Honestly, the biggest shock for us was how much the "hidden" costs add up...

Honestly, the biggest shock for us was how much the "hidden" costs add up before you even get the keys. We saved for the deposit and thought we were golden, but it's a different beast entirely.

First, there's the "tutu" or inspection fee. Everyone says "get a structural survey" but in practice, finding a reliable engineer who actually visits the site and doesn't just send a report from their office is hard. Pay for a proper one. We skipped it on a house in Ibadan, and the first heavy rain showed us the roof leaked like a sieve. We spent our entire moving-in budget fixing it.

Second, the legal fees are not just what the lawyer quotes upfront. They will ask for "transport" money to go to the lands registry, "search" fees, and then "stamp duty" which varies state to state. If you're buying from a family estate (which is common here), the list of "surviving children" who need to sign is never complete. Someone is always abroad or "unavailable" until you pay them to agree. Budget an extra 30% on top of your purchase price just for these fees and "encumbrances" that pop up.

My biggest tip: Don't rely on one lawyer. Use a different lawyer (a friend's referral) just to do the land search for you at the state lands registry. The seller's lawyer will tell you the land is clean, but your own independent search might reveal it's under government acquisition or has a Caver. We found a plot in Lekki that looked perfect on paper, but our separate search showed it was in a "green area" (unbuildable). Saved us millions.

And finally, the "possession" date is a suggestion. Build in a 3-month buffer after the expected handover date. The seller always needs "just one more week" to move their mother out or fix something. It's not malice, it's just how things go.

Sign in to post a comment.

---

Sign In

---

Spahr Kellen @kellenspahr1127

The separate lawyer thing is genius actually. My uncle got burned so bad buying land in Ojodu, seller's lawyer swore it was clean but turns out the original owner's son had already sold it to three different people. Three!! We had to hire a different guy to untangle that mess and it took two years. Anyway your point about the family estate hit home, my cousin's trying to buy from his own uncle's estate and the aunties are fighting over who gets what share of the money. It's like a whole Nollywood drama in real life smh
8 days ago

---