In Nigeria, there are a variety of important land documents that influence the transfer/ purchase of land title and legal interest in a property. A potential land buyer should be familiar with the required land documents for the property they are considering purchasing. The nature or conditions of the property to be purchased will determine which documents are appropriate for any prospective property transaction. They are as follows
DEED OF ASSIGNMENT: In a sales transaction, a Deed of Assignment or Deed of Conveyance is used to transfer a landed property from the seller (also known as the assignor) to the buyer permanently (also referred to as the assignee). It could be written by the assignor and reviewed by the assignee, or it could be done the other way around.
CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY: The certificate of occupancy (C of O) is used to show that a person owns a piece of land or property. Individuals who owned land prior to 1979 are eligible to receive it. A person who buys land through a sale does not need a new certificate, but rather a deed of assignment.
SURVEY PLAN: The location and size of landed property are depicted on a survey plan. It is easy to examine or search whether the land is genuinely under any government acquisition or not using the descriptions and coordinates on the survey record from the office of the Surveyor-General.
RECEIPT OF PURCHASE: A land purchase receipt is a standard receipt or document that shows that payment for a certain property or piece of land has been received. When a property is sold, the seller usually gives the buyer a receipt. However, where the receipt clause is included in the agreement conveying the land, the receipt may be waived.
DEED OF MORTGAGE: In mortgage transactions, a deed of mortgage is used to document the transfer of land or property from the mortgagor (borrower) to the mortgagee (lender). It is a temporary transfer in the sense that the mortgagor will be able to reclaim the property from the lender after the entire loan amount, including interest, has been paid.
CONCLUSION
To avoid fraud and malicious acts in the purchase of property, it is critical to conduct appropriate checks and ensure that all necessary documents are available and authentic.