# Buying property in Nigeria from abroad — without paying a stranger

If you live in London, Houston, Accra or anywhere else and you want a plot or a house in Nigeria, you already know the fear. You cannot walk the land this weekend. You are relying on photos, a voice, and someone who says they can “stand in for you.” Most of the worst outcomes I hear about start in that gap.

I founded Xavorian, a Nigerian property marketplace. This is a process article, not a promise that a website can replace you on the ground. It is also not legal advice. If the sums are serious, retain a Nigerian lawyer in the state where the property sits, before you send money.

# The four problems that travel well

Distance does not create new kinds of fraud. It just makes the old ones easier to run.

• The fake listing. Real photographs, often stolen from a genuine house or a development brochure, attached to a person who has no right to sell.
• The ghost agent. A warm phone call, an inspection or “commitment” fee, then a dead line and an office that was never there.
• The fake or thin paperwork. A C of O, deed or survey that looks right and does not match the registry, or that matches a different plot.
• The double sale. More than one buyer has a receipt for the same land.

These are the patterns we designed Xavorian’s checks around: a government ID and liveness test, a bank account that must be in that same name, a document check, and an automated audit before a listing can go live. That combination is a filter against anonymous sellers. It does not inspect the roof for you, and it is not escrow. Payments made through the platform are routed by Paystack to the seller’s account. You still need a person on the ground and a lawyer on the file. We describe the gates, and their limits, on How it works.

# Do the work in this order, not in the order of the sales call

1. Decide the use and the place, then look at live inventory.
“Land in Nigeria” is not a brief. “Land I can build on in two years, in Ikorodu or Mowe, under ₦6,000,000, with papers a lawyer can search” is a brief. On 10 November 2026, examples of lower-ticket land on the marketplace included a 500 sqm plot in Ijebu Imodi, Ogun, at ₦1,000,000 and a 600 sqm plot at Aseyori Estate, Mowe-Ofada, at ₦5,000,000, the latter with a ₦500,000 deposit mentioned on the listing and a declared survey and deed. In Asaba, a 50 by 100 plot at Koka by Jeff is listed at ₦18,000,000 with a deed and survey declared. For a family house already built, a four-bedroom detached duplex in Sabo Lugbe, Abuja, is listed at ₦65,000,000. That Lugbe listing does not state a title type on the public record I reviewed, which is exactly the sort of gap a lawyer should close before anyone talks about payment.

2. Appoint a lawyer, not only a “guy who can go and see it.”
A trusted relative is valuable for a walk-through and a video call from the site. They are not a substitute for a registry search. If you need someone to sign or collect documents in your absence, that is what a carefully drafted power of attorney is for, prepared and explained by your lawyer, not a blurry template from a chat group. We have a longer note on that here: Power of attorney, buying from abroad.

3. See the land, even if you cannot be the one who stands on it.
Ask for a live video walk, including the road into the plot, the beacons, and the neighbourhood, not only a polished daytime clip of a fence. Have a surveyor attend. If the seller refuses a proper inspection, you already have your answer.

4. Pay only the matching account.
The account that receives your money should carry the same name as the person who has been identified — the owner, or the attorney your lawyer has actually verified. If anyone asks you to split the payment, to use a personal account “because of the bank,” or to pay a cousin, stop and write to us or to your lawyer before you do anything. This one rule closes off a large share of the stories that end badly.

5. Keep a record.
Use email or an in-platform chat, store the document copies, and write down dates. Memory is a poor filing system from another time zone.

# What Xavorian can and cannot do for you

You can browse, filter and message from abroad at marketplace.xavorian.com. Browsing and enquiring is free. If someone claiming to be us asks you to pay a “verification fee” as a buyer, that is not us; write to support@xavorian.com.

What we cannot do is stand in court for you, certify that a building has no defects, or hold your purchase money as a bank or escrow agent. Our terms say that plainly. Verification is a process, not an insurance policy.

If you are considering a larger investment property rather than a first plot — for example the four-unit, three-bedroom terrace duplexes in Ogbeozoma, Asaba, listed at ₦283,000,000, which the listing describes as 90 percent complete and designed with short-let use in mind — the same order applies, only more so. Deed, survey and C of O are declared on that listing. Your lawyer should still search them, and you should still see the site.

# A last word on speed

Sellers will tell you that the plot will be gone by Friday. Sometimes that is true. More often, speed is the tool. A buyer who is far away, a little homesick, and a little proud to finally be “doing something at home” is easy to hurry. The correct pace is the pace of a search and a visit.

If you want the longer diaspora guide we already published, it is here: Buying property from abroad. If you want to talk through a specific listing, use the listing page, or email hello@xavorian.com, or call or WhatsApp +234 805 637 3583.

Ezeani Chukwuebuka Damien is the founder of Xavorian. Listing details in this article were taken from the marketplace on 10 November 2026 and may change. This is not legal or investment advice.