Buyer’s guide
Buying in Ghana, step by step.
Eight steps from first budget to registered keys, in the order they happen, whether you are in Accra or buying from London, Houston or Amsterdam.
General guidance, not legal advice. Your own lawyer should check every point against your contract.
01
Set the budget, and the currency
Decide what you can spend in the currency you earn, then check which currency each home is actually priced in.
Rates, the cedi and mortgages- Many new homes in Ghana are marketed in US dollars; most finished houses on our catalogue are priced in cedis. Use the price switch on any listing to see an indicative figure in GHS, USD or GBP, and the price filter to search in the currency you think in.
- Converted figures are a guide. What you pay, in which currency and at whose exchange rate, is whatever your contract says — so get that written in.
- Budget beyond the price: your own lawyer’s fee, registration and stamping at the Lands Commission, VAT where the seller charges it, and fit-out or furniture. Ask the seller in writing what the price includes.
02
Choose ready-built or off-plan
A finished home is what you see. Off-plan is cheaper on paper, paid in stages, and only as safe as its paperwork.
Off-plan: the nine things to verify- Ready to move: you can inspect the building, the water, the power and the road before you commit, and you can let it out or live in it straight away.
- Off-plan: you pay today’s price in tranches while it is built. Insist on payments tied to construction milestones rather than calendar dates, a written handover date, and an escrow or stakeholder account for deposits.
- If you need the home by a fixed date, a school term or a retirement, buy finished.
03
Shortlist and view, in person or on video
Narrow the listings down to a few homes, then see them properly before you go any further.
- Filter the listings by area, type, bedrooms and price, and send the desk the homes that fit.
- If you are abroad, book a live video viewing. We walk the property, the street and the neighbourhood with you on the call, and you can ask us to open taps, test switches and look at the boundary wall.
- Visit at the times you would live there: the commute at 7am, the street after dark, the drainage after rain.
04
Instruct your own lawyer before you pay anything
In Ghana a conveyance may only be prepared by a lawyer. Use one who acts for you, not for the seller.
The law behind a Ghana property purchase- Under the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036) a contract for land is unenforceable unless it is in writing and signed. A receipt and a handshake transfer nothing.
- Your lawyer reviews the sale agreement, carries out the searches, and handles stamping and registration after completion.
- If you cannot travel, your lawyer can act under a power of attorney you sign abroad. Ask them what form it must take and how it must be witnessed in the country you are in.
05
Verify the title at the Lands Commission
The single most important check. A building on a plot is not evidence that the seller owns the land.
- Have your lawyer search the registered title or lease at the Lands Commission and confirm the seller’s name, the plot boundaries, and any mortgage or caution against it.
- Check the unexpired term of the lease. A 99-year lease granted decades ago is a very different asset from a new one.
- Non-citizens cannot hold a freehold, and a lease to a non-citizen cannot exceed 50 years at a time (Land Act, section 10). If you are buying on a foreign passport, check the term offered before anything else.
- If the seller is married and the land was acquired during the marriage, the law requires written spousal consent to the sale (section 47). Ask for it.
06
Check the permit and the specification
Make sure the building being sold to you is the building that was approved, and that what is promised is written down.
- Ask for the building permit together with the approved drawings, and compare them with what is on site or in the brochure.
- Get the specification schedule in writing: floor area, finishes, window systems, water storage, backup power and what is fitted in the kitchen.
- For an estate, ask who maintains the roads, security and water, and what the service charge is.
07
Agree the price and pay safely
Every payment traceable, every term in the contract.
- Never pay in cash. The Real Estate Agency Act, 2020 (Act 1047) requires payments through an agent to be made by bank transfer, cheque, bank draft or e-money into a client account, and agents must be licensed by the Real Estate Agency Council — ask for the licence number.
- Pay into an account in the seller’s or a licensed agent’s name that your lawyer has confirmed. Treat any last-minute change of bank details as fraud until proven otherwise.
- For off-plan, put the schedule in the contract: what each tranche pays for, the handover date, the remedy if it is late, and whether you can assign the contract before completion.
- Ask the seller in writing whether the price includes VAT and at what rate.
08
Complete, register and take the keys
Signing is not the end. The purchase is only secure once it is registered in your name.
- Sign the deed of assignment or lease, then have your lawyer stamp and register it at the Lands Commission. Keep certified copies outside Ghana as well as inside.
- Where a licensed agent is involved, the Act provides that a sale is not complete until the parties receive a Real Estate Transaction Certificate. Ask for it.
- At handover, walk the property with a snag list, read the meters, transfer the utility accounts and collect every key, remote and warranty.
- If you are letting the property, arrange management before handover, and remember that demanding more than six months’ rent in advance is an offence under the Rent Act.
Common questions
What buyers ask us first.
- Can I buy property in Ghana without being there?
- Yes. You can shortlist and view on live video, instruct a Ghanaian lawyer, sign a power of attorney abroad, and pay by bank transfer. The checks are the same as for a buyer on the ground — the title search, the permit and the contract — and they are done by your lawyer, not by the seller.
- Can a foreigner own land in Ghana?
- A non-citizen cannot hold a freehold. They can take a lease of up to 50 years at a time, which can be renewed. A company counts as a non-citizen if more than 40% of its equity is held by non-citizens. Ghanaian citizens, including dual citizens, are not subject to this limit.
- Should I pay in cedis or dollars?
- Pay in the currency your contract states, at the rate it states. A Bank of Ghana notice restricts pricing and payment in foreign currency without its authorisation, yet many homes are still marketed in dollars — so ask how payment will actually be taken and write the answer into the contract.
- Do I need an agent?
- You do not have to use one, but if you do, they must be licensed by the Real Estate Agency Council, and they may not take cash. You always need your own lawyer.
Ready when you are
Walk a home with us on a live video call.
We show you the house, the street and the paperwork we hold, and talk through the checks your lawyer should run.