All over the world, the real estate industry is one of the most lucrative.
It has been around for a while and would be around for a lot longer. There are a countless number of people who have made fortunes from it [including the current US President, Donald Trump]. And if venturing into the industry is what brought you here, you have really made a smart decision and also found the right content.
However, ‘
Despite how much money can be made in real estate, there are people who have lost a lot in the industry. And the major reason for their loss is often attributed to lack of understanding of the industry. In other words, without a good understanding of real estate, you can lose instead of gain. And the basic understanding required for your success is what I intend providing with this content.
The real estate industry is a very big one.
There are so many aspects of it, but the land business is what I’d be talking about, since it’s the easiest and also arguably the safest.
So how does it work?
Basically,
The way the land business works is that you find affordable lands having potential, then buy them. And after a certain period [after they must have appreciated significantly], you then sell them off at prices higher than what you bought them.
And by “lands having potential”, I mean pieces of land whose prices are likely to have grown significantly in some years to come.
For instance, Lekki Phase 1.
Several years ago, the place was just a mere bush. And during that period, lands sold at ridiculously low prices.
But back then,
when you ask people to buy lands in the area, you’d often be greeted with excuses like: What do I want to do with land in such an area?
What many didn’t realize is that those lands selling at ridiculously low prices would later turn out to sell for millions in the future.
What are the best places to buy lands with potential?
As of the time of writing this content, there are at least six opportunities you shouldn’t miss. We already wrote about them, so you can follow this link to the article.
How can I buy from abroad?
Very often,
I receive messages from Nigerians outside the country, asking me if it’s possible to also take part in these opportunities. And the answer is simply yes, but it might be a bit more expensive and risky.
If you have a lot of money to invest in the land business, what I’d recommend is for you to find time to come to Nigeria briefly. And when you get to the country, make the purchase of whatever land you want to buy, then return to wherever you came from.
However,
if you can’t afford to come to Nigeria, another thing you can do is to find an agent who can handle most of the work for you.
Then when you get the chance to pay a visit to the country, you can complete the transaction yourself. Usually, these agents would look for good estates for you, coordinate the survey of your land, and do every important thing that can be done on your behalf.
We have a good number of them,
But you also have to be very careful when finding an agent, as there are many scammers among them.
Finding it hard to work with a trusted agent? We can help. please Contact our specialist;
Another thing you should note is that when buying your land, never should you pay into the account of your agent.
If you see an agent asking you to pay into their account, it’s best to avoid them. The money for your land should be paid directly into your seller’s bank account most often the real estate company.
You also shouldn’t make the mistake of paying into a relative’s account and ask them to pay for you.
I’ve heard about a countless number of situation where a person paid into their relative’s account but ended up losing the money to a brother or sister they thought they trusted.
Now is the best time!
As of the time of writing this content, there are some once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunities available in Lagos.
In other words, it might take another 40 to 50 years before such opportunities appear again. So if you’re wondering when the best time is, to invest in the land business, the best time is now.
But I don’t have the money now, what can I do?
I also happen to have come across a lot of people who claim they’d like to invest but don’t have enough money to invest.
Well,
if you’re one of such people, one of the things you can do, is to consider an instalment payment.
Many developers would allow instalment payments of up to 18 months.
In other words, if you can’t afford a one-time payment, you can pay for the land, bit-by-bit. And good enough, the surcharge for instalment payment is hardly high. So, the surcharge shouldn’t also be a problem.
Avoid Omonile!
For a lot of people who go into the land business, without having someone to guide them, this is the trap they often fall for.
Omoniles are simply individuals who claim they have lands to sell. And while there are credible ones among them, an extremely large percentage of them are dubious people.
In other words, if you’re buying land from some random individual in Lagos State, without having the right connections, you risk getting scammed.
The fraud in this industry is so serious that billions of Naira get lost to this kind of people, in Lagos State alone.
In short,
When trying to buy a piece of land, it’s best to avoid omoniles.
You should deal with real estate developers instead. Real estate developers are more credible, although this doesn’t mean you should also be careless when dealing with developers as well.
There’s no doubt about the fact that lands sold by developers are often expensive than those sold by omoniles. But what would be the point of paying a cheaper price for nothing?
There are certain kinds of lands you shouldn’t buy!
Aside avoiding omoniles, another thing you should avoid is buying some kinds of land.
Have you ever heard of stories where a person builds a house, then after building that fine building, a government came and brought down the house?
Well, very often, what happens is that those people built their houses on lands they shouldn’t have built something on. In other words, it’s not all pieces of land you can buy. To know what kind of lands you can buy and what kind of lands you should avoid, consider reading an article We wrote.
The article is about land titles in Nigeria. This article is very important, so you shouldn’t skip it.
Always use the service of a Surveyor when buying a land
A mistake people often make, is thinking they don’t need a surveyor, when buying their piece of land.
But unfortunately, this is a very terrible assumption. When trying to buy a land, your seller shows what they intend selling to you.
But how can you know if the seller has the right to sell that land?
How can you know if the seller isn’t encroaching on someone else’s land? How can you know if the land isn’t on what should be a road? How can you know if the dimension of the land in paper corresponds with the real dimension? Well, all these things are some of the reasons why you need a surveyor.
A surveyor can save you a lot of headaches. So for no reason should you try to avoid using the service of a surveyor.
Closing
This article was written to serve as a starting point for people who are new to the land business. There are still more to read about and learn – please navigate around to see more unfold gems you need to know.
