How I Saved A Client From Losing N80 Million In A Land Transaction
- Posted by Karo Itoje in Blog Updates, Land Tips and Advice
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My name is Karo Itoje and I’m a real estate consultant. You’ve probably heard that title before but do you really know what the role of a consultant is in real estate investing and how beneficial a consultant can be to you when buying a land in Nigeria? This article is to enlighten you on my job description and why you should not buy another land/house without using my FREE service.
Buying a land in Nigeria is one of the scariest things to do because there are so many people in the industry who are only out to get your money and they tell a lot of lies just to achieve that. Too many people have fallen victims and it’s hard to know who to trust, that is where a consultant comes in.
What is the role of a Real Estate Consultant?
A real estate consultant informs and educates you about land matters and what is safe to buy: I am always about selling by offering VALUE to my target market. In any industry I find myself and there’s a product to sell, I am never thinking ‘oh so where do I go and blast people with my ads’ instead I am thinking ‘so what problems/concerns do people looking to buy this product have’. And I go ahead and offer a free resource that guides them, clear their concerns and offer solution to their problem. That is exactly what I’ve done with real estate and that’s how landforsaleinlagos.com came about. There’s an Expert Advice section on the website where I answer possible concerns about buying a land, land investing tips and down to earth advice on the Dos and Don’ts when buying any kind of property in Nigeria.
So many visitors to the site have told me of how rich this website is and how they have personally benefited from it and that makes me really happy.
A real estate consultant helps you find genuine lands with no known government encumbrance: It’s not just about buying a land it’s especially about buying a land with peace of mind. Do you understand land documents and titles? Do you know the lands you should buy and the ones you should stay far away from and why? There’s a detailed article on my website on this subject matter as linked to above. However many don’t want to be bothered and that’s why we have a portfolio of properties that are safe to buy to recommend to clients. These properties mostly lands are not personally owned by us but they belong to real estate companies that we have hand-picked with good reputation to partner with. So you can trust the properties and you also have the option to do your own due diligence.
A consultant helps you physically inspects the land/house and immediately lets you know if there’s any issue about the property you’re interested in buying so that you can save money and not with it: Now this brings me to the title of this article, how I saved a client from potentially losing N80million in a land transaction.
At least 95% of the clients that contact me about buying a land are based abroad. That means they can’t be here personally to inspect the land they want to buy. Yes they can have a relative based in Nigeria to help them take a look and report to them which is an option I sometimes recommend or they can hire the service of a lawyer to do due diligence on the land but even with that something can still go wrong. When your relative/lawyer inspects and conduct the search their report may come out good but after they leave anything can still happen and that’s what happened with one of the land in our portfolio recently.
A client called me not long ago and said he was referred to my website and me by someone who had used my service. And he wanted a land in Magodo estate. One of the lands we have there sells for N40million/plot and he wanted 2 plots. Personally I had not been to the site prior to his call but my colleagues have and I have seen a lot of good videos from the estate. But still I insisted he let me personally go check the site out and give my take on it. So I went there myself. And discovered that just the day before some government officials was at the site and pulled down the sign board of the company and place another signboard there that read: “This Land belong to the Lagos State Government…” and I was like wow, perfect timing for my visit! Of course I came back and immediately got on the phone with my client to tell him what I’d seen and that I don’t recommend he buys. He was thankful and very grateful for the information. And we immediately went for something else.
A real estate consultant is an independent consultant and not a staff of the real estate company. So I am always open about what I know about the land and I’m quick to let you know. There are so many developers and estates to choose from so because I am not attached to any company in particular not even those that we are officially partners with, you stand a better chance of getting a genuine land when you use my service. And the best part? It’s FREE! I don’t charge you any extra money. And you buy the land at the same amount the company sells it. And you’re still dealing with the company directly you’re only reaching them through me. All the forms you fill are sent to us from the company and all the response about the property we give you are directly from the company. Going through a consultant gives you a third party to the transaction who will always look out for your own interest.
A real estate consultant helps you process your land application and see to it that you get all the documents you are supposed to get. And remains with you even after the sale: If for some reason you have a disagreement with the company or they are not responding to you as fast as you want, being my client all you have to do is let me know and I’ll follow it up and make sure you’re satisfied.
Now that you know my role and how I make the process of buying a land/house easier and safer for you do you think you should do without me and go ahead to process your land application yourself? I’ll leave you to answer that.
Note: Issues come up with land sometimes, it’s almost inevitable in the industry. This happens especially when the land is in a very good location. And the family that owns it collected money from more than one developer or like in this case a department in Alausa Secretariat believes the developer owes them something or isn’t cleared yet. When there’s a dispute on a land sometimes the issue is sorted out and the developer continues selling with most buyers and even us consultants knowing nothing about it but when we are fortunate to walk in on it it’s always better to not proceed with the purchase. And please understand that this doesn’t often mean the developer is not genuine or anything like that. It’s just something that happens sometimes.
Till I talk to you again,
Enjoy the rest of your day. God bless you.
