Managing Real Estate Transactions: Due Diligence Practice in the Lagos Property Market

This study examines the professional practice of real estate due diligence in property transactions in Lagos State, South West Nigeria, evaluating the scope, quality, and effectiveness of due diligence conducted by estate surveyors, lawyers, and buyers prior to property acquisition. Real estate due diligence encompasses title investigation, physical condition assessment, planning and regulatory compliance review, encumbrance identification, and market value verification, and its thoroughness directly determines the risk exposure of property purchasers. The study employs a professional practice assessment design, drawing on structured interviews with 30 registered estate surveyors, 20 property transaction lawyers, and 25 buyers who completed property purchases in Lagos in the previous three years. Case review of 15 anonymised transaction due diligence files provides process-level evidence. Assessment criteria cover due diligence scope comprehensiveness, title investigation depth, physical inspection standards, regulatory compliance checks, and post-acquisition problem identification. Findings reveal that title due diligence is conducted in almost all formal transactions but varies enormously in depth, with some practitioners limiting review to Land Registry records without field investigation of historical occupancy or boundary confirmations. Physical building condition surveys are conducted in fewer than 30 percent of residential transactions. Planning compliance verification is absent in the majority of cases outside commercial property acquisitions. Many buyers report post-acquisition discoveries of encumbrances, unauthorised structures, and title defects that pre-purchase due diligence failed to identify. Recommendations include adopting a standardised Lagos property due diligence checklist through the NIESV, mandatory physical condition surveys for properties above 20 years old, and buyer education campaigns on due diligence requirements. Keywords: due diligence, property transaction, Lagos, professional practice, title investigation.