corporate affairs commission confirms that the company is legitimately registered if the
vendor is a corporation.
The main goals of this search are to confirm the validity of the vendor’s title, determine the type
and state of the property, and make sure there are no encumbrances. The prospective buyer might
re-inspect the property after searching to confirm that the real size of the land is consistent with
the size declared at the land registry.
Stage 4 Completion Phase
The parties then complete all procedures and steps required to transfer the title to the buyer. The
buyer is now forced to pay the full amount due for the property. The vendor is expected to give
the buyer all relevant property documents, including a fully executed Deed of Assignment attesting
to the transaction between the vendor and buyer, when the full purchase price has been paid.
Stage 5 Post-Completion Phase
The buyer still holds legal property ownership, pending title perfection. Without the governor’s
approval, the assignment deed cannot be stamped and registered, and no legal title to real estate
can be transferred.

4. For federally owned properties, the approval of the minister of housing and urban development is
needed; for state-owned lands, the approval of the governor of the state where the land is located
is needed. The deed should be appropriately stamped and recorded after obtaining the necessary
approval.
The following is a summary of the land sale process:
Pre-contract phase. This is where the buyer physically inspects the property they wish to buy to
determine whether it corresponds to the vendor’s description and complies with all applicable
zoning and other rules.
Contract phase. This entails negotiating the terms of the transaction, such as the price and the
parties’ obligations. At this point, a formal contract is being written.
Post-contract phase. The buyer conducts a comprehensive study of the property’s title. This
entails conducting necessary searches on the property to confirm the legitimacy of the vendor’s
title.
Completion phase. This completes the sale and acquisition of the property. At this point, the buyer
has paid in full for the property, and the seller has executed and delivered all original copies of the
title documents, transferring the full title and interest in the property to the buyer. In other words,
the buyer now owns the property.
Post-Completion phase. The buyer is obliged to secure their ownership of the property. The title
is registered at the appropriate land registration to do this.
To sum up
In Nigeria, purchasing land is often done through a sale. Nevertheless, there are additional ways
to acquire real estate, including customary grants, probate or letters of administration, and gifts of
land. Real estate sales entail selling and transferring a building’s or land’s title and interest from
its owner to the buyer. Real estate acquisition through sale can be a very complicated procedure.
Therefore a buyer should exercise caution before signing a formal contract to prevent
fraud concerns.