4 VITAL DOCUMENTS TO PROVE LAND OWNERSHIP

As the value of Naira continues to depreciate and the uncertainty of the stock market, many people have come to realization that the oldest form of investment of owning land is the surest guard against inflation. When the stock market was booming, many sold their properties, took loans, took their live savings to cash in the then latest windfall. Before they know what was going on, the market came crashing to low ebb thus leaving many people in debt and poverty. This old wisdom still remains valid. Land appreciate, it does not depreciate. Now that many folks have bought into this reasoning. 

It is important to know that given Nigeria peculiar challenge where some land grabbers commonly called Omonile in the southwest sometimes sell one land to several persons, it is important to know what kind of documents that can help in such case. Also, the proper thing to do in purchasing a piece of land. 

Not following the proper process can lead to lose of earned money, debt, stroke and other fatal problems if not properly managed. In some cases, two persons will be laying claims to the same land which could lead to legal quagmire. In order to avoid all these needless headaches and problems, there are four kinds of documents that will validate your land ownership and thereby elucidated below.

1. Mode of payment:

Many land grabbers (Omonile) want cash for payment of land. Many people have ignorantly paid in cash. One problem of cash payment for land is that it is untraceable in time of problem. The cash paid will be shared immediately by the member of the family and if there is a problem on ownership, this method of payment would not hold water. The best method of payment should be through bank cheque or draft and there must be a witness to the transaction. The role of the witness is to help in time of dispute. According to a legal practitioner and properties consultant, Barrister Matthew Ottah, the legal way to prove land ownership is through production of Documents of Title. In order word, you must have more documents to backup your claim as the real owner of the land over the other person laying claim to the same land.

2. A Family Receipt:

Most lands in the country aside from government acquisition are owned by specific family who first settle on the land. It is important that you are dealing with right family or authorized representative. After payment, a family receipt from the authorized family head which must be witnessed by the family secretary and a keyed family member. The receipt must bear the family name that is selling the land, date of purchase, location of the land, amount paid and family address. Anything short of this is a red flag. Do not toy with you future, make proper due diligence before you part with your money, because once the money leaves your hand, the chance of reclaiming it is very slim.

3. Deed of Assignment or Conveyance:

This legal instrument showed the parties to the agreement, its traces the history of how the land has change hand till the present owner. It must also include the names of the members of the family who sold the land, family head and at least a principal witness. It must be duly signed and stamped by the concerned parties.

4. A Valid Survey Plan:

This is an important document that you must demand from the family selling the land to you. In fact, this should be first document you must sight before thinking of buying the land. Armed with survey plan, you can go for geographical search to ascertain if the piece of land has not be designated for government in the future. Many people had burned their fingers over failure to do proper search on land before payment. The government will be blamed if in a future date demolish houses on lands that have been acquired for future development. Survey Plan showed all the beacon number, plan number, the name of the qualified surveyor , the year the land was surveyed with proof of lodgment of the red copy to the office of Survey-General.

Summarily, lack of production of title documents can lead to lose of one’s property. It will be wise to get these documents within a safe hand if you want to get out all of problem associated with land ownership in the country. Always get legal and professional advice before committing putting your money into real estate investment.

DEED OF AGREEMENT -  What does it mean

A deed of Assignment is one of the most important documents YOU MUST HAVE when you conclude a Land Transaction. In fact it baffles me that 6 out of 10 people I know who have bought lands in the past have no deed of assignment. They are always the first to complain that Omonile has defrauded them but they have no proof to show the property has been sold to them other than a receipt.

It’s funny that everyone has the title documents to their car showing who the seller was and how it was transferred from the Seller of that car to you the new owner but when it comes to landed properties which are 10 times more valuable than cars, we fail to ask for this one simple important document that can prove ownership of that land. What then is this all important deed of Assignment I am alluding to? This can be found from the following definitions below:

A deed of Assignment is an Agreement between the Seller of a Land or Property and a Buyer of that Land or property showing evidence that the Seller has transferred all his rights, his title, his interest and ownership of that land to that the Seller that has just bought land.

The Deed of Assignment acts a main document between the buyer and seller to show proof of ownership in favour of the seller. The person or Seller who transfers his rights or interests in that property is usually called the Assignor and the person who receives such right or interest from the Seller is called the Assignee.

A Deed of Assignment therefore is an Agreement where an assignor states his promise that from the date of the assignment or any date stipulated therein, the assignor assigns his ownership in that Land to the assignee. The deed contains very pertinent information for a real estate transaction. For one, it spells out the date when the ownership of the property transfers from one owner to the other. The deed also gives a specific description of the property that is included in the transfer of ownership.

In most situations, when the Deed of Assignment has been exchanged between both parties, it has to be recorded in the land registry to show legal proof that the land has exchanged hands and the public should be aware of the transaction. Such recorded Deed of Assignment come in the form of either a Governor’s consent or registered conveyance. The Deed of Assignment spells out the key issues in the transaction between the Seller and the Buyer so that there won’t be any confusion or assumption after the property has been transferred to the new owner. Such Key issues include:

Signing a Deed of Assignment and having that Deed is your number 1 evidence against another person that is trying to claim ownership of that same land too. If you have a land and no deed yet, i feel sorry for you! Better consult your Lawyer to go draft one for you now to save yourself future problems.

Signing a Deed of Assignment and having that Deed is your number 1 evidence against another person that is trying to claim ownership of that same land too. If you have a land and no deed yet, i feel sorry for you! Better consult your Lawyer to go draft one for you now to save yourself future problems

1. The Parties’ to the Agreement e.g between Mr A and Mrs B

2. The addresses of both parties and how it is binding on their successors, friends, colleagues and those representing them in any capacity.

3. The history of the land in question how it was first obtained down to the moment its about to be sold including and documents it previously had till this date

4. The agreed cost of the land and the willingness of the Seller to finally accept that price paid for the land

5. The description and size of the land to be transferred.

6. The covenants or promises both parties choose to undertake to perfect the transfer of the document

7. The signature of the parties to the Assignment and Witnesses to the Transaction

8. Finally the section for the Commissioner of Oaths or Governors Consent to sign and validate the agreement.

These are the important features of a Deed of Assignment and must be included in all Documents for it to be valid.

Don’t listen to any Omonile who tells you he doesn’t or the family doesn’t sign a deed of assignment and that it is only a receipt you need. He is only looking for a way to resell your land to another person and to use receipt as a ploy to prevent you from establishing true ownership of your land.

Always consult a property lawyer before you buy a land to help prepare a deed of assignment. It will be your greatest mistake if you don’t have one.

Below is a sample deed of assignment and how it looks so that you don’t fall victim of land swindlers

SAMPLE DEED OF ASSIGNMENT

The Cover of the Deed of Assignment must show the parties to the transaction and the description of the land sold

The Cover of the Deed of Assignment must show the parties to the transaction and the description of the land sold

The first page of the Deed of Assignment must contain the parties to the transaction and the brief history of how the land became the Sellers property.

The first page of the Deed of Assignment must contain the parties to the transaction and the brief history of how the land became the Sellers property

The third page must contain the description of the land to be sold, the surveyor that did it, the cost of the land, the acceptance of the cost of the land and the promises both parties will make to themselves to abide with after the deal has been sealed.

The third page must contain the description of the land to be sold, the surveyor that did it, the cost of the land, the acceptance of the cost of the land and the promises both parties will make to themselves to abide with after the deal has been sealed.

The last page must show the signatures of the parties and the witnesses to that transaction and finally below , the section for the commissioner of oaths to endorse or the Governor to assent his consent to this transaction.

The last page must show the signatures of the parties and the witnesses to that transaction and finally below , the section for the commissioner of oaths to endorse or the Governor to assent his consent to this transaction

Always consult with a lawyer before entering a legal contract.

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