There is no denying the fact that thousands
of scammers out there are reaping from the ignorant with non-existent
properties or properties that have so many encumbrances. It therefore
goes without saying that you conduct a search on that property/land before
you make any financial commitment because if you do not, that land/house
you bought for millions or even billions of naira might not actually be
yours.
Daniel Iyam highlights the steps to be taken.
Daniel Iyam highlights the steps to be taken.
PROCEDURE IN CONDUCTING A SEARCH
Carrying out this verification is only
done at the Lands Registry office which is located in Alausa in Lagos
State i.e. if the property you are buying is within the Lagos State jurisdiction.
Locating The Lands Registry building in Lagos is quite easy. It can be
found at the second gate of the secretariat, very close to the Governor’s
Office. You carry out the search on the ground floor. If for any reason
you cannot do this by yourself, you can hire a competent lawyer who you
trust to carry out the search or in cases when you do not have a lawyer,
you can assign anyone else, but you might not have an accurate feedback.
LANDS REGISTRY
The first thing you need to do if you want
to buy a property is to demand for the certified true copy of all the
titles. Included in the title document would be the number that the registry
would need to carry out the search.
You then proceed to the Lands Registry
Directorate where you have to:
Present an Application Letter to The Registrar
of Titles about your intention
A sworn affidavit of purpose (This can
be done at the High Court, Magistrate Court or the Ministry of Justice)
which you would affix with a passport.
A copy of the application letter, affidavit
and the title would then be submitted at the correspondence section of
the Registry.
From here you would proceed to the search
room where a bill of N3, 750 (it could be more in some cases depending
on where the property is located) will be issued and you will be directed
to pay at Access Bank or Zenith Bank. Also in the search room, you would
get payment advice from a staff of the Registry.
Remember like we always tell you; do not
make any financial payment to anyone apart from the designated banks.
After the payment and issuance of receipt from the bank, you would go
back to The Registry where a search will be carried out at the search
room with an automated system that takes less than 30 minutes to accomplish.
If you do not like the electronic means of carrying the search, a manual
search would be conducted but that would take a longer time. So you see;
it is not as difficult as you thought. At this point you will have a clearer
picture of the property title you intend to buy and it will be in your
hands if you truly want to continue with the transaction or want to withdraw.
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