How to buy property in Nigeria from abroad, safely

Every diaspora family knows a story: money sent home for land that was sold twice, a building that never rose past the foundation, a relative who managed the project until the money ran out. Buying property in Nigeria from abroad is not risky because Nigerians are dishonest. It is risky because the buyer cannot see what they are paying for, and distance is exactly what a bad actor needs.

This guide is the process TRE runs for its own clients, written down so you can hold anyone you buy through to the same standard.

The three failures behind almost every bad purchase

• You cannot verify who you are dealing with. Anyone can print a letterhead and register a WhatsApp number. The question is whether the developer or seller has a track record, a real registration, and premises you can walk into.
• You cannot verify what you are buying. Photos are not evidence. The land may not exist, may not be theirs to sell, or may already be committed to someone else.
• Your money moves before the checks do. Once a deposit lands in the wrong account, your leverage is gone. Everything that protects you has to happen before you pay.

The safe sequence

1. Verify the counterparty before you discuss money

Ask who the seller actually is. For a developer, that means corporate registration, a track record of delivered schemes, and premises that exist. TRE runs this as a formal assessment and issues the TRE-Verified mark only when a developer passes: dated, monitored and revocable. You can confirm any provider TRE vouches for on the verified register. If someone claims to be TRE-Verified and is not on that register, treat the claim itself as a warning.

2. Get eyes on the property

Never rely on the seller's photos. Send someone independent, or use a service that inspects for you. The TRE concierge does remote inspections with a private video walkthrough filmed to your brief: the street, the building, the finish, the questions you want answered.

3. Check the title before any commitment

Title is a per-property question, not a per-seller question. A genuine developer can still have a defective title on one scheme. Deep title and registry checks belong at the point of commitment, done for the specific property, by people who do them daily. Your own solicitor should advise you; an assessment is evidence, not a legal opinion.

4. Control how the money moves

The rule TRE operates by is simple: for a property purchase, TRE never holds or handles your funds. Purchase money passes directly from you to the seller, against documents, on your solicitor's advice. Be suspicious of anyone in the middle of the money who does not need to be, and never pay a deposit to reserve a viewing.

5. Keep the paper

Every payment, every receipt, every agreement, every message. If anything is ever disputed, the buyer with the complete file wins.

Where TRE fits

TRE is the agency built for exactly this buyer. Every home on the platform shows its checks, verified providers are listed openly, inspections are done by TRE's own team, and the transaction is handled end to end while your money moves directly to the seller. Start with the verified homes, or read how the standard works.

Verification is an assessment on the evidence, not a guarantee, and nothing here is legal or financial advice. Always obtain independent legal advice before completing any transaction.