When you are buying properties in Nigeria, there are some important documents that you need to get to prove that the sale of the land is genuine and that you are not being scammed. To guide you in your quest to purchase a property and prevent you from being scammed, we have listed those important documents below.
An Approved Survey Plan: The survey plan is important because it shows the location of the property and its boundaries. It also reveals if there is any government claim on the land or not.
Governor’s Consent: The governor’s consent is the governor’s approval for the sale of the property. He can do this himself or through a commissioner that have been designated for that purpose, probably the commissioner for land and housing. A governor’s approval or consent is needed in the transfer of properties from one person to the other according to the Land Use Act of 1978.
Deed of Assignment: This is an important document that should be prepared by either the buyer or the seller of a property after the transaction has been concluded. The document is used to transfer someone’s interest in a particular property to another person. Every new buyer needs to demand a copy of this document from a buyer in the event that the seller also bought it from another person. This is to enable the buyer to trace the history of the property being bought.
Power of Attorney: This document is needed in a situation where the buyer has appointed someone else to represent him during the process of buying the property. This document authorises the assignee to act on behalf of the property buyer.
Certificate of Occupancy: The certificate of occupancy also known as the C of O is a document that certifies the legal ownership status of any property in Nigeria. This document is usually delivered to the owner of the property by the government to approve the buyer’s interest in the property once it is in line with the land use laws. It is a document that states that an individual has been granted the statutory right of occupancy by the governor of a state. The C of O is not usually applicable to all properties. It is only issued to people who have bought properties before the enactment of the Land Use Act of 1978 or people who are getting the properties directly from the government.
Probate and Letter of Administration: This document is issued in the event that the property that is being sold previously belonged to a deceased person. The document grants the sellers the power to sell the property to a prospective buyer. It is very important that a buyer requests for this document if they are buying a deceased person’s property from the administrators of the deceased person’s estate.
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