There are things one must put into consideration before acquiring a property, be it for personal or business purposes. Some of these factors include;

LIFESTYLE: i think its the first thing to consider when acquiring a personal property,lifestyle is a general description of who you are. do you then understand the connection to making a choice when buying,if you do skip to the next factor and if you don't, i'll explain giving examples
* its affects the location: an outgoing personal will be more comfortable in areas where the society is within his/her reach,therefore areas like ikeja,lekki etc where social facilities such as the clubs, cinema,malls are located( it doesn't mean people with different lifestyles can't fit into this areas/there are actually areas within these places that serves others). A quite family individual will aim for places that are cool and not crowded,estates especially mini estates are recommended. My all time favourite is Friend's Colony
* type of building: for an individual with a family, a cottage-like property, not too large n if its must be large, a house with a homely exterior is recommended. An outgoing individual will definitely be looking for homes that make bold statements and in an environment that is not too quite( you don't want to have problems with your neighbors, or do you).
When acquiring for Business purposes, study the market, what do consumers want and how are you going to give it to them, i advice that you do not acquire a property within areas you feel other companies offering the same services are located. Study and know where a large % of future clients are located. The exterior and interior should one way or the other reflect what the business is all about. And if the property is for residential purpose of the company,a quite location is highly recommended.


WEIGH THE COST OF OWNERSHIP: is your lifestyle or nature of business in tune with your budget if it isn't,don't settle for less wait until you can afford it . Remember your property is meant to reflect who you are that way it makes a statement. Your budget should be able to cover the following:
* the actual cost of property(land/house)
*agents' fee
*legal fee
*renewal of papers.
Most buyers do not consider these things when planning their budgets and end up in fixs in the process.


BETTER TO BUILD OR BUY: consider which suits you. Buying a built house saves time, stress and sometimes finances but there's a tendency that you may not actually find a property that fits your requirement. And if you do, there maybe some little details you would love to change in future. Building involves a lot of stress and time but the end result would be a house designed just for you. Weigh these carefully before making a decision


LOCATION: location matters a lot.
Under this you have to consider
*Amenities(General): the amenities the area of interest have to offer in terms of good road,security etc
*Level of development: consider the level and rate of development. If the area you are considering is too expensive for you such as lekki phase 1 consider the rate at which development occurs and then look for suitable alternatives within the outskirts of that area cause if the development rate is high its likely to get to you in the outskirts.
*Distance: consider the distance between your workplace,home and generally places you go or conduct your day to day activities. For businesses consider the distance most of your clients have to travel to get to the services you provide. If a large % of your clients come from the mainland you business should be located there.
*Social lifestyle of neighbors and environment

Other factors to be considered are: taxes,loans, searches,title of property etc.