Buying real estate involves different processes but one of the most important parts is ensuring that you have the proper documents that show that you are the owner of the property. This is a rule of common sense that the law also practically demands. The principle of ownership and possession is such that unless you have the legal title to a property your possession of it does not automatically confirm legal status on you as the owner in law. In the eye of the law, there are documents that will show to the world that a property belongs to you or at least that a valid transaction had taken place.
All over the world one of the issues that is the most common source of litigation is real estate whether investment, residential or commercial. The reason for this is not farfetched. Real estate investment is another aspect of money making and money is the number one cause of friction among men.
When it comes to family matters real estate could become the source of intractable differences among siblings. Even governments get into the fray when it comes to making money in real estate.
If your title is not recognised by the government and your property becomes a matter of interest to the government or people in government that could be used against you in several ways.
The essence of the above highlights is to underscore the importance of getting the issue of documentation right. The basic and fundamental thing to remember is to ensure that you have good paper trails. An agreement could be made by writing, by conduct and verbally. However, when it comes to real estate the law recommends that such agreement should be in writing. A written document is less susceptible to misunderstanding. A person could deny saying something or claim that his or her actions mean something different from the obvious.
The entire process of a real estate transaction should be filled with paper trails. Negotiating is a process that often takes time in real estate and during this period offer, acceptance and payment of the purchase price are usually discussed back and forth before a final agreement is reached.
There is actually no excuse in this age and time not to have a form of correspondence either in the form of email or letter or both relating to a real estate transaction. For instance, a seller can agree to sell his or her property for any sum and it is during the negotiation process that this is sorted out by the parties. If the price becomes an issue later these correspondences will shed light on the process that led to the sale.
Once the issue of price has been agreed and the money paid to the seller you need a purchase receipt that shows what was paid for, by whom, to whom and when. If you are buying from traditional land owners what you need to request for at the time of purchase is a family receipt that bears the name of the family, date, details of what you have paid for and proper attestation.
A family receipt indicates the family name that owns the entire land mass spanning over a large area of land and not just your individual parcel of land. They normally sign across the attestation portion over a stamp. If the receipt contains any fine print read them carefully.
Some unscrupulous traditional land owners write in fine print that the land is leased to you not sold. They can use this against you later so insist on a plain receipt that clearly states that you have bought the land.
The next document that you want to ensure that you have is an agreement. The agreement further states in detail the terms and conditions of the transaction. The agreement should be signed by the owner and not a proxy. If the original owner is late then his or her executors or administrators have the legal right to sign on his or her behalf.
Depending on the state there are specific formats that the Land Bureau requires. In recent years Lagos State has introduced several policies regarding the format of the document. It is very important to engage the services of a legal practitioner in order to ensure that you have the right document.
The final stage of the process is generally referred to as perfection of title stage which basically means following the process established by law and government policies to have your title recognised, registered and searchable by any person. This involves payment of stamp duty and other charges fixed by the government. After your title has been verified by the government you will be issued a certificate of occupancy (C of O).However, if the original owner has already obtained his or her Certificate of Occupancy then the appropriate document to apply for is called Governor’s Consent. A legal practitioner’s involvement in the process will make it easier to manage and ensure a smooth transaction..
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