HOW TO IDENTIFY A FRAUDULENT SET-UP IN PROPERTY ACQUISITION IN NIGERIA

1. Environment: Office setup is one of the things you need to observe. Here you will be given two extremes. One is the office you enter and you really don’t see the sign of any serious work going on, for example, proper staffing, files, computers (desktop or laptop). Most often, it is a blackboard with properties listed on it written in chalk that leads to such offices. It is not unusual for the purported office owner to bear a title aimed at impressing like Chief, Alhaji, Elder, Apostle or Doctor. When you do meet the Chief Executive, he is not dressed in a proper office-like manner and would be dressed traditionally. Be careful of such people, you may need to ask around as there must be people who can speak up for their reputation.

The second situation reviews a situation where you enter an office which looks so posh and appears to be telling you “you are the one we have been waiting for.” This is not very common. Everything looks so organized and practiced, including the way they are talking to you. No sweaty looking junior staff. No one comes in saying “I just came back from that Gbagada duplex house, oh the landlord is difficult.” If it is tea and biscuits they are serving, you need to be wary. They might just be after your money. In Nigeria, estate practice is a lot of hard work and easily you will see it in the offices and the speech of those around the office.

There is the middle line of a proper estate office which oftentimes is a little untidy because of activity and phone calls for enquiries. There is usually a secretary and other staff who conduct themselves in a proper office-like manner. Sometimes there is an information board within the premises with typed brochures, photographs etc. introducing properties to let and for sale. That oftentimes is the right office for you.

2. Character: As a matter of fact within thirty minutes in an office you should be able to catch the spirit of their dealings. How educated are they? Do they seem honest and dependable? Are the staffs already asking for money one way or the other? Are they dressed in a way suggestive of irresponsible people? All these can let you into the type of agent you have come to and these things have serious implications here in Nigeria.

3. Inconsistency of Speech or Information: You may observe that the things you are told either by the manager or his staff are untrue or that they are constantly making mistakes and trying to cover them up. For instance you are taken to a property for inspection and within a few hours you are told that you were shown the wrong property or perhaps you were told the landlord lives in Lagos only to learn that the landlord actually died three years ago. Beware!

4. Pointing out Buildings without Any Depth of Knowledge about the Owner: This is closely related to the above only that it is more pointed. In your discussions, you might find the agent just reeling off the various addresses of properties from his list but knows nothing about the owner(s) or the details of the property as in the house type, street number and details of ownership documents. In other words, the agent is not convincing.

5. Strange Relationships: This also makes reference to the office. You may note that there is no coherence in office activities. Perhaps the person introduced to you as the Chairman does not seem familiar to the person introduced as manager. Again you might have observed that there are too many whispers here and there between staff each time glancing at you or being pretentious. You may need to back out quietly of such relationships.

6. Hurry: This is another strong point you need to watch. If everything about the people you are dealing with is hurry; hurry for payments; hurry and hurry; you are under pressure to perform or the agents exert a sense of compulsion in the things they want you to do. Wait to think so you can operate with a clear mind or else you might have agreed to do things you may never be able to reverse.

SimonAndal:
OP, and whoever put this on FP, I'm in NIGERIA, not the US. Note that.

Yeah. You wonder why people are so lazy. They couldn't even Nigerianise it. Homesinlagos indeed.

Use www.search4rooms.com to find a good apartment for yourself.

Guys, i just got duped.
what hurts most is that, i borrowed money to fulfill the deal based on trust.
I give thanks to God @ the end of the day.

Okija_juju: What of if it is not an Apartment?!





What of if its is like

- Face-me I face you
- Batcher
- 1 Bedroom (with community bathroom & toilet)
- Boys Quarters.
- etc

And the Landlord is a Police Officer.. And it was his son Deji that fronted as the agent to scam you?!

dat name tru tru fit u!!! Okija shrine!!!

Thank you guys for bringing up this topic here, let me share my story here.

I reside in PH but later got a got in Owerri, when i started looking for house in one of the good areas in Owerri, i met a Agent who showed me a house that the current occupant wants to sublet the house and leave, i followed d agent but @ a point he pulled out that he doesn't understand d guy but the fact that i liked the house and the environment i continued but this time i became smarter.

I called the guy and we met in one of the Mr Biggs in owerri from this point i started recoding alllllll our discussion, he told me he paid for 2yrs n has stayed for only 11months,he got a job in PH that's why he's leaving Owerri to PH, the place is lonely and his fience wouldn't like to stay alone......all cock and bull was recorded, during one of our gist he mistakingly told me where his parents stays in Aba, i recorded it and send a friend in aba to verify for me, later while he was preparing for his grandma burial i copied there village add.

We agreed and i paid him cash (#200,000/1yr), he wrote and agreement and both of us signed, i put his work ID and drivers licence on the agreement and photocopy collected my copy and moved moved in meanwhile i said he will tell the landlady I'm his brother that returned from NYSC, while cleaning the house i saw a form where the fience filled her full details i collected n secured.
The guy looks genuine even when i ask people around they kept on saying his a very person even his neighbour said he is a good person but I'm still not convince.

2 months after payment i lost the job, while trying to figure out the way forward the next month which is d third month the landlady came and said his been looking for me that my brothers money expired last month so they want me to pack his things out of d house.
At this point if u were in my shoes what will you do??
.
.
.
.
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Immediately i said ok no problem ma, that was even the reason why i came, because i know if i tell the lady anything she will call d guy and he will be on d run.

How i caught him:
Meanwhile before seeing the landlady I'v told d guy i lost ma job and won't be staying again so if he sees someone who is interested in the house he can give out the house. So he has been calling me for the keys so he will show it some oda people maybe to collect more money or even remove my few things from d house and hand it over to the landlady i dnt know.

On dat day D after speaking with d landlady, luckily the landlady spoke with him before coming to the house, he later called me and was demanding for the keys, i told him my cousin i gave the keys to in owerri is with the keys he demanded for my cousin's fone number. My cousin is a P.A to an S.A to the Governor so i explained to my cousin and d oga orderly in the office, i told them i will give d dude my cousin no and they will plan a place to meet, the orderly with plain cloth will hang aound once he comes to collect the keys he will be arrrested.
Fortunately the game plan worked and he was arrested they called they called me to come with d driver and d second police man and we all went to d station.

His claim:
When i told him the landlady asked me to vacate the house that ur rent expired 2 months after our agreement, he said is a lie and claimed he told me from d begining that when d house expire he will balance me to pay the landlady @ dis point i played our discussion to the police and brought d agreement with his ID's on it, the police threw him to cell.

How i got my money
He started pleading with him to allow him come out and raise the money, i disagreed but later his elder brother came and after much talk talk talk we went to intercontinental bank where he withdrew 200k n gave to me sharply i pay it into my account, go to station police said i should go n bring that money its an exhibit, meanwhile my cousin orderly said if i bring d money i won't see it again, the IPO was mad at me dat i need to bring exhibit to d station. Insist i must get my full cash but he pleaded n gave me extra 30k, i used this one to settle my cousin, d oderly and some few police men they find my way bak to ph and abandone them dia, when the IPO called me i told him if d guy pay d balance of 20k he should collect.

It was easy but i learnt a lot of lesson from the deal and I'm sure you too can learn without being a victim.

Thank you .

Is this article relevant here?

Okija_juju: What of if it is not an Apartment?!





What of if its is like

- Face-me I face you
- Batcher
- 1 Bedroom (with community bathroom & toilet)
- Boys Quarters.
- etc

And the Landlord is a Police Officer.. And it was his son Deji that fronted as the agent to scam you?!

lol then you'd just be S.O.L