- Ikota first gate, Lekki-Epe expressway, Lagos State
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What to Know Before Buying Off-Plan in Lagos
Off-plan means paying for a home before it is finished. It often costs less than buying a completed house, and you can usually pay in stages, which makes it attractive if you want to spread the cost over time. It also carries more risk, because you are trusting a developer to deliver what the drawings and the brochure promise.
That is why it pays to ask the right questions before you commit any money. A developer with homes already built and handed over is far easier to trust than one with only drawings, and the way they answer your questions will tell you a lot about how they will treat you once you have paid.
Ask the developer for:
- a finished project you can visit
- the title to the land
- the building approval
Get the payment schedule in writing, including what happens if you are late and what happens to your money if the project is delayed.
Visit the site as the build goes on and compare what you see with the timeline you were given, so that you notice delays early instead of at handover. Your agreement should name the property, the price, the completion date and the documents you will receive when the home is finished, and a lawyer should read it before you sign, because a promise that is not written down is very hard to enforce later.
Off-plan can be a good way to buy, as long as you know who you are buying from and what you have been promised in writing.