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/