A listing that goes up complete gets serious enquiries in its first days, when it is newest and most visible. A listing that goes up half-ready spends those days answering the same questions. This checklist covers what to have ready before you list on any property website. To compare the websites themselves, see property listing websites in Nigeria compared.
1. Documents
- For a sale: the title document (C of O, Governor's Consent, registered deed or excision and gazette for land), a recent survey plan, and proof you are the owner or are authorised to sell.
- For a rental: proof you own or manage the property, the draft tenancy agreement and the house rules.
- If you are an agent: the owner's written authority to market the property.
2. The details buyers and tenants ask first
- Bedrooms, bathrooms and toilets, and which rooms are en suite.
- Parking spaces, and whether there is a boys' quarters.
- Service charge and what it covers: security, cleaning, waste, shared power.
- Power: the supply band if you know it, the backup (generator, inverter or solar) and the hours it runs.
- Water: borehole, treatment, storage.
- Payment terms for a rental (yearly, every six months, monthly) and what is paid on top of rent (caution deposit, agreement, agency).
- The estate or street name and the nearest landmark.
3. Photos
Take at least 8 photos in daylight, with the rooms cleared: the living room, each bedroom, the kitchen, the bathrooms, the parking, the outside and the street approach. Shoot landscape, hold the phone level, and leave out anything personal. A short video walk-through helps people decide whether to book a viewing.
4. The price
Look at similar listings in the same area, with the same number of bedrooms and the same kind of finish, and price against those. Always show the price; most buyers and tenants filter by it, and listings without one are skipped.
5. The description
Write at least 100 words. Start with what makes the property good to live in, then the road, the security, and the schools, shops and transport nearby. Say plainly what is not included. A clear headline helps: "3-Bed Flat | Lekki Phase 1 | En suite | 2 Parking".
6. How you will answer enquiries
Serious buyers and tenants message several owners at once, so the first to answer usually gets the viewing. Turn on notifications, decide who answers and who shows the property, and keep a few viewing times free in the first week.
7. After it goes live
- Check your listing every 2 weeks and update anything that has changed.
- If views are high but messages are few, look again at the price and the first photo.
- Take the listing down as soon as the property is let or sold.
Ready? List your property free on Cabans, and buyers and renters message you directly.