Just recently a client wanted to buy a house at Utesi Community, Sapele road Bypass, Benin City. The property is a 3flats consisting of 1 unit of 3bedroom flat and 2 units of 2 Bedroom flat with a store in front and an upstairs foundation(on DPC level) of 3flats. The land size is 100ft by 100ftn(900sqm).
The owner of the property needed money urgently and wanted to sell quickly. Eventually, a buyer indicated interest to buy the property.
If
you were the buyer what would you do at this point- collect the documents and
give to your lawyer to draft the Deed of Transfer or thoroughly scrutinize the
title/verify ownership ?
What The Smart Buyer Did
The buyer took the Survey document of the property to
EDOGIS(Edo State Geographic Information Service).
 |
| Screenshot from EDOGIS |
To confirm if the property is free from dispute,
To check if the area is under government acquisition,
To ensure that no existing C of O on the property, which the
seller may or may not be aware of.
The Result
The information regarding the property came out that same
day. Guess what? It was revealed that C of O overlapped the property. In other
words, part of the land in which the house was on had an existing C of O.
The Implication
The person that did the C of O can lay claim to the
ownership anytime in future.
The buyer probed further, he wanted to know the identity of
the person. And it was unveiled. He was contacted. The person lives abroad, and
warned that he was going to destroy the building anytime he comes back to Niger ia.
What do you think the buyer did next? Your guess is as good as mine, he didn’t buy again.
Also Read:7 Ways To Confirm if That Land or House is Genuine
Deductions
Before you pay for that house or land, make sure you verify the title at EDOGIS(whose location is at Sapele road, before Santana market, Benin City, Edo State).
Verification will save your investment
Confirmation will help you avoid needless court cases in the future
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How Nigerians Abroad Can Invest Successfully and Retire Home with a Smile