10 SOLID REASONS WHY BUYING LAND FROM A REAL ESTATE COMPANY IS YOUR BEST OPTION

With the number of land scams that happen every day in Nigeria, most first time investors are always confused when it comes to who they should buy land from; the ‘Omo-oniles’ or real estate companies.

Though there may be few advantages of buying land from ‘Omo-oniles’, the advantages of buying from a real estate company are far more pronounced.

Dealing with an omo-onile requires some “special form of expertise” or involvement of land experts so that you don’t get swindled. If you’ve been asking yourself this question, here are some advantages of buying land from a real estate company:

1. You Are Sure Of The Source

     When you purchase land from a real estate company, you know who   you are buying from. In the event of a land dispute which hardly ever happens, you know who to contact.

2. You are Free from Omo-onile issues

When you buy land from a real estate company, you are free from the dreaded omo-oniles. You have no business with them and you cannot get into their trouble. You will be dealing with professionals who know how to deal with the omo-oniles and must have settled all their fees.

3. No unnecessary fees

When you buy land from an omo-onile, they don’t tell you about any additional fees until you pay for the land. Then you start hearing of additional fees like signing fees, foundation fees, roofing fees etc. In most cases you will keep paying some unnecessary fees until you get fed up.

With real estate companies, there are extra compulsory fees that all investors pay; after paying these fees, that’s all.

4. All documentations are done for you

With Real estate companies, you don’t have to contract a lawyer to prepare the necessary document for the land transaction. The company does the documentation in your favour. The only document you should get yourself however, is a governor’s consent (link).

5. You are sure the environment will be planned.

Real estate companies indicate the kind of buildings they allow within their estates. So you are sure you are going to live in an area that has been pre-planned.

6. No agency fees

When you buy land from real estate companies, you don’t have to negotiate with agents or pay any agency fees. If you were buying an omo-onile land, you may have to pay an extra percentage of the purchase price of the land as agent fees.

7. Your land cannot be stolen

When you buy an omo-onile land, even if you do everything right, buy from the right family and pay all the necessary fees, you still have to put some measures in place such as fencing your land, to prevent criminals and trespassers from stealing your land.

8. Flexible Payment Plans

Real estate companies offer flexible installment payment plans to people who cannot afford to pay outright. This could be helpful, provided you are dealing with a good company.

9. You land cannot be resold

When you buy from a real estate company, you can rest assured that your land can never be resold even if you pay in instalments. You can’t be assured of this if you buy from an omo-onile.

10. You won’t have to worry about surveying the land by yourself or worry about development such as drainage, roads, light etc. The company handles all that. You are however required to pay some fees for survey and development which is usually lower than what you’d pay if you did all that yourself.

Need good title properties without omonile wahala? Give us a call now on 08072046473

FIVE REVEALING REASONS WHY INVESTING IN REAL ESTATE IS BETTER THAN SAVING IN THE BANK

Some feel that saving money in the bank is a good strategy to building wealth. Though it is very good to save, it is not a good wealth building strategy. The gains of real estate investment far outweighs that of saving in the bank for the following reasons.

1. Currency always diminish in value while real estate appreciates: The purchasing power of money continually diminishes. The things One million naira could buy five years ago are not the same things it can buy today as the prices of goods have gone up.

However, real estate always appreciates. If you buy a plot of land in a good location, take effective possession and perfect necessary documentation today, in five years time, you can sell it for double (or even triple) the price you bought it.

2. Return on savings is infinitesimal while returns on real estate investments are huge: When you save your money in the bank or do a fixed deposit, your returns on investment are usually single digit per annum.

Conversely, based on the rate of development in the area you purchase your landed property or building, the return on investment are often huge.

If you buy a house for example and let it out to tenants, between a decade to two, you will have recovered your investment and you will continue to make profit for the rest of your life.

3. Your money in the bank simply makes the banker richer while your money in real estate makes you richer: If you save money in the bank, the money will be used by bankers to give loans to customers and you will be paid an interest. The difference between the interest given by the customer who loans your money and the amount given to you is taken by the bank. Thus making the banker richer.

On the other hand, when you invest in real estate, the difference between the price you bought the property and the price you are selling it is taken completely by you. Thus making you richer.

4. Expenses always arise to deplete your savings but your property is always there appreciating in value: When you have money saved in the bank, no matter how disciplined you are, there will always be expenses that will arise to deplete the savings.

When you invest such funds into real estate, your cash is tied into an investment that will be appreciating in value no matter how lose you are with the remaining cash in your possession.

5. None of the rich ascribe their success in gathering wealth to saving but most of them have impressive property portfolios: Of all the wealthy individuals in the world, I do not know of anyone whose wealth strategy was saving in the bank.

However, a cursory look at the wealthiest individuals in the world, in Africa and even in Nigeria show that property investment is the preferred wealth building option.

Therefore, if you desire your money to appreciate with high return on investment which makes you richer and among the wealthy men in the world, consider investing in real estate

If you desire someone to talk to on how to get started, simply call 08092619008

THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION FIRST TIME LAND INVESTORS SHOULD BE ASKING

Many people, especially those who are about to make their first land transaction get confused when it comes to asking the right questions.

In some cases, intending investors ask questions like “where is the place?”, “Is it far?” and lots of other questions.

I’ve even had an encounter with someone who asked for the longitude and latitude of the land.

 While these questions are not out of place and arise as a result of people trying to be careful so that they don’t make a financial commitment they would later regret, wouldn’t it be better if they knew the right questions to ask?

 

That brings us to the first question anyone intending to buy land should ask which is *“what is the status of the land?”*

See, before you buy land in Nigeria, it is very important that you know the status of the land!

Knowing the status of the land you are about to buy can save you a lot of money and unnecessary hassles.

 Imagine buying a piece of land and erecting a building on it, just for the government to come some years after, and tell you to move out, with claims that your building is illegal because it is sitting on government property.

 

All these can be prevented if you know the status of the land you are investing in before sealing the transaction.
This brings us to Land classification

 

Land can be classified as either free or acquired. A parcel of land is considered free if the government has not indicated any interest whatsoever in that land.
Such land is safe to buy because the title on the land can be perfected without issues.

In most cases, such lands will either have a gazette, a C of O or a governor’s consent.

 Now that you understand what it means for land to be free, you should also know that all lands that fall within areas that are designated as urban areas are under government acquisition until deemed committed or free.

 

There are two types of acquisition;

1. committed acquisition and

2. general acquisition

 

Committed acquisition

A parcel of land is said to be under committed acquisition when the government has indicated an intention to use that land for a specific purpose such as provision of amenities.
Such lands belong to the government and can never be available for use by individuals.

 

If you purchase land that is under committed acquisition, it will be impossible for you to perfect your land title and you’ll only be occupying the land until the government comes to kick you out.

 

General acquisition

Lands that are under “general acquisition or “global acquisition can later be confirmed ‘free’ or ‘committed’.
A land under general acquisition can become free by a process called *excision*.

“Excision is a process whereby the government releases a portion of an expanse of land that is not committed"

 

If a parcel of land that was formerly under acquisition becomes excised, it is then considered free and becomes gazetted.

 

The gazette then becomes the title on the land and such land is safe to buy because a proper title can be processed on the land.

 

A second case where lands under general acquisition can be released is if an individual purchased a land that was under acquisition without going through an excision process.

 

Such lands can go through another process called “ratification” or “regularization” in which the land owner pays for the land to be ratified or regularized.

 

The only conditions in this case are that the land in question must not fall within a committed area and that the purpose for which the land was bought does not disrupt the original plan of the state.

 

Conditions for ratification may differ from state to state.

 

I hope by now you understand the most important question to ask when buying land in Nigeria and the kind of lands you should avoid.

 

If you got value from this article, please share it with others, you might just be saving someone from possible demolition in future.

 

What other questions do you think first time investors should ask?

 

Want to get the latest updates on land matters/investment from us? Call us on 08072046437

 

To avoid stories that touches the heart when making your next land purchase, we’ve deem it fit to call your attentions to the following 10 rules most land buyers often ignore and as a result they fall victims of dubious land deals.

As it is every family dreams to own a house so also it is the dreams of every evil doers to get preys that will fall victims of their shady land deals.

Therefore, follow me as I take you by the hand to show you why you need to shine your eyes when dealing in landed properties.

1. Your Real Estate Investment is as strong as your real estate link i.e a consultant/agent. It is advisable never to deal in real estate without a trusted link.

2. Before paying for that land make proper investigation. Investigate if the land you’re paying for is not under dispute between the families that owns the land or under government interest.

3. If there is anything not clear to you during negotiation please ask questions. In real estate deals you don’t know what you don’t know.

4. Never pay directly to a real estate consultant/agent rather pay directly to the land owners or to the real estate company involved. Please call the deal off if you’re not allowed to do this.

5. Involve the service of a good lawyer. Lawyers spot loopholes quicker when it comes to land deals.

6. Don’t be in a rush to close a deal. Always take your time to be sure you’re dealing with the right people.

7. Go on site inspection before buying a land and watch out for inscriptions so as to be sure you’re not paying for someone else property.

8. When making payments, make sure you documents the whole process. Take pictures with the people involve, writes down your agreements, do video recordings and collect receipts.

9. After payment of the land, survey your land immediately and start processing all necessary papers.

10. Be a wise investor. Before buying a land, be on the lookout for government policies and economic indicators because they contribute to capital appreciations of landed properties.

Invest in properties/land at locations closed to fringe of development and wait for capital appreciation for good ROI.

In your real estate investment journey, you’re going to need these guidelines in other to make the right decision when making a land purchase.

Need good title properties without omonile wahala? Give us a call now on 08072046473

7 Tips To Real Estate Investment

Why should you  invest in the first place? The simple answer is: to have enough money to fall back on during active work or retirement. To put that money aside, however, we have to accumulate enough to offset inflation and the taxes that erode our savings. Currently, Nigerian inflation rate is @ 13%p.a so any fix deposit that gives you below this means you are wasting time keeping money in the bank because it gets devalued. For this purpose, real estate is an perfect solution.

The great thing about real estate is that even in recession, it will usually fare better than stocks. Land, after all, is a finite resource. People need a place to live, work, shop and play -- so real estate will always appreciate.

What's more, real estate will continue to appreciate despite occasional slow-downs in the economy. In fact, it's proven to be the best way to create wealth, and an investor need not be a genius or a millionaire to succeed. Here are some tips, then, for entrepreneurs on getting started and succeeding in real estate investing:

1. Plan your financial goals.

Before you buy that first property, or do your first analysis, determine what you expect from your investments. What are your financial goals?  I have a client who is retired from active last year at the age of 65. He has been investing in real estate since the age of 22 and has over 40 properties. What he does is, sell a property at the beginning of the year and used the proceed to enjoy life through the year with hiw wife. His kids are all grown and doing fine. If you are unsure exactly how to create financial goals, meeting with a financial advisor is an excellent first step.

 

2. Do -- look at plenty of properties.

Don’t just grab the first property you look at. Too many investors buy properties because they “look nice,” or the investors don’t want to put the work in to look at what’s really out there. Remember, you won’t be living there, so don’t make your investment decision based on your personal preferences. While you shouldn’t fall into the trap of analysis paralysis, make sure you are thorough in looking through properties. Give yourself a wide range of options, then narrow them down based on the criteria (goals) you have set for yourself.

4. Don't -- postpone starting your investment program because you’re waiting for that perfect time.

A popular quote states "Dont wait to buy land, buy land and wait". This is because the more you wait, the more you pay. Also, you stand the chance of missing the property because the property you inpected today and planning to pay for the next day is the same property someone inspected yesterday and planning to pay for today. Better to execute on a deal that meets most of your criteria than wait for another that may never come.

5. Do -- a thorough financial analysis.

Be realistic. Look at different alternatives to determine which makes the most financial sense. And never buy property at a higher price or on less attractive terms than your analysis says made sense. Be wary of sellers that try to over-estimate the value of the property through pro-forma (estimated) data. While you can certainly use a pro-forma to start the conversation, make sure you know the real numbers before closing. Look at previous years’ tax returns, property-tax bills, maintenance records, etc. to get a good idea of the real income and expenses.

The most important figures you should know are:

• Net income (income/expenses)
• Cash flow (net income/debt financing payments)
• Return on investment (cash flow/investment)
• Cap rate (net income/property price)
• Cash-on-cash return (cash flow/investment)
• Total ROI (total return/investment)

In each case, “investment” refers to how much you invest in the property. "Debt financing" refers to any loans you may have to take out to buy the property. And "total return" refers to cash flow, equity accrual (i.e., equity gained from your tenants paying their rents), appreciation and taxes.

Once you have understood these figures, you should have enough information to determine whether or not acquiring the property fits with your financial goals.

6. Don't -- try to buy property that the seller is not motivated to sell.

If the seller is motivated to sell, you’re not likely to get the price best aligned with your financial goals. So, how do you know if a seller is motivated? Look at the asking price. For example, If the property has been on the market for a year for, say, $200,000, with little-to-no price reduction, the seller is clearly not very motivated to move the property. However, if that same property has been on the market for a year and has had its price moved down considerably, the seller most likely wants to do whatever it takes to get the property off his or her hands. Of course, this raises the question of how to find motivated sellers. There are many approaches, and not all of these will work for you, depending on what property you want. But a few trusted methods include:

• Attending open houses
• Looking for vacant/unattractive properties that are for sale
• Spreading the word about yourself and what properties you are looking for -- truly
• Going the old-fashioned route and looking in the classifieds of your local paper

These are just a few ways to find sellers, but there are potentially dozens of other methods, depending on what type of property you’re looking for.

7. Do -- know the difference between real estate investing and the business of real estate.

As an entrepreneur, you already have a business, and real estate investing is best used to support that business, not replace it -- unless that’s your intention. In other words, don’t get so caught up in executing transactions that your core business falters. If that happens, you’ll be facing a bumpy road to get back to stability. Unless your business is itself real estate, or you’re looking to get into the business full-time, always remember that pursuing these deals is a means to an end, not an end unto itself.

So, if you’re interested in staying ahead of taxes and inflation while building security for the future, real estate investing may be for you. What are you waiting for?

Title Documents You Must Know In Real Estate

SURVEY PLAN

A Survey plan is a document that measures the boundary of a parcel of land to give an accurate measurement and description of that land. The people that handle survey issues are Surveyors and they are regulated by the office of the Surveyor general in Lagos as it relates to survey issues in Lagos. A survey plan must contain the following information:

1. The name of the owner of the land surveyed

2. The Address or description of the land surveyed

3. The size of the land surveyed

4. The drawn out portion of the land survey and mapped out on the survey plan document

5. The beacon numbers

6. The surveyor who drew up the survey plan and the date it was drawn up

7. A stamp showing the land is either free from Government acquisition or not

EXCISION

Land Use Decree on the 28th of March, 1978 that vested all lands in every state of the Federation under the control of the State Governors. The Land Use Act coupled with other laws made it possible for the Governor who was now the owner of all lands in the state to actually have the power to Acquire more lands compulsorily for its own public purpose to provide amenities for the greater good of the citizens.

Fortunately, the government recognizes that indigenes of different sections of the country have a right to existence . . . a right to the land of their birth. Hence, it is customary for state government to cede a portion of land to the original owners (natives) of each area.

An Excision means basically taking a part from a whole and that part that has been excised, will be recorded and documented in the official government gazette of that state.

GAZETTE

A Gazette is an Official record book where all special government details are spelt out, detailed and recorded

A gazette will show the communities or villages that have been granted excision and the number of acres or hectares of land that the government has given to them. It is within those excised acres or hectares that the traditional family is entitled to sell its lands to the public and not anything outside those hectares of land given or excised to them.

A Gazette is a very powerful instrument the community owns and can replace a Certificate of Occupancy to grant title to the Villagers. A community owning a gazette can only sell lands to an individual within those lands that have been excised to them and the community or family head of that land has the right to sign your documents for you if you purchase lands within those excised acres or hectares of land.

DEED OF ASSIGNMENT

A Deed of Assignment is an Agreement between the Seller of a Land or Property and a Buyer of that Land or property showing evidence that the Seller has transferred all his rights, his title, his interest and ownership of that land to that the Seller that has just bought land.

The Deed of Assignment has been exchanged between both parties, it has to be recorded in the land registry to show legal proof that the land has exchanged hands and the public should be aware of the transaction. Such recorded Deed of Assignment come in the form of either a Governor’s Consent or _Registered Conveyance

CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY

A Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) issued by the Lagos State Government officially leases Lagos land to you, the applicant, for 99 yrs. As already indicated above, all lands belong to the Government.

A C of O however is the officially recognized Document for demonstrating Right to a Land.

What happens after 99 years? That question is still subject of debate among experts. Most have adopted a wait-and-see attitude. Others postulate that as the new owner of the land, you the buyer, can renew the certificate of occupancy when it expires. That makes sense, but for now is largely a case of “We shall see when we get there”.

When Is The Best Time To Sell Your Land?

People ask me all the time; 

“Hassan, if I buy this land now, when can I sell it?”

Now I get this question mostly from first time buyers

First things first, if your strategy is buy low and sell high, then you should understand that, the longer you hold, the more returns you are likely to make.


Question Answered! But let’s go into details.


For example, if someone decides to buy a plot of land at sunny courts in ibeju lekki at N3million and decides to sell at the end of this year when it should be worth about N5million, they will make about N2million in profits.


On the other hand, someone who buys at the same time, same price but decides to hold for 15 years and then sell, could end up selling for up to N75m or even more because of the development that would have taken over the ibeju lekki area.


The second person in this example, will be making 72million as returns whereas the second person made just N2million. The only difference was the holding period.


The question you should be asking yourself is not, when can I sell, rather you should be asking, how much returns do I want to make from this inve$tment. Am I in a hurry or can I be more patient?

Truth is, investing can be boring and that’s why not too many persons do it.

Hassan Ismail Founder, Best Property Deals PS: Did you know that lands in ibeju lekki currently appreciate by up to 100% every year? By 2021, a plot of land that currently costs N3m will easily be worth over N15m or more. Call me or reply this email and let’s discuss how we can get you an asset that is safe and has a potential for huge profits….within your budget

You can call me at anytime on 0809 261 9008 or send me an email to hassan@bestpropertydeals.com.ng  You can also chat me up on whatsapp: 0807 204 6437 Visit our website: http://bestpropertydeals.com.ng/

What’s The Best Type Of Land To Buy?

I was discussing with a prospect recently and he asked me this question; “Hassan, What’s the best type of land to buy in Lagos?” I had never given this question a complete thought but I had to respond, and this was my reply; “It depends on a number of factors; The first thing you have to consider is the status of the land.  You also have to consider the title, location and potential for appreciation. Talking about status, the best lands are those that are free from government acquisition. (I mean lands that have not been committed for use by the government) Then we talk of title; the best land titles are those that have either C o fO, gazette or governor’s consent.  These are called proper titles because the government recognizes the land which they represent as belonging to an individual or an entity. You also have to consider the location; is the land located in a place where it's value can appreciate fast?  Is it somewhere you can make reasonable capital gains on resale of land? Does the area have potential for development? If you construct rental apartments in that area, is there potential for cashflow increasing over time? Does it suit your intention for investing? Is it free from dispute? These are the factors you should consider when planning to invest in landed properties. Hassan Ismail Founder, Best Property Deals PS: Did you know that lands in ibeju lekki currently appreciate by up to 100% every year? By 2021, a plot of land that currently costs N3m will easily be worth over N15m or more. Call me or reply this email and let’s discuss how we can get you an asset that is safe and has a potential for huge profits….within your budget You can call me at anytime on 0809 261 9008 or send me an email to hassan@bestpropertydeals.com.ng  You can also chat me up on whatsapp: 0807 204 6437 Visit our website: http://bestpropertydeals.com.ng/