What Are the Common Mistakes Buyers Make When Purchasing Land in Lagos?
Executive Overview
In Lagos, land buying is not a handshake—it is a legal construction project. Most losses I litigate or rescue stem from the same avoidable errors: haste, informality, and buying on assurances instead of verifications. Below is a counsel-grade catalogue of the top mistakes, their consequences, and the simple disciplines that keep your money safe.
Doctrine: Never pay for land—pay for bankable rights (a file a prudent lender would accept today).
1) Paying Deposits to Agents Instead of Escrow
Mistake: Transferring money to marketers, “facilitators,” or individuals.
Consequence: No leverage when defects emerge; funds vanish; litigation becomes your only remedy.
Fix: Use a law-firm/bank escrow with release triggers tied to verified deliverables and conditions precedent—plus a long-stop date.
2) Buying on a “Mother Title” Without a Plot-Level Derivative
Mistake: Accepting a global C of O or brochure as if it were your title.
Consequence: You own nothing specific; Governor’s Consent cannot issue to a brochure.
Fix: Demand a derivative instrument (Deed of Assignment/Sublease) for your coordinates, then Consent → Stamp → Register.
3) Skipping Office of the Surveyor-General (OSG) Charting
Mistake: Relying on an uncharted or doctored survey plan.
Consequence: Overlaps, government acquisition, rights-of-way, pipelines, coastal/drainage setbacks—leading to demolition or litigation.
Fix: Submit soft-copy coordinates (CAD/DXF) for OSG charting and obtain a written chart report before exchange.
4) Accepting “In-Process” Paper as If Perfected
Mistake: Paying full price because consent, excision, ratification, or registration is “on the way.”
Consequence: Years of delay; refusal at Registry; non-bankable file.
Fix: Structure with escrow, CPs (e.g., “Consent must be issued by X date”), retention, and a refund path if unmet.
5) No Chain-of-Title Audit (Missing Governor’s Consent in the Chain)
Mistake: Looking only at the current seller’s deed.
Consequence: A broken chain cannot pass good title; Governor’s Consent may be refused.
Fix: Review root & every link; obtain CTCs from the Lagos State Land Registry; make any historic consent a Condition Precedent.
6) Unverified Surveys and Beacons Not on Ground
Mistake: Trusting paper polygons without fieldwork.
Consequence: Boundary fights, compulsory redesign, reduced area after purchase.
Fix: Engage your surveyor to re-peg or confirm beacons, check access, levels, drainage lines, and neighbouring fences.
7) Ignoring Planning/Use-Class & Estate Governance
Mistake: Assuming any land can take your intended use, or that a fancy gatehouse equals compliance.
Consequence: Stop-work orders; expensive retrofit; poor resale because buyers fear LASPPPA/LASBCA action.
Fix: Verify layout approval, planning/building permits, and as-built conformity (if developed). In estates, demand bye-laws, audited service-charge budgets, and a no-arrears letter.
8) Relying on Omo-Onile Assurances Without Authority Checks
Mistake: Paying “principal members” who cannot pass title.
Consequence: Competing receipts; violence; suits; intimidation.
Fix: Confirm head + principal members’ authority on the root instrument; obtain family indemnities; prefer court-sanctioned documentation if factions exist.
9) Not Searching the Land Registry, Courts, and CAC
Mistake: Skipping official searches; trusting photocopies.
Consequence: Hidden mortgages/charges, cautions, lis pendens, or corporate charges that outrank you.
Fix: Run Land Registry search + CTCs; Court search for suits; CAC search for corporate sellers (directors, authority, charges). Obtain discharge filings where needed.
10) Buying Tenanted or Part-Developed Property Without Possession Protocols
Mistake: Overlooking existing tenants, meter numbers, arrears, and warranties.
Consequence: Income leakage, disputes, and refusal to hand over.
Fix: Secure attornment/surrender, rent schedules, inventory/condition reports, meter transfer documents, and estate clearance.
11) Failing to Perfect Immediately After Completion
Mistake: “We’ll do Consent later.”
Consequence: Lost files, policy changes, penalties, and difficult resale/refinance.
Fix: Diary and budget for Stamp → Register → Governor’s Consent from day one; keep receipts and endorsements in a digital vault.
12) No Insurance and No Records
Mistake: Taking possession without insurance; scattershot documentation.
Consequence: Uninsured loss; weak bargaining at sale or refinance.
Fix: Bind building & liability (add loss-of-rent for BTR), keep a completion data room: titles/CTCs, surveys, approvals, receipts, estate governance, insurance, and IDs—notarized and digitized.
13) Overpaying in “Hot” Corridors Because of Hype
Mistake: Pricing popularity rather than bankability.
Consequence: Paying premium for risk; negative equity after defects surface.
Fix: Price documentation quality (OSG-clean + consent-ready) over brochure glamour. If a bank would not lend on it, you should not buy it.
Buyer’s Red-Flag List (Terminate or Restructure with Heavy Protections)
Seller resists Registry/OSG searches or escrow.
Survey uncharted; beacons missing; coordinates “change.”
Historic link without Consent and no credible cure plan.
Gazette/excision claims without page/schedule; plot outside polygon.
Estate has no approved layout, drainage design, or audited service-charge.
Multiple “family attorneys” issuing conflicting receipts.
Protective Clauses You Should Always Insist On (Illustrative)
Condition Precedent (Title & Charting)
“Completion is conditional upon Buyer’s Counsel receiving: (i) official Land Registry search & CTCs confirming Vendor’s title and disclosing no undisclosed encumbrance; (ii) OSG charting confirming the Property lies outside acquisition/committed areas, ROW/pipelines/coastal or drainage setbacks and without overlap; (iii) where applicable, issuance of Governor’s Consent on specified historic link(s).”
Escrow & Long-Stop
“All monies shall be held in escrow and released only upon written confirmation that all CPs and Completion Deliverables are satisfied. If any CP remains unsatisfied by the Long-Stop Date, Buyer may rescind with full refund within five (5) business days.”
Indemnity & Retention
“Vendor shall indemnify Buyer against all losses from defects in title, boundary discrepancies, or undisclosed encumbrances. ₦… (or …%) shall be retained in escrow until issuance of Governor’s Consent and filing of any discharge.”
(Tailor to your facts; these are signposts, not substitutes for bespoke drafting.)
Practical Buyer’s Checklist (Print & Carry)
Root & complete chain of title; CTCs ordered
OSG charting report (no acquisition/ROW/pipeline/setback/overlap)
Contract of Sale with warranties, CPs, indemnities, escrow, long-stop, retention
Deed of Assignment (perfection-ready; survey annexed)
Stamp → Register → Consent diary and budget in place
Estate: approved layout, bye-laws, audited service-charge, no-arrears letter
If tenanted: attornment/surrender, rent schedule, meter transfers, inventory
Insurance bound; records in a digital vault; originals in fire-safe custody
Case Snapshot (Composite: Lekki–Ibeju)
Pitch: “Gazetted land, instant allocation, last 10 plots, discount ends today.”
Findings: Survey uncharted; plot partially in a drainage corridor; chain missing historic Consent; estate had no approved layout.
Action: Heads of Terms with escrow, CPs for (i) OSG clean, (ii) historic Consent, (iii) layout approval; retention pending filings. Vendor refused escrow.
Outcome: Client walked. Acquired a consent-clean, OSG-clean plot in a planned scheme; perfection concluded without drama.
Conclusion
Lagos punishes shortcuts and rewards discipline. Avoid the classic mistakes by anchoring your purchase on: documents, searches, OSG charting, escrowed contracts with CPs, and immediate perfection. If a bank would not lend on your file today, do not buy it today.
Call to Action (WordPress-Ready)
For a zero-stress, end-to-end acquisition—document review, Land Registry & OSG searches, negotiation, escrow, drafting, completion, and perfection (Stamp–Register–Consent)