Amongst the numerous property acquisition and investment options, buying land appears to be one of the most favoured. Land is an essential part of human existence and sustenance. It is valuable commodity that has proven to have a high appreciation in value over time.

Land could be bought to develop it for commercial purposes, personal uses or for land banking. Land banking is the act of buying land as a future investment and with no immediate or specific plans to develop it. Such purchase is usually made to allow the land appreciate in value over time.

Buying a land in Nigeria, as indeed so many other places, is a venture that ought to be embarked on with carefulness, tact and a thorough and detailed understanding of what it truly entails.

Depending on how you go about land purchase, it could be either a huge source of relief and deep-seated happiness or a thorny source of agony, sadness and regrets. In order to avoid regrets in land buying transactions, this book will guide you in practical terms and a simplified form to avoid issues that usually arise in land purchase transactions.

It is expected that you will pay very close attention to these practical guard to safeguard your hard-earned funds and save yourself the hassles of land ownership tussles.
We will now proceed to consider each of those steps that must be taken when setting out to buy land. Each is as important as the other, and none should by any means be considered less worthy of attention. Little things in land buying truly matter as serious legal issues could indeed be woven around those seemingly little matters.

This work offers very detailed and practical legal guidance to persons seeking to buy land and house in Nigeria and so as to help them avoid costly errors and secure their funds, property and real estate investments. It is a product of my 17 years experience in Property and Real Estate Law Practice which prompted me to bag a PhD in Property and Business Law.

Let us now dive into considering each of these guides.

1. BEGIN THE BUYING PROCESS WITH A REAL ESTATE LAWYER
There is an all-important need to point out the need for a land purchaser to, at the earliest possible, time, engage an experienced real estate Lawyer to kick-start the process of buying land. Bear in mind that not every Lawyer is adequately equipped to handle land buying transactions. Experience is key. Such Lawyer is trained to navigate the intricacies, processes and issues around buying of land, and there is no gainsaying the fact that his professional input is most-needed and from the genesis of the land buying venture. Not along the line, in the middle of it, after payments have been made or when things go south.

Engage the services of a Lawyer as soon as you decides to acquire land for proper guidance. Let the lawyer guide you. Most importantly, follow legal advice. It is one thing to engage the services of a Lawyer and another thing to defer to your Lawyer in his area of expertise. It could be a bit pricy or costly, but in the long run it is worth every penny spent. Do not be penny wise pound foolish. It is pretty easy for a Lawyer to smoke out red flags, fraud and suspicious issues at the early stages of the process. You can be sure that consulting a Lawyer will protect your land interest. Native intelligence will not be of much help to you in the process of acquisition of land. Buy smart.

Written by
Dr. Precious Egbule, Esq, MCIArb (UK)
Managing Attorney, Apex Chambers,
Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

Apex Chambers is a reputable Law Firm of very experienced Property/Real Estate and Business/Commercial Lawyers, Barristers, Solicitors, Advocates, Attorneys and Notary Public in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.