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Hi everyone, I need urgent advice regarding a terrible situation my friend is currently facing with a rogue real estate agent in Lagos. It involves an agency called Smart Design Home and Property Services Ltd operating around the Ojodu Berger/Omole axis.

Here is the exact timeline of what happened:

The Payment: Last week, my friend paid a total of N2.3 Million for an apartment. The breakdown given by the agent was: N1.5M (Rent), N350k (Agency Fee), N150k (Service Charge), N150k (Damages), and N150k (Legal Agreement/Agreement Fee).

The Status: After making the final installment payment, she was never given the keys, she never moved a single box in, and she never read or signed any tenancy agreement. Legally, the tenancy has not even started.

The Cancellation: Exactly one week after her first deposit, due to unforeseen personal reasons, she informed the agent she was no longer interested and requested a refund.

The Agreement: The agent initially agreed via text message to withhold N300,000 (N150k for the legal fee and N150k from the agency fee as a cancellation penalty) and promised to refund N2,000,000. My friend reluctantly agreed just to get her money back and cut her losses.

The Drama & Complication: When she asked for the lawyer's phone number to see if she could negotiate a part of the N150k legal fee back (since no document was ever signed), the agent flew into a rage. He started shouting, making a scene, and raining heavy insults and curses on her.

The Current Situation: The agent has now completely backed out of his word. He is refusing to give the lawyer's contact details, and he sent a text saying he is now withholding the entire N350k agency fee plus the N150k legal fee, meaning she will lose N500,000 completely! He told her to "do her worst" and that he will only refund N1,800,000.

Meanwhile, the landlord called her personal agent using a private number because the agent went to lie to him that my friend was the one abusing him. The landlord wants to settle it but we have no way to call him back, and the agent's office is far from the house. We have full voice recordings of the agent's insults and screenshots of his texts agreeing to the N2 Million refund.
I am taking this matter to the Citizens' Mediation Centre (CMC) in Ikeja tomorrow morning to file a formal petition against both the agent and the landlord's property address.

My questions for the house:
1.Has anyone experienced this kind of issue with Lagos agents before?
2.Can she recover the full N2,150,000 (including the legal fee since no contract was ever signed)?
3.How effective is the CMC in recovering funds from stubborn agents like this?

Please share your thoughts and experiences. Thanks!

The Drama & Complication: When she asked for the lawyer's phone number to see if she could negotiate a part of the N150k legal fee back (since no document was ever signed), the agent flew into a rage. He started shouting, making a scene, and raining heavy insults and curses on her.

I think you do not quite understand who my lawyer is.

He is actually a secretary I pay 100k a month to while charging you ₦150k legal fee. So, you are negotiating with me, unless you seriously do not believe I know how to generate income from my business.

And for your information, the Agency Fee, and Service Charge and Legal Agreement/Agreement Fee is how we make our money, on top of what we charge the landlord.

Seriously. Your friend should have gotten her hands on the axe before asking who killed who's father. Now I'm thinking of paying her only half for wasting my time.

Trust me. I'm going to hell.

Same things happened to me but we the connection I got with APC

Bayoibee:
Hi everyone, I need urgent advice regarding a terrible situation my friend is currently facing with a rogue real estate agent in Lagos. It involves an agency called Smart Design Home and Property Services Ltd operating around the Ojodu Berger/Omole axis.

Here is the exact timeline of what happened:

The Payment: Last week, my friend paid a total of N2.3 Million for an apartment. The breakdown given by the agent was: N1.5M (Rent), N350k (Agency Fee), N150k (Service Charge), N150k (Damages), and N150k (Legal Agreement/Agreement Fee).

The Status: After making the final installment payment, she was never given the keys, she never moved a single box in, and she never read or signed any tenancy agreement. Legally, the tenancy has not even started.

The Cancellation: Exactly one week after her first deposit, due to unforeseen personal reasons, she informed the agent she was no longer interested and requested a refund.

The Agreement: The agent initially agreed via text message to withhold N300,000 (N150k for the legal fee and N150k from the agency fee as a cancellation penalty) and promised to refund N2,000,000. My friend reluctantly agreed just to get her money back and cut her losses.

The Drama & Complication: When she asked for the lawyer's phone number to see if she could negotiate a part of the N150k legal fee back (since no document was ever signed), the agent flew into a rage. He started shouting, making a scene, and raining heavy insults and curses on her.

The Current Situation: The agent has now completely backed out of his word. He is refusing to give the lawyer's contact details, and he sent a text saying he is now withholding the entire N350k agency fee plus the N150k legal fee, meaning she will lose N500,000 completely! He told her to "do her worst" and that he will only refund N1,800,000.

Meanwhile, the landlord called her personal agent using a private number because the agent went to lie to him that my friend was the one abusing him. The landlord wants to settle it but we have no way to call him back, and the agent's office is far from the house. We have full voice recordings of the agent's insults and screenshots of his texts agreeing to the N2 Million refund.
I am taking this matter to the Citizens' Mediation Centre (CMC) in Ikeja tomorrow morning to file a formal petition against both the agent and the landlord's property address.

My questions for the house:
1.Has anyone experienced this kind of issue with Lagos agents before?
2.Can she recover the full N2,150,000 (including the legal fee since no contract was ever signed)?
3.How effective is the CMC in recovering funds from stubborn agents like this?

Please share your thoughts and experiences. Thanks!

they refund me asap

Amovingman:
Same things happened to me but we the connection I got with APC they refund me asap

Can you help out with this situation she’s in?

Your friend for just put another person for the house(subletting) on the low , recover her money jeje . Like you said, no agreement signed(normal sakamanje for Lagos,na landlord dey chop that one). If you no giran for this city, hmm

Wow what’s the way out presently