A polished social profile or a busy WhatsApp account is not proof that someone is authorised to market a property. Whether you found an agent through a directory, a signboard or a referral, verify the person and the listing separately.
Establish who you are dealing with
Ask for the agent's full name, business name, office address, phone number and the role they play in this transaction. If they say they work for a registered company, check the entity through the Corporate Affairs Commission's public search. A match confirms a registered entity exists; it does not establish that this person works for it or controls a property. Call the company using a number from its own verified channel.
Where local rules require an estate-agent registration, ask for the registration details and check them with the relevant authority. Lagos has a real estate regulatory framework; practice and oversight elsewhere may differ. A platform badge is a useful signal about a profile, not a replacement for transaction due diligence.
Verify the listing authority
Ask who owns or manages the property and how the agent was instructed to act. For a rental, request a viewing with a representative who can open the unit and explain the tenancy terms. For a sale, ask for written authority and the basic title details that your lawyer can later verify. Be cautious when the agent will not identify the principal, refuses a physical viewing, or claims multiple people must pay immediately to “reserve” the same property.
Compare the address, photos, rooms, meter details and asking price across messages. Reverse-image search can reveal a copied listing, but an original photo is not proof of authority either. Keep all material promises in writing.
Make the payment route explicit
Before any viewing, application or agency fee, ask what the fee covers, when it is due, whether it is refundable and who issues the receipt. For rent or purchase money, verify the payee and bank account independently with the owner, developer or authorised business. Do not rely on a last-minute account-change message in a chat thread.
If a representative insists on urgency while avoiding documents, stop. You can find agents and agencies by location on NaijaAgents, but you should still check the actual property, authority and payment instructions before transacting.
Sources
Official pages this guide relies on. Rules and fees change, so check the current version before you act.
- Corporate Affairs Commission's public search (icrp.cac.gov.ng)
- Real estate regulatory framework (lasrera.lagosstate.gov.ng)
Related reading: Rental scam warning signs · Buying checklist.