An estate agent, for our purpose, is the
property professional who assists an intending purchaser to find a
suitable property or assists an intending seller to sell his or her
property for an agreed fee. They are also involved in the lease, rent or
management of properties for a fee. A property professional should have
a professional licence or certification that enables him or her to work
as an estate agent and there should be a professional regulatory agency
to oversee the activities of this group of people. The standard fee for
their services ranges between five to 10 per cent of the purchase price
of the property but sometimes could be negotiated further down.
In Nigeria, the word ‘estate agent’ is
loosely applied to two categories, professionals and non-professionals.
The professional estate agents are individuals who possess
qualifications that are related to the real estate industry such as
architects, surveyors, quantity surveyors, estate surveyors and valuers,
and legal practitioners. Many of these professionals are often involved
in assisting their clients in selling or buying properties. The second
category includes non-professionals. They are often individuals who lack
any form of training or any form of training related to the real estate
industry but present themselves as estate agents. Unfortunately, this
group are in the majority and are competing with the professionals for
business.
Because it’s so easy to set up an office
as a real estate agent in Nigeria, many individuals who have no other
work to do have done so. All you need to set up as an estate agency is a
list of properties for sale, your contact details and a registered
business or company name. Due to high unemployment rate in the country
and government’s passive attitude towards regulating this sector, the
number of participants are growing by the day. This has led to
fraudulent sale or sale to multiple individuals. And the number of
casualties are growing by the day.
To avoid becoming a victim of fraud,
deal strictly with property professionals. Ideally, you should instruct
an estate surveyor and valuer or a professional whose work is related to
the real estate industry. And you should engage a legal practitioner
who is knowledgeable about property law. These professionals have
regulatory or professional bodies that provide oversight functions.
These bodies have a list of registered members and also have
disciplinary sections for erring members. Their activities are regulated
by law and professionals who err could lose their licence. Dealing with
this group is safer.
Although you can contact these bodies
for a list of members, the easier route is through referral and
interaction. All you need is to consult trusted friends and associates
who have been involved in real estate investment and ask them to
recommend a knowledgeable professional to you. You can then contact and
discuss with those professionals and from your personal evaluation of
their level of knowledge and experience, make a choice. You should make
out time to visit the professional in his office if you can, and also,
ask him about previous or similar briefs.
When it comes to buying a property
safely in Nigeria, you’ll definitely need a legal practitioner to help
you conduct a search on the property, give you a written report, draft
the necessary papers and ensure that your title is registered and
perfected. The legal practitioner need not be the person that sourced
the property for you but should be involved in the investigation,
documentation and perfection stages.
WITH A TOKEN REFERRAL FEE ,WE CAN LINK YOU UP TO THE LIST OF SENIOR NIGERIAN LEGAL PRACTITIONERS ON REAL ESTATE AND PROPERTY LAWS
Jeff NKwocha ,CEO
Profiles of senior Advocates of Nigeria INC
http://www.profilesofsenioradvocatesofnigeria.blogspot.com/
jeffnkwocha@gmail.com 08030485016
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