REAL ESTATE LAND TITLE DOCUMENTS YOU MUST KNOW BEFORE BUYING ANY PROPERTY IN LAGOS
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Have you been thinking about buying land but you are too worried about its cumbersome process? You are probably scared of getting scammed or buying from the wrong people, scared of the touts/land grabbers coming around to ask for money “owo ile” and other illegal payments they request for. All of these problems can be avoided easily if you know the right title documents you need to see before making payment for the land/house.
What are the required documents for land/House purchase in Lagos, Nigeria? This is a very important question for every client hoping to buy land/house someday.
Buying land in Nigeria requires a legal process which is known as Conveyancing, which transfers ownership of properties from the previous owner to the new owner. According to the Property and Conveyancing Law, there are stages involved in the transfer.
As an individual in Nigeria looking to buy land, you have to ask for some documents to be sure you are not being scammed and you won’t have any issues with the government after paying for the land. There are so many scammers out there that try to sell lands that do not belong to them. There have been several police reports about people selling lands that do not belong to them or they try to sell the land to more than one person. Buying property in Nigeria goes beyond physical inspection and making payments, the buyer must ensure that the seller has the legal rights to transfer ownership to him/her to avoid unnecessary disputes. It is therefore pertinent you familiarize yourself with these documents, as they are very important.
In this article, we shall discuss all the important documents to ask for when buying land/houses anywhere in Nigeria, especially in Lagos. These documents are crucial to validate the sales of the land/house.
Do not fail to read this article to the end, you will need every bit of the information.
Without delay, let’s dive into it
SIX IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS YOU MUST KNOW BEFORE BUYING LAND OR HOUSE IN NIGERIA
These documents serve as evidence that shows that the seller is the actual owner of the land and has every right to sell the land.
Depending on the land, you don’t need all of the documents listed here but in most cases, you will need to have more than one to be called the rightful owner of the landed property.
These documents include:
Approved survey plan
Purchase receipt
Excision & Gazette
Registered Deed of Assignment (Governor’s Consent)
Certificate of occupancy
Other documents exist, but they are not usually demanded when buying land. They may become important depending on the circumstances surrounding the sale. Let’s go into details about these documents, what are they? What are they used for? Keep reading and you will understand better.
APPROVED SURVEY PLAN
A survey plan is a document that shows the boundaries of the land to give the accurate measurement and size of that land. It is a drawn document that shows the details of the land, the size of the land, the boundaries location, land location and physical features of the land. The survey plan spells out the name of the owner of the land which has been surveyed, the address of the land, the description of the land, the size of the land, the numbers of the beacon, the surveyor’s name, the date the survey was carried out and a stamp from the registered surveyor who did the work. This is a very important document to be seen by the buyer before making a payment for the land. It should be the first document to be requested from the seller when inspecting the land. This approved survey plan should carry an authentic stamp from the Surveyor’s office which would be evidence that the land does not belong to the government or is military-owned.
How do you identify an original and approved survey plan? It is quite important to make sure that the survey plan is not fake or made up by the seller, you cannot just accept any survey plans given to you by the seller. You must make sure that it is an original document and that it is properly approved. Here are some of the information to look for on the document to confirm its originality;
There must be a name on the survey plan, and the name must be the seller’s name. Some relatives try to sell lands that do not belong to them but because the land belongs to a member of their family, they feel entitled to the land and they think they have the right to sell the land with or without the permission of the actual owner. It is always advised not to buy that type of land because there are always problems attached to such property. So the buyer must make sure that the name that appears on the survey plan is the actual seller’s name and not a relative.
The document must contain the correct address of the land surveyed and a description of the area where the land is located. During the inspection, the name of the area where the land is located, and a detailed description of how to get to the land from the main road must correlate to what is on the survey plan.
The document must contain a sketch showing the shape and dimensions of the land. The buyer must make sure that the survey plan contains the exact size of land and the shape of the land.
The survey plan must show the size of the land in square meters. The correct size in square meters must be on the plan to avoid trespassing by the buyer after-sales.
The survey plan should also contain pillar numbers. The pillar numbers or Beacon numbers are unique numbers placed on all the points of a piece of land which shows its boundaries and notifies the public that the land belongs to someone. The beacons are usually concrete slab that sits on the surface of the ground with the plot numbers inscribed on them. So the buyer should check the beacon numbers when inspecting the lands and make sure it is correct with the beacon numbers on the survey plans.
In Summary, a survey plan must contain the following information:
The name of the owner of the land surveyed
The Address or description of the land surveyed
The size of the land surveyed
The drawn-out portion of the land survey and mapped out on the survey plan document
The beacon numbers
The surveyor who drew up the survey plan and the date it was drawn up
A stamp showing the land is either free from Government acquisition or not.
Government-owned lands are not usually for sale so anyone trying to sell you that type of land obviously wants to scam you and put you in trouble.
The survey plan is a document that should be available on-demand, every legit owner should have one. Do not be persuaded to make payment without seeing this document first, the information on it can prevent you from making a big mistake and saves you a lot of stress in the future. Please note that the survey plan is not a title document but enables you get coordinates so you can confirm the area of coverage of your land and match it up to what is covered and carried by the governor’s consent or any other title.
PURCHASE RECEIPT
From the name of this document, it is obvious that it is a MUST have. How can you buy something and not get a receipt as proof of purchase?
You cannot purchase a commodity of #5000 and not get a receipt from the seller, not to talk of something as big as A LANDED property worth millions of naira. In case of problems that might come from buying the land, the purchase receipt will serve as proof of purchase from the seller to the buyer. The receipt is also important when registering the land, with the buyer’s name on the receipt, it shows ownership. And also, before you make payment for the land, if the current owner (seller) had acquired ownership of the land by purchase, he or she should present the receipt from the purchase. This will serve as proof of ownership for the seller to avoid the “omo onile palava”. So it is important to request the receipt of the purchase from the seller
EXCISION & GAZETTE
To excise a piece of land is to cut it. This is the process by which the government returns a plot of land to its original owners for the purpose of residential and commercial development. When an excised parcel of land is published in a government official gazette, it is referred to as having the title Gazette. Excision and gazette are excellent land titles; such lands are safe to purchase and develop. The gazette then becomes the land’s title, making it safe to purchase because a valid title can be obtained
REGISTERED DEED OF ASSIGNMENT (Governors Consent
The Deed of assignment is a legal document that shows the transfer of ownership of the land from the previous owner of the land to the current owner (seller). The document contains an agreement that states that the seller of the land has been assigned ownership of the land by the previous owner and has every right over the land. This document is a very important document to be presented to the buyer as proof of ownership of the land. It should be registered in the land registry as evidence of a transaction. Also, the document must contain some vital information:
Names of the buyer and the seller
Addresses of the buyer and the seller
History of ownership of the land up until its most recent sale, which must include all necessary documents
The size and proper description of the land to be transferred
The cost of the land with the intention of the seller to accept the price.
Signatures of the buyer and the seller to confirm the transaction, a witness signature should also be included
Commissioner of Oaths signature to validate the agreement.
This document is very important to be seen by the buyer before making any money transfer to the seller because the area touts/ land grabbers (omo oniles) try to trick people, buyers, from seeing the document so that they can resell the land to another person. Do not get scammed!
CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY
This is considered by many as the most important document in land sales, however, we have seen some exceptional cases in practice. A Certificate of Occupancy is an authorized document of grant issued by the State Government to an individual, a group of individuals, or a company to confer ownership and right of occupancy in a specific piece of land for all uses for a period of time not to exceed 99 years, subject to renewal. The Certificate of Occupancy is a one-time document given to the first individual to purchase and own virgin land. As a result, this document precludes numerous owners from claiming ownership of the property. For all government land allocations and properties, the C of O is usually issued. The certificate of occupancy is issued by the government to landowners, as proof of ownership. The document is popularly referred to as “C of O”. All lands in the state belong to the government, but that document is an approval from the government that you can have the land as yours. In case of a government project that has to cut across your land, the document has you covered.
The common and easiest way to claim ownership of the land is the provision of the right documents. This method requires you to provide all the documents we have talked about, the survey plan, excision & gazette, deed of assignment, certificate of occupancy, payment receipts and other valid documents.
Now that we have talked about all the necessary documents that you need to ask the landowners before deciding on whether to purchase the landed property; or not, you should know the right things and the processes to follow to avoid stories that touch. Land/House sales are one of the most common ways people get duped in Nigeria, and we are trying to put an end to that by educating you on things you need to know when buying one.
This is a bonus, but I feel like I need to give some tips on how “not to get scammed” when buying a land/house in Nigeria.
DO NOT BE GREEDY. I feel like greedy people are liable to get scammed more. How will someone tell you that you should pay #4Million for land in a very developed area like Ikeja and with C of O? It’s just absurd to think it’s real. You cannot get good land with a good title at that kind of price in that type of area. They will just take you to another person’s land, pretend to own it, show you fake documents and collect your money and run away. Do not be a victim of this.
Know your budget and be real with yourself. No one is going to give you a piece of land that is in a good location and area for a small amount of money. So if you have a small amount to buy land, it is always advisable to either keep saving till you can afford a good and nice land or you just go buy a land in a developing area and that might take a longer time to develop.
Another important thing to note is to find a trusted and reliable Real Estate Consultant. They are professionals that sell land/houses for landowners or property developers. They represent them and make sure the whole transaction goes smoothly and stress-free. Real Estate Consultants reduce the chances of one getting duped.
You also need the services of a lawyer when buying land. Have a legal backup in case of any issues. The lawyer should be present when signing documents and making payments for the land/house.
Lastly, DO NOT BUY A LAND/HOUSE WITHOUT DOING PROPER DUE DILIGENCE.
It’s always a bad idea.
Hope this article helps you to understand the basic things you need to know about buying and selling properties (Landed properties) and you now know what steps to take to avoid being SCAMMED by the wrong people.
Finding your Property is our mission.
We are delighted to be a part of your real estate journey
Finding your Property is our mission. And we are delighted to be a part of your real estate journey.
I’m Iluyinka Adeyemi, I’m your very Caring Realtor and with me by your side, all your Real Estate expectations will be met and your peace of mind is guaranteed.
Can’t wait to work with You!
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