Almost everytime when people are buying landed property, they are skeptical of been scammed, some do not even know which documents to ask from their vendor that will put their mind at rest of having a full authority or claim to the true ownership. Not having a complete document can cause you a nightmare or make you lose your hard-earned resources even if you have been living in the building.Hence, this piece will take you through the documents you need to ask for when next you are buying a landed property especially if you are buying property worth Millions of Naira.
1- Survey Plan: It is a legal document that shows the boundaries of a landed property with a unique number, which can be further confirmed from of the office of the Surveyor General of the state if it is genuine. A genuine survey plan will include Beacon/Pillar Number, Name of the owner, Size of the land, a registered surveyor seal, address and location of the land, survey number and surveyor signature and date respectively.
2- Certificate of Occupancy C of O: Section 9 of the Land Use Act 1978 empowered the government to issue C of O. Hence, it is a government official document issued to an individual or group of people as the legal owner of a landed property or a piece of land. It’s a legal proof of ownership for the period of 99years. Meanwhile, part of the required documents for C of O processing are; a record copy Survey Plan, Tax Clearance e.t.c. Upon buying the landed property, what you need to do is change of ownership, you need not to do another C of O.
3- Power of Attorney: As the name implies POA is a legal authority granted to somebody that allows them to act on your behalf. This is very essential where a person is acting for another individual or company as agent.
4- Land Purchase Receipt: This is a document that shows the acknowledgment of payment and receipt for the landed property. Although this is not a common practice except if you are buying from real estate agents or family owned land.
5- Deed of Gift: It is a formal and legal agreement between an individual, the donor, and special collection that transfer ownership and legal rights to you. Let say I was gifted a piece of land, it’s very important I get a document from my donor to authenticate this because if the donor eventually dies, I have no justification to proof the ownership but with Deed of Gift, no one can revoke or retrieve it from me. Hence, when you are buying a landed property gifted to the owner, request for the Deed of Gift from his donor.
6- Grant of Probate: Once the owner of the property is dead, all the documents of his/her property becomes invalid, these documents can no longer be recognized to transfer any of the assets or property except Grant of Probate. GOP is a legal instrument which provides the legal basis for the enforcement of the contents of the Will. Not even on properties alone, bank equally request for it when you need to close an account of a deceased or withdrawing his/her funds.
7- Deed of Assignment: Is the legal document executed between a buyer and seller to show that all negotiations, investigations and other necessary due diligence have been perfected. The vendor transfers the ownership to the new purchaser and state it clearly the features of the property, including the amount he agreed to collect in exchange from the purchaser. Sometimes some people used Deed of Assignment and Deed of Agreement interchangeably, both documents are meant to transfer ownership from one person to another. You might need the service of your lawyer for further education on it.
Conclusively, if any of these documents cannot be provided when asked, it doesn’t mean the landed property is fake, some might have not done it or do not understands it significance you may need a further background check or seek professional advice. And the property involved is another factor that determines the numbers of documents it would have.
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Engr. Muslihudeen Olayinka
Paceefic Engineering Limited
I’m a Civil Engineer, I build, I Construct… Above flier is our Construction Company where we together build a dependable and stable haven…
