Acquiring land for oneself could be a thing of great joy and happiness, but where not done with due diligence and care, it becomes a thorn in the flesh for the purchaser.
Hence, a purchaser of land must ensure to do the following:
1. Get a lawyer involved from the beginning of the transaction. It makes the land speculators do the right thing. A lawyer would be able to detect fraud and discrepancies from the start where the vendors want to engage in sharp practices.
2. Never make payment and sign documents at a later date. This is a very costly mistake. Sometimes, when payments are made in full, the vendors become evasive and elusive, knowing there is nothing to hold on to.
3. Never pay cash for land purchases. Do a bank transfer, issue a cheque, or raise a draft to provide a trail of evidence. One can easily deny receipt of cash except there is a community of witnesses and a written acknowledgment to that effect.
4. Investigate title and ownership before purchase. Don’t believe every piece of information given to you by the vendor; subject it to scrutiny and verification.
5. If the vendor lives abroad, insist on a Power of Attorney authorizing a representative in Nigeria to act on their behalf. Where possible, try to contact the vendor directly using social media or other available means.
6. Let the person who introduced you to the transaction sign and witness the transaction for you.
7. Always put dates in your Deeds of Transfer or Assignment. An undated document has no probative value in law, as per a ratio by the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Precision is accuracy!
8. If the land is registered, conduct a search at the Lands Registry to ascertain if there has been a transfer, or if there is a charge, mortgage, caveat, or any kind of encumbrance whatsoever.
9. If the owner of the land is dead, demand documents conferring ownership on the vendor, like Letters of Administration, Document of Sharing, or an Order from a Customary Court.
10. If it is family land jointly owned by family members, ensure that all principal members of that family are seen and their consent for the sale obtained. Otherwise, such a purchase will land you in court eventually.
11. Take your documents seriously. Do not patronize quacks or business centres. Be guided that, according to the Land Instrument Preparation Law, every document relating to land must be prepared by a legal practitioner and must contain the lawyer’s seal. Failure to do this means you only have a tissue paper in the name of a land document. Beware of shortcuts!
12. If you are not sure of the genuineness of the land, pay in instalments. Do some work on the land to ascertain encumbrance or otherwise.
13. Do not allow the vendor to rush you while doing a land transaction. This might be a red flag, and the land may not be genuine.
14. Always insist on a receipt for every payment made so you have evidence of such payment.
15. Do a survey plan immediately after purchasing land and lodge it in the Lands Registry to put your purchase on official records.
16. Make sure you have photo or video proof of the signing of the land documents. This protects you against the possible denial of such a sale by the children of the vendor in the event of the vendor’s death.
17. Do not allow the vendor to get a lawyer for you. Get a lawyer by and for yourself.
18. Make sure community leaders are aware of your purchase of land in their community. It reduces the likelihood of fraud and enhances public knowledge of such a purchase by the community.
19. Read through before signing a land document. Every word is important, and the law only interprets your agreement and not your thoughts. “Pacta Sunt Servanda” – Parties are bound by their agreements.
20. In certain situations, you may require the vendor to swear an affidavit of ownership, so if it turns out that he is not the owner, it becomes a criminal issue of lying on oath – perjury.
21. Buying land from an individual that is ascertained to be the owner is safer than buying from a community. Whichever the case, you need a lawyer.
22. Ensure your Deed of Transfer prepared for you contains an Indemnity Clause. If the land is fake, the matter becomes an automatic case of fraud. That is why you need your own lawyer and not the one imposed on you by the vendor. You can always talk to your lawyer for proper legal advice and counseling.
23. Always keep a copy of all land documents and transaction records safely. These will serve as evidence in the event of future disputes or litigation.
N. I Wisdom (Law Undergraduate) Edwin Clark University, Delta State. Wiseoneizunna1@gmail.com, +2347030379402
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