Benefits of Hiring A Lawyer Before Buying A Property
Many years ago, someone we know who was rich and famous wanted to fulfill his lifelong dream of buying a house for his mum. He contacted an agent and they found the perfect house. He inspected the house, he loved it and then closed the transactions immediately. A few days later his mum moved into the lovely house and it felt like his dream had come true. Until some men came knocking on the door of the property one early morning. Upon enquiry it was discovered that the men were officials from the court and they had come to take possession of the property.
Apparently there had been a dispute over the ownership of the property and the matter had been in court. The person who sold the property to the rich and famous man had absconded knowing that he was going to lose the case.
Now mama had to move out of the house and go back to the place where she had already said her goodbyes.
Stories like this happen every time because potential buyers do not consider hiring a lawyer before buying a property. A lawyer’s job is very crucial regardless of whether the transaction is for a house, land or an apartment. If the rich and famous man had hired a lawyer to do a search on the property title, the lawyer would have discovered that there was a dispute on the property and would have advised his client not to buy.
In this article we intend to share with you the benefits of hiring a lawyer before buying a property, the type of lawyer you should hire, at what stage of the transaction you should hire a lawyer, the duties the lawyer would carry out and what it costs to hire a lawyer.
Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions, comments or enquiries as regards hiring a lawyer before buying a property.
Benefits of Hiring A Lawyer Before Buying A Property
A lawyer is a trained professional in many areas. Most lawyers who practice real estate law are experts in advising their clients on lots of areas in real estate such as financing, conveyancing, leasing, subleasing, tenancy, joint ventures etc.
Hiring a lawyer before buying a property therefore means that you are engaging the services of a professional to advise you on the intended transaction.
The lawyer would be able to carry out due diligence (search) on the property to be sure that it is free from encumbrance such as lien or mortgage. The lawyer would also check for easement rights that may affect your full enjoyment of the property.
If the famous man in our story above had considered hiring a lawyer before buying a property, then the lawyer would have discovered that there was an ongoing court case on the property. In such cases the lawyer would advise that you should wait until the case is concluded before buying the property. Or that you should find another property.
Type of Lawyer You Should Consider Hiring Before Buying A Property
Not all lawyers can play the role of property consultants. So you should not hire any lawyer you find. You should only hire a lawyer that has experience in real estate and property law. Some lawyers only have experience in entertainment law, business law, oil and gas law etc. These types of lawyers may not be a good fit when you need a lawyer to advise on a property transaction.
It is also advisable to hire a lawyer that practices close to the area you are looking to buy a property as this lawyer would already be familiar with the area and can advise on a lot of things.
How to find a real estate lawyer close to the property transaction is either to ask for referral or to search through google.
Your search query can be something like: “real estate lawyer in Ikota” if you are looking to buy a property within the Ikota area. Avoid hiring a lawyer who lives in Iyana Ipaja if you are considering hiring a lawyer before buying a property in Lekki Phase 1. This goes both ways. Avoid hiring a lawyer based in Lekki Phase 1 for the business of buying a property in Iyana Ipaja.
The reason we give this advice is so you can ensure you are working with a professional who knows the area very well and can advise on a lot of other issues such as flooding, level of crime in the area, traffic etc. A lawyer who travels from a very far distance may not have a lot of information about the area you are looking to buy from.
Once you find a lawyer through google search or other means, you can verify the lawyer through the Nigerian Bar Association portal.
At What Stage Should You Should Consider Hiring A Lawyer
The best stage to hire a lawyer is when you have found the property that appeals to you. We would advise that you have at least two property options so that if one does not work out, then the other one can serve as the second choice.
Once you hire the lawyer, you can then instruct him to conduct due diligence. In order to do this, he or she would request for the property documents in order to conduct a search at the Lagos Land Registry. After the search has been done, then the lawyer would advise you on what you need to do.
If you are also looking at paying in installments, then the lawyer would also advise you on that as well.
The duties of A Lawyer When You Are Buying A Property
There are many duties a lawyer can carry out for you as the potential buyer of a property. We would highlight them below as follows:
- Property Search & Due Diligence: The lawyer would be responsible for conducting a property search and also due diligence on the property. The difference between search and due diligence is that while search is a process to check if the title exists and is registered at the land registry, due diligence goes as far as verifying that there is no lien or encumbrance on the property.
- Drafting and Reviewing the Property Documents: Depending on the location and rules guiding the purchase of the property, your lawyer may either draft or review the property documents. If the estate you are buying from would be responsible for drawing up the title documents, then your lawyer’s duty would be to review. If however the estate isn’t doing that, then your lawyer would have to draft the documents.
- Advising the client on several issues: Your lawyer would also advise you on issues such as instalmental payment plan, the right type of documents you should be getting, the other professionals you should work with etc.
- Resolving any disputes between the parties : If any dispute arises during or after the transaction relating to the property, then the lawyer would also be the right person to intervene. Hopefully there won’t be any disputes, but if they do occur, then you need a lawyer to guide and also assist.
- Assisting in getting your governors consent: The lawyer can also help you apply for governor’s consent on your property after you have concluded the transaction. This is why you should hire a real estate lawyer who knows and understands all these processes.
What it cost to hire a lawyer before buying a property
If you have considered hiring a lawyer before you buy a property, then it is very important that you understand how lawyers charge and what you would be expected to pay.
Because the lawyer is providing different services at each step of the way, then expect to pay a separate fee for each task.
What this means is that the lawyer may charge you a cost for due diligence, a separate cost for drafting the documents and a separate cost for applying for the governor’s consent.
For drafting and reviewing documents lawyers usually charge between 5-10 percent of the value of the property.
This fee is the only percentage fee. Other fees are charged based on the lawyer’s preference.
All fees can be negotiated or collapsed and your negotiation with the lawyer would determine what you would be paying in the long run.
Conclusion
The benefits of hiring a lawyer when you are looking at buying a property cannot be overemphasized. We are always happy dealing with clients who consider this a necessity. Our properties are also pre-vetted by our in-house lawyer and sometimes the external lawyers we work with.
To view any of our pre-vetted properties, please visit our property page or contact us if you have any property request.
