Necessary legal consideration when
buying property
DUE to the highly complex nature of legal
framework in real estate in Nigeria, it is very
difficult to buy property without a horde of
“experts” attempting to sway you with their
advice. In Lagos state, in particular, the steps
taken when purchasing property depends on
whether you are buying empty land, an
uncompleted building or a completed building,
according to RE/MAX, a leading global real
estate franchise company. The firm here offers
some advice on legal matters to consider when
buying property in the country.
Empty land
On the purchase of land, the company’s advice
is twofold – Registered Title and Unregistered
title. Under Registered title, you have at least
two options: Registration after a private transfer
i.e. in the instance of a sublease, deed of
assignment, etc.; Registration by virtue of a
direct allocation by the Government i.e.
In the case of sublease or a Certificate of
Occupancy (C of O). Under Unregistered title –
There are about six options: Sale by a private
person who purchased from a registered owner
but has himself not registered his title; Sale by
a private person who purchased from an
unregistered owner and had not registered his/
her title; Sale by the Omo Oniles (Landowners)
who have the title of a land that has been
allocated to them by the government via
Gazette or C of O, but have not processed their
C of O;
Sale by the Omo Onile- who are selling land not
yet allocated to them under the circumstances
mentioned above. The land has not been
excised and is still technically under
government acquisition; Sale by the Omo Onile
under acquisition but not under commitment
and; Sale by the Omo Onile of land under
acquisition and which has also been committed.
Land covered by C of O
To purchase a land covered by a Certificate of
Occupancy or other registered titles, you must
undertake the following steps: Sight the original
registered document; Conduct a search at the
relevant lands registry to ascertain if it is the
allottee who is disposing of the property, how
many years are outstanding on the life of the
property (out of the 99 years usual life span), if
the property is encumbered i.e. mortgage, prior
sale, long lease, outstanding taxes or rents, or
revocation.
If your lawyer is satisfied with the search and
physical inspection of the Land conforms to the
details on the title documents, and then it is
time to draw up legal documentation of
exchange of the title and payments. Upon this
exchange, it is important that your title is
registered at the relevant lands registry.
Among the documents for exchange, evidence
that no tax encumbrances exists over the land
must be presented. Clearance from the
government agencies that all land charges and
other demands have been made is also
essential. If there are building plan approvals
and land/soil tests, the results must also be
handed over at final exchange.
Prior to the exchange, and if you have not done
so yet, a physical visit to the land is very
important. Once an exchange has been made
and payment for the original titles, conveying
documents and documents listed above are
completed, then you should immediately take
over physical possession of the land/property
purchased. The law says that possession is 90
percent of ownership. The next step is to
register your title or interest over the property
at the appropriate land registry.
Registered land
When you are offered a land by a person who
has bought and has registered his/her title, you
are to sight the original registered documents,
which in that case, will comprise of a Deed of
Assignment, sublease etc. Conduct a search at
the lands registry at which the said land was
registered. Take all the steps relating to the
purchase of land covered by a C of O.
In addition to the above, and most importantly,
you should get the survey plan attached to the
Deed of Assignment, subjected to a chart. The
technical reasons for this can only be revealed
on a more detailed consultancy.
Source
vanguard news
buying property
DUE to the highly complex nature of legal
framework in real estate in Nigeria, it is very
difficult to buy property without a horde of
“experts” attempting to sway you with their
advice. In Lagos state, in particular, the steps
taken when purchasing property depends on
whether you are buying empty land, an
uncompleted building or a completed building,
according to RE/MAX, a leading global real
estate franchise company. The firm here offers
some advice on legal matters to consider when
buying property in the country.
Empty land
On the purchase of land, the company’s advice
is twofold – Registered Title and Unregistered
title. Under Registered title, you have at least
two options: Registration after a private transfer
i.e. in the instance of a sublease, deed of
assignment, etc.; Registration by virtue of a
direct allocation by the Government i.e.
In the case of sublease or a Certificate of
Occupancy (C of O). Under Unregistered title –
There are about six options: Sale by a private
person who purchased from a registered owner
but has himself not registered his title; Sale by
a private person who purchased from an
unregistered owner and had not registered his/
her title; Sale by the Omo Oniles (Landowners)
who have the title of a land that has been
allocated to them by the government via
Gazette or C of O, but have not processed their
C of O;
Sale by the Omo Onile- who are selling land not
yet allocated to them under the circumstances
mentioned above. The land has not been
excised and is still technically under
government acquisition; Sale by the Omo Onile
under acquisition but not under commitment
and; Sale by the Omo Onile of land under
acquisition and which has also been committed.
Land covered by C of O
To purchase a land covered by a Certificate of
Occupancy or other registered titles, you must
undertake the following steps: Sight the original
registered document; Conduct a search at the
relevant lands registry to ascertain if it is the
allottee who is disposing of the property, how
many years are outstanding on the life of the
property (out of the 99 years usual life span), if
the property is encumbered i.e. mortgage, prior
sale, long lease, outstanding taxes or rents, or
revocation.
If your lawyer is satisfied with the search and
physical inspection of the Land conforms to the
details on the title documents, and then it is
time to draw up legal documentation of
exchange of the title and payments. Upon this
exchange, it is important that your title is
registered at the relevant lands registry.
Among the documents for exchange, evidence
that no tax encumbrances exists over the land
must be presented. Clearance from the
government agencies that all land charges and
other demands have been made is also
essential. If there are building plan approvals
and land/soil tests, the results must also be
handed over at final exchange.
Prior to the exchange, and if you have not done
so yet, a physical visit to the land is very
important. Once an exchange has been made
and payment for the original titles, conveying
documents and documents listed above are
completed, then you should immediately take
over physical possession of the land/property
purchased. The law says that possession is 90
percent of ownership. The next step is to
register your title or interest over the property
at the appropriate land registry.
Registered land
When you are offered a land by a person who
has bought and has registered his/her title, you
are to sight the original registered documents,
which in that case, will comprise of a Deed of
Assignment, sublease etc. Conduct a search at
the lands registry at which the said land was
registered. Take all the steps relating to the
purchase of land covered by a C of O.
In addition to the above, and most importantly,
you should get the survey plan attached to the
Deed of Assignment, subjected to a chart. The
technical reasons for this can only be revealed
on a more detailed consultancy.
Source
vanguard news
nice one
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