Property Evaluation Checklist
Work through a property methodically before you decide — location, infrastructure, total cost, fit and exit.
Use this before you fall in love with a property. The point is not to find reasons to say no — it is to make the same enquiry every time, so your decisions are comparable and your judgement improves.
1. Location and access
- How do you reach it, and what condition is the access road in during the rainy season?
- How far is it from the nearest major road, and is that road tarred?
- What is within 10–15 minutes — schools, markets, hospitals, workplaces?
- What direction is development actually moving in, and what evidence tells you so?
2. Infrastructure
- Is there electricity on the street, and how reliable is supply in practice?
- What is the water situation — borehole depth, water table, quality?
- Is there drainage, and where does water go when it rains hard?
- Is there security presence, street lighting, refuse collection?
3. The land itself
- What is the actual measured size, and does it match what is on the survey plan?
- Is the topography level, sloped or waterlogged? What would sand-filling cost?
- Has the plot flooded before? Ask neighbours, not only the seller.
- Are the beacons physically present and in the right places?
4. The true total cost
The asking price is rarely the cost. Add every line before you compare two options.
- Purchase price
- Agency and legal fees
- Survey and documentation costs
- Development levy and any community charges
- Sand-filling, fencing, access works
- Annual holding costs once you own it
5. Fit and purpose
- What exactly is this for — to hold, to build on, to rent out, to resell?
- Does the timeline match your own? When will you need this money back?
- If your plans changed in two years, what would your options be?
6. Exit and liquidity
- Who would realistically buy this from you, and how long would that take?
- What has actually sold nearby recently, and at what price?
- What would make it hard to sell?
7. What would have to be true
Write down, in one sentence, the assumption this decision depends on. Then ask what evidence you have for it. If the honest answer is “the seller said so”, you are not ready to decide yet.
Next: if a property passes this checklist, move to the Land Due-Diligence Checklist before any money changes hands.
Keep going
Knowledge is the first step of the journey. The rest of it is waiting.