Land and Property Verification Checklist

Fourteen questions to take to your lawyer, surveyor and the seller before buying property in Nigeria. Use the checklist below without submitting your details. It helps organise an investigation; it does not certify a property or guarantee a risk-free purchase.

Identify the land and the seller

  1. Exact property: Record the plot or unit reference, location, area and survey information. Does every document refer to the same property?
  2. Seller identity: Establish the seller’s legal name and who will sign. What evidence explains any difference between that name and the documents?
  3. Authority to sell: Ask your lawyer to investigate the seller’s right to transfer the interest, including any relevant company, family, estate or representative authority.
  4. Title history: Obtain the documents on which the seller relies. What interest do they establish, and what earlier transactions or missing records need investigation?
  5. Independent searches: Ask your lawyer which official searches and enquiries apply. Keep the references, dates, written findings and limitations.

Match the documents to the site

  1. Plot identity and boundaries: Have a registered surveyor reconcile the physical site with the documents and explain discrepancies. A phone location pin is not a cadastral survey.
  2. Acquisition and restrictions: Ask the relevant professionals to investigate applicable acquisition information, restrictions and the implications of any excision or gazette relied on.
  3. Intended use: Check the planning position and requirements for what you intend to do with the property. A title document alone does not approve a building design.
  4. Access and site conditions: Record the actual access route, neighbouring uses and visible ground or drainage issues. Commission appropriate technical investigations where needed.
  5. Occupation and other interests: Ask about occupiers, tenants, competing claims, security interests and disputes, and have your lawyer establish the appropriate enquiries.

Understand the agreement and payment

  1. Complete cost: Obtain the purchase price and itemised additional costs. Distinguish official assessments, professional fees, estate charges and estimates.
  2. Written terms: Have the agreement reviewed, including the precise property, payment conditions, allocation, obligations, default and refund provisions where relevant.
  3. Payment instructions: Independently confirm the correct recipient and account through the transaction process agreed with your lawyer. Retain invoices, transfer records and receipts.
  4. Completion record: Identify the documents to receive and applicable transfer or perfection steps. Assign a responsible person and next action to anything outstanding.

Keep unanswered questions visible

For each item, record the evidence received, the professional responsible and what remains unresolved. Mark something complete only when you understand the finding and its limits. A seller’s urgency does not resolve an unanswered question.

Read the full land verification guide for the investigation workflow. If the offer relies on an excision, read what buyers should check about excision and gazettes.

Buying from abroad?

Appoint local professionals with written scopes, agree reporting and keep documents in one property file. Start with the remote verification workflow. If someone will sign for you, prepare the Power of Attorney brief for your lawyer.

Request an emailed copy

You can request a copy using the form below. The complete checklist remains available above without submitting information. Do not include identity documents, bank details or confidential property records in this form.

Reviewed 21 September 2026. This checklist is general education, not a title opinion or substitute for qualified advice on a transaction.