Today, I share with you an interesting topic in Property Investment – 7 Things To Check Before You Buy Property From Real Estate Companies
As of recent, there has been an increase in fraudulent activities being executed by fake real estate companies and agents. Therefore, in this article, we’re going to discuss different means to identity and things you must check before investing with any Real Estate Company. One must get to be informed to avoid losing your hard-earned money.
Here are the things to check before you buy a property from a real estate company;
1. The company’s registration
2. License to Operate
3. The property title/documents
4. Buyer/Seller Agreement
5. Customer’s review
6. Standard Office
7. The Payment Procedure
Let’s give extensive details on each of these points above.
1. The Company’s Registration: Before investing with any real estate company, you should undergo thorough research on the organization and make sure it’s registered with Nigeria Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). This can simply be done by requesting the company’s registration number.
All good real estate company without shady deals have their registration number and won’t hesitate to give their clients/customers it. Most even have the copy of the CAC paste right in the entrance hallway of the company or in their reception room. However, if they fail to provide you with one, then you should think twice before buying a property from the company.
2. License to Operate: The government always provides authentic real estate the license to operate in our society. Thus, all genuine real estate companies must have a license to function, so if the company you want to invest in can not provide you with their license, then think twice before operating with them. As an investor, simply request for their license to operate and make sure you’re provided with one before purchasing any property with them.
Just like I stated earlier, trusted Real Estate Companies will like to register and be well-identified by any of the Nigeria real estate boards. Such as the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON) and Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria(REDAN). They’re some of the real estate boards present in Nigeria and this is the easiest form to identify good real estate companies.
3.The Property Title/Documents Verification: Good real estate company like to have a good title document for the property they want to sell. But, that’s not the only case here because some documents can be fake. Therefore, the moment the company starts preventing you or making excuses for you not to verify the document to the property, then something is wrong somewhere. And you should be careful on your dealing with such company. An authentic real estate company has nothing to fear, won’t be disturbed because you want to verify the documents. But, may even support you on how to go about it.
Meanwhile, don’t forget to hire a professional lawyer for this verification. For investors in Lagos and Abuja, you can visit Alausa Land Registry and Abuja Geographical Information System (AGIS) respectively for the property verification. For investors in other regions/states, visit the state land registry office for verification. Also, for a real estate company that doesn’t have any document for its property, kindly run away from such a company and its property.
4. Buyer/Seller Agreement: A genuine real estate company must be able to present an investor with a buyer/seller agreement before the complete transaction of the property takes place. What is this buyer/seller agreement?
This is an official agreement present to a buyer or investor to a property, this agreement contains different information a buyer should be aware of. It’s between the company selling off their property to the buyer. They must state the transaction to occur, state any other fee like development fee and other necessary information. This must be agreed upon by both parties. Also, check that the agreement has the following information like the Company’s name, logo, a signature of the company’s representative, and any other important information.
5. Standard Office: This is another best way to easily identify a good real estate company. Most fake real estate companies don’t have a standard office of their own. Thus, most fix appoint in a restaurant or an open setting, avoid such meeting. All official meetings with your prospective real estate company should hold in their official, standard and conducive office. Also, make sure to visit over and over again to ensure it’s where they truly operate from and request for site inspection too.
6. Customer’s Review: This maybe overlooked but it’s a great way to check on the authenticity of the company. Check their official website for customer’s reviews of their property. You can also surf the internet for a property review of the company. If they’ve ever involved in shady deals or defrauded someone, most clients will call them out online.
7. The Payment Procedure: Ensure that all payments are made to the company’s official account as agreed on. Fake real estate company hardly own an official company’s account and this is another way to check the realness of the company. If you noticed anything unusual, desist from making any payment until you’re cleared.
Finally, don’t use, because of your desire to acquire affordable housing or landed property make the mistake of investing with the wrong real estate company. Most lure Nigerians with low prices in their property when compare to others within the same location. Thus, losing your fund because we fail to look before we leap.
Francis Akintola
#ministerofrealestate
I give professional real estate advice, negotiate and help smart investors make profitable real estate investments for high ROI, thereby creating wealthy landlords. My ultimate goal is to help you achieve your property investment portfolio goals.
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