Title to Land and the use of land in Nigeria is governed by the Land Use Act (Cap. L5, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004) (“the Act”).
The Act entrusts all land in urban area of each state, to the State Governor, while land in rural area is vested in the Local government within their area of jurisdiction (this excludes land vested in the Federal Government).
This Act was meant to standardize land administration in the Country.
Why Invest In Nigerian Real Estate? First ask, what is Real Estate?
Real estate simply means the buying or leasing of properties that are residential or commercial. Properties like Flats, terrace apartments, detached houses,maisonettes, Condos, warehouses, office buildings, shopping malls, parking lots to name a few.
Why invest in Nigerian Real Estate you ask? Here are 7 reasons why people invest in real estate;
4 Safety Tips for driving during this rainy season, knowing that driving while it rains heavily can be very difficult and in some cases dangerous. Whenever you are driving and there is a heavy downpour, it is important you drive slowly and carefully as the wet roads and visibility low which increases the danger. However, we would like to share with you 4 safety tips to help keep you safe and to avoid any accident while driving this rainy season.
4 Safety Tips to driving in the rainy season
Headlights: Headlights help light up the road and make the road more visible to you and other drivers, so when driving in the rain it’s advised that you utilize them. Most Toyota cars (popular in Nigeria) have fog lights, for more visibility, it’s more difficult to spot a car coming in the opposite direction when they do not use their lights.
Hydroplaning: Hydroplaning occurs when you drive on wet roads and high speed.. You must ensure not to make sudden motion because you might lose control of your car . It is very important you drive slowly and avoid speeding when there is heavy downpour and don’t drive close to other cars so you won’t have to stop suddenly.
Windscreen: First of all ensure cracks and damages on your windscreen are fixed immediately. Then ensure your wiper is functioning well and replace old wipers which are sold in traffic all over lagos. They help free your windscreen from clogs and blurring moist. These two steps alone and now you can see 5 times clearer even in a heavy downpour.
Be alert: Always look out for large vehicles such as trucks and trailers while driving because they lose control during heavy rainstorm and most drivers find it very difficult driving under such wet weather. Always keep some distance from big vehicles on the road at all times when driving to avoid accidents.
Decluttering your home is not as difficult as it may seem, let’s be honest everyone has clutter in their homes whether we want to admit it or not. A cluttered home is not just toxic for your health it can lead to stress. Here are simple steps to help declutter your home from the living room to the kitchen.
How do we begin
Let us start with the living room, it is usually the first place your guests walk into, and can come off as disorganized or messy if there are excess amounts of items. Here are steps to making your living room look put together and sophisticated.
The bedroom is the second most important area in the home and a perfect way to start getting it organised, is by removing the piles of clothes in it and cleaning out the closets. Here are also steps to making your bedroom clutter free;
After the bedroom, for those with children their room is yet another major clutter zone. In three steps you can declutter their room, first
Now the bathroom, let’s face it— you haven’t used some products in your cabinet in months, dispose of them.
Take a few minutes out of your day to organize and declutter the final room in your home, the kitchen.
You are now an expert in organizing each room in your home, from tackling your living room mess to removing unnecessary items from your kitchen or cleaning out your bathroom.
A Decluttered Home
If you’re just beginning to invest in real estate, you’ll find that there’s a lot to learn. Investing in Real estate is more complicated than investing in stocks because of the financial, legal, and extensive due diligence requirements involved. That’s why it’s a good idea to give yourself a solid education before you purchase your first investment property.
However, before you get your advanced degree, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the fundamentals. To that end, here are 5 basic tips for investing in real estate.
1. Location Matters
The old adage that “location matters” is most accurate when it comes to investing in real estate . Before you fork over a down payment and put yourself in a significant amount of debt over a property, ensure that it’s in a good location.
Look for the worst house on the best street. That’s a principle you’ll come across quite a bit as you delve into further real estate investing advice.
You want to invest in the worst house on the best street because it gives you an opportunity to build equity. It’s a property in a great neighborhood (“the best street”) that needs some work (“the worst house”). You can invest some money to fix it up and sell it to someone else who wants a ready-to-move-in house in a fabulous location. Professional real estate investors call this “fixing and flipping.”
2. Look for Wholesale Properties
Investing in real estate is just like investing in the stock market in at least one way: you’re looking for the best deal. If you’re a savvy stock market investor, you probably won’t buy too many stocks at their high if you plan on holding them for a long time. Instead, you’ll follow the Warren Buffet principle of getting greedy when everyone else gets fearful. You’ll buy stocks that are beaten down and make a fortune when they turn around.
That’s what you want to do when it comes to real estate investing. Avoid paying “full price” for properties. Instead, look for so-called wholesale properties that are offered at a steep discount. Sure, they’ll probably need some work. Run the numbers and see if the investment in rehab is worth the ultimate selling price.
As noted at ThinkConveyance: “You can easily invest $20,000 in a property and add twice that much to the selling price. That’s why real estate investing is so attractive to investors who want to maximize their return on investment.”
3. Understand the Tax Benefits
The people who run our government want private investors to provide housing for people. That’s because they know that if private investors don’t provide housing, then the government will be responsible for it.
To that end, Uncle Sam offers significant tax benefits to real estate investors. The most significant benefit, arguably, is the depreciation write-off. When you buy an investment property that includes a building, you get to write off the depreciation of that building as a tax deduction. You’ll have to consult your tax advisor for specifics, but basically you can expect to depreciate a residential building over 27 years and a commercial building over 39 and a half years.
Again, it’s a good idea to consult your tax advisor about specifics.
4. Check Your Credit Report
You’re more than likely going to need to borrow money to buy real estate. That’s why you should check your credit report before you begin investing in real estate.
If you have problems on your credit report that are mistakes, get those resolved as quickly as possible. If you have problems that are legitimate, then you’ll need to work to improve your credit.
Simply put, banks aren’t going to loan money to you for a property that’s not your primary residence as readily as they’ll loan it to you for your own home. That’s why your credit has to be spectacular.
5. Use the “1% Rule”
If you’re planning on buying a property that you’ll rent out one or more tenants, use the “1% Rule” when you decide whether or not the property is worth the price you’ll pay for it.
The 1% Rule simply states that an income producing property must produce 1% of the price you pay for it every month. For example, if you’re looking at buying a property for $150,000, then the monthly rental income should be 150,000 x 1% = $1,500.
Wrapping It Up
Real estate investing offers the potential for fabulous returns. However, people have also bankrupted themselves investing in real estate. Be sure that you know what’s involved before you start.
Generally before you engage in any land purchase, you need proof of ownership from the vendor, to ensure that he is the rightful owner of the said property and that he has can actually assign title to you as a purchaser. Usually, these documents are sufficient to prove title – Certificate of Occupancy, Deed of Assignment or Deed of Conveyance, Registered Title or Court Vesting Order.
After physical siting those documents and/or obtaining copies, as a would be purchaser, you need to be 100% convinced that – the documents are valid, that the vendor is who he says he is, that there are no encumbrances on the property, that the property described is what is being sold and that there are no disputes on the property. Thus, due diligence searches should first and foremost be conducted in the following places:
For properties located in highbrow areas or to be purchased from influential individuals, investigate the profile of the vendors to ascertain such persons are not wanted by government agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
However, after all is said and done, there are some property which do not have any documentation. Usually family or communal property in remote areas, who have not perfected their title. Even when a search is conducted, nothing of significance might be revealed. Here, investigation conducted will rely on traditional evidence i.e. – inquiry of traditional leaders, community heads and family heads, etc. This is usually arises and validity is given by the “deemed grant of right of occupancy, where the individual has occupied the land prior to the coming of the Land Use Act of 1978. They could be deemed as customary landowners. So, although the owner might not have a deed of assignment or certificate of occupancy, his ownership of the land cannot be defeated except it is expressly revoked by the state governor.
After your due diligence has been conducted, you are satisfied with the result of your search and ascertained that the vendor has a good title to the land, the next step is the transfer of title from the vendor to the purchaser. One common and vital document in property purchase is the Deed of Assignment which is used in assigning interest in law
The Deed of assignment can be prepared by the purchaser’s solicitor and vetted by the vendor or his solicitor after which the documents would be executed by parties and their witnesses. At this stage any the agreed purchase price would be paid by the Purchaser.
This is a very critical part of land purchase activity. These include application for Governor’s consent, payment of stamp duties and registration of conveyance or assignment at the Lands Registry. This is done in order to ensure compliance with the law and protect the validity of the purchaser’s title to the property.
However, it is important to note that the mere issuance of a Certificates of Occupancy does not and cannot confer title in respect of the land in dispute where no such title either existed or was available to be transferred to anyone.
The purchase of a land is generally a risky business. Buyers need to beware and sceptical about every transaction.
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You will definitely not be thinking of the fine coloured painting of your home when your sleep is rudely interrupted by the drops of water coming from your leaking roof. Cleverly placed mirrors, strategic lighting, delicious smells, are all tricks sellers use to make their home more appealing. While the beauty and aesthetics of a house is important, sooner or later, it will become unimportant and irrelevant when compared to the functionality of the house.
Hint: A damp wall or ceiling may be a sign of plumbing or foundational issues. Cracks on the wall which could be either active (progressive) or dormant points and structural issues such as foundation soil settlement / movement, thermal movement, permeability of concrete, creeps, corrosion of the building reinforcement, moisture movement, etc. can all affect the functionality of the building.
Try your hands on everything. Turn on every faucet and every light switch, open every window and door, test the toilet flusher, check the water pressure and taste the water if you have to. Check and feel the walls for damp-rising.
Even though we are focusing on purchasing a property, the environment where the property is, is equally important. If you have young children or love to host parties, check that the space around the property suits your preference. It is advised that you take note of the following when scrutinizing the environment of your potential home:
Any professional realtor will advise a home seeker to carry out their search for a house during the rainy season. However, there are some tell-tale features to know if an area is prone to flood even during the dry season. These are:
A satisfied home inspection is still not enough reason to finally conclude that purchase. Because there’s only so much that you can do with your five senses, it is important that you get professionals to also do a proper check of the house. Also, ensure you request for the Mechanical & Electrical drawings. These drawings show the piping and electrical layout of the facilities in the house in case you have to carry out repairs such as plumbing, electrical, air-conditioning etc.
These are the physical things to look out for when thinking of buying a house. Next time we will throw more light on the process and documentation aspects of buying a house.
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