Buyer guides
What nobody explains properly about buying a home in Nigeria.
Six short guides written by our advisers and legal team, in plain English. Read them in order or jump to the one you need.
Guide one
Land titles explained.
A mortgage is only as good as the title behind it. Before you fall in love with a home, ask for a copy of the title and have it checked.
Certificate of occupancy
Issued by the state, it grants the right to occupy the land, usually for 99 years. It is the strongest title for a first owner and the easiest for us to lend against.
Governor's consent
When land with a certificate of occupancy changes hands, the governor's consent records the new owner. Without it the sale is not fully perfected, and we arrange it as part of completion.
Deed of assignment
The contract that transfers the property from seller to buyer. It is acceptable when the root title is sound and every previous transfer can be traced.
Registered survey
A survey shows where the land is. It is not a title. We cannot lend on a survey alone, but we can explain how to regularise the title first.
Guide two
The real cost of buying.
The deposit is not the only money you need on day one. On a ₦40m home, budget roughly this, using example figures:
| Deposit at 20% | ₦8,000,000 |
| Legal fees, about 2% to 5% of price | ₦1,200,000 |
| Agency fee, if any | ₦2,000,000 |
| Consent and registration | ₦1,400,000 |
| Valuation and mortgage fees | ₦550,000 |
Ask sellers whether the price includes consent costs, and ask agents to put their fee in writing before viewings start.
Guide three
Loan to value, in one minute.
Loan to value is the loan as a share of the home's value. Borrow ₦32m on a ₦40m home and your loan to value is 80%.
A lower loan to value means less risk for the bank and, often, a better rate. Each 10% extra deposit typically lowers the example rate by around 0.5%.
Use the calculator to see how changing your deposit moves both your monthly repayment and your loan to value.
Guide four
Buying off-plan without losing sleep.
Off-plan homes can be good value, but money paid to a developer before the home exists is money at risk.
Three rules we follow
We only lend for developers on our approved list. We pay in stages after our surveyor inspects the work. And we confirm the estate has a registered title before the first naira moves.
If you have already paid a developer, bring the receipts and contract. We can review where you stand and finance the balance if the project passes our checks.
Guide five
Buying from abroad: three traps.
Trusting a relative with all the money
Pay sellers and builders through the bank, not through someone else's account. Our completion process pays the seller directly.
Photos without a site visit
Ask for a dated video walk-through. Our diaspora team visits every property we lend on and sends you the report.
A title nobody checked
A registry search costs little compared with losing the property. We search every title as standard.
Guide six
Building in stages.
Most stalled houses ran out of money at the roof. Budget the whole house before you start, with a 10% contingency for price rises in cement, iron rods and roofing sheets.
Agree payment stages with your builder in writing: foundation, lintel, roof and finishing. Pay each stage after it is inspected, never in advance.
Our construction finance works this way by design, with a surveyor visit before every release.
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