The Ecoterra Approach
You never pay us and just hope.
Building or buying a home in Nigeria usually means handing over a large sum and hoping. Your money sits with an independent escrow provider you choose, moves only against phases as they are accepted — and never past an objection you have raised.
How the money works
Six steps — the same whether you are buying a completed home or building one.
- 01
You choose your escrow provider
A bank or a licensed escrow firm, from the organisations Ecoterra has approved for escrow — per project, and the choice is yours. Ecoterra can never be the escrow provider on its own project.
You decide
- 02
You fund them, not us
Your deposit goes to their account, and they confirm receipt on the platform. Nothing reaches Ecoterra at this point, and nothing is spent.
You and your escrow provider
- 03
They confirm every deposit
A payment counts only once your escrow provider has confirmed it arrived, against their own bank records.
Your escrow provider confirms
- 04
We build, and we show you
Photographs, drawings, inspection reports and dated site updates against each phase. If you are abroad, this is the site visit you cannot make.
Ecoterra
- 05
You accept the phase
You review the evidence and accept, or flag what is wrong and we fix it before anything moves. An open objection stops the clock until it is answered.
You decide
- 06
They release the funds
Acceptance raises the release; a second Ecoterra officer — never the one who signed the work off — must approve it, and your escrow provider executes it.
Your escrow provider releases
Five services, and only one touches your money
Escrow
Holds your moneyEvery project needs oneHolding your money and releasing it against work that has been done. They confirm every deposit and must counter-authorise every release — Ecoterra cannot move a naira on its own.
Title verification
Independent expertiseEvery project needs oneEstablishing that the title is what it is said to be — the registry search, the survey charting, the physical inspection — and reporting on it.
Project management
Independent expertiseOnly if you want itRunning the build on your behalf — the programme, the contractors and the phase-by-phase account of what has actually been done.
Site inspection
Independent expertiseOnly if you want itAttending site and reporting what is actually built, independently of whoever is building it.
Survey
Independent expertiseOnly if you want itPerimeter survey and beacons — the coordinates a charting search is run against.
Questions people actually ask
What if I am not satisfied with a phase?+
You do not accept it. Flag the fault against the specific item and it goes on the record as a defect; the phase stays open until it is put right and you accept. Nothing is released without your acceptance.
Can Ecoterra take the money without my agreement?+
No. The funds are never in our account. A release exists only against an accepted phase, needs a second Ecoterra officer who did not sign the work off, and only your escrow provider can execute it.
How long do I have to review a phase?+
Each phase states its own review window — typically fourteen days, twenty-one for handover on a purchase. Raising an objection stops the clock until it is answered.
Who checks the title documents?+
A firm you engage for title verification. Their confirmation of the title pack — C of O, survey plan, building approvals — is a condition of the first release.
What do these firms charge?+
It varies by organisation and by service, and the fee and who pays it are stated before you choose. An escrow fee is never taken out of the money held for your project.
What if Ecoterra goes under?+
Your money is not ours and is not in our account. It is held by the escrow provider you chose, under their own regulator, against your project.
Do I have to use the same firm for everything?+
No. You engage a firm per service — a bank for escrow, a law firm for the title search, a surveyor for the survey. That is your choice and never a condition of anything.