Verify the developer’s legal identity

Confirm the exact company name and registration number. Use the Corporate Affairs Commission public search to check whether the entity exists. Ensure the name on the offer letter, contract, receipts and bank account matches the verified entity or has a clearly documented relationship to it.

Do not stop at company registration. Ask who the directors, project promoters, consultants and contractors are, and examine the developer’s completed projects.

Confirm that the developer has authority over the land

A registered company can still market land it does not validly own or control. Your lawyer should investigate the root of title, ownership history, survey details, encumbrances, pending litigation and the developer’s authority to construct and sell units.

Where the developer is building through a joint venture with a landowner, request evidence of that arrangement and confirm that the person signing your contract has authority to bind the parties.

Check planning and building approvals

Approval requirements differ by state. For a Lagos project, buyers should ask about the development permit, authorisation to commence construction, stage inspections and the eventual Certificate of Completion and Fitness for Habitation. LASBCA states that construction monitoring and stage certification run from foundation through completion.

Ask for verifiable copies, not only a statement that approval is “being processed.” Your professional advisers should confirm the documents with the relevant authority.

Visit the exact project site

Confirm that the site exists and matches the location being advertised. Check access roads, drainage, surrounding developments, power and water arrangements, noise, security, setbacks and neighbouring land uses.

For diaspora buyers, an independent representative should conduct a live inspection and provide dated photographs, video, coordinates and a written report.

Identify your exact unit

Your documents should identify the block, unit number, floor, orientation, bedroom count, parking allocation and any storage space. A promise of “one three-bedroom apartment” is weaker than a clearly identified unit attached to an approved plan.

Demand a detailed schedule of finishes

Words such as “luxury,” “premium” and “smart home” are too vague. The agreement or attached specification should describe the expected doors, windows, tiles, sanitary fittings, kitchen units, electrical points, ceiling treatment, air-conditioning provision, water system, power backup and common-area finishes.

Where brands may change, the contract should require an equivalent quality rather than allowing unrestricted substitution.

Confirm the unit’s size and how it is measured

Ask whether the advertised area is gross floor area, net internal area or a figure that includes balconies, walls and a share of common areas. A unit can appear large in a brochure but provide less usable internal space than expected.

Understand every payment and charge

Request an itemised payment schedule covering the reservation fee, deposit, instalments, legal or documentation fees, infrastructure charges, utility connection fees, service charge deposit, sinking fund, parking fees and any taxes or registration costs.

Ask which payments are refundable, when they become non-refundable and what happens if either party defaults.

Link major payments to verifiable progress

A calendar-based instalment plan may require payment even when construction is behind schedule. Where commercially possible, negotiate milestone-based payments tied to measurable progress, supported by site reports or certification from a qualified project professional.

Pay only into the account stated in the signed documents, obtain official receipts and verify any change of bank details independently.

Insist on a completion date and a long-stop date

The expected completion date shows the target. A long-stop date establishes the latest acceptable date before specific buyer remedies become available. The contract should explain permissible extensions, notice requirements and what happens after prolonged delay.

Read the delay, refund and default clauses

Check whether the buyer can cancel after serious delay, how refunds are calculated, how long repayment may take and whether deductions apply. Also review the developer’s rights if a buyer misses an instalment, including interest, cancellation, resale of the unit and treatment of money already paid.

Examine variation and price-adjustment clauses

Construction costs can change, but an unlimited right to increase the price leaves the buyer exposed. The agreement should explain whether the purchase price is fixed, what events can trigger an adjustment, how the adjustment is calculated and whether the buyer can exit if the increase becomes excessive.

Understand service charges and estate management

Ask who will manage the estate after completion and obtain a realistic first-year estimate for security, cleaning, lifts, shared power, water treatment, landscaping, waste, insurance and maintenance of common areas.

Confirm whether a sinking fund will be created for major future repairs and whether owners will receive budgets, accounts and rules governing increases.

Define snagging, handover and ownership documentation

Before final acceptance, the buyer or an independent inspector should prepare a snag list covering defects, incomplete work and deviations from specification. The contract should state how defects will be corrected, the warranty or defects-liability period, when keys will be released and which title or transfer documents the buyer will receive.

For completed Lagos developments, ask about the applicable completion and fitness documentation and independently verify it.