Working in Delta State and Rivers State, I have come to understand that so many individuals but lands twice or even three times due to fake owners or documents. In some cases, they only discover after a couple of years when they are ready to develop the said piece of land.

Let's talk about how we could avoid these particular trends in property acquisition. Many persons get discouraged from buying properties in certain areas for fear of being duped when they can do simple things to avoid this, some ways we can avoid such experiences are....

By checking the land records with the registration office and doing a thorough search of registered documents for that land parcel in all the registry offices having jurisdiction over the property.

You will need to apply for Certified copies of all such chain deeds registered for the land and then give it to a professional qualified in property registration cases for a thorough study to check a clear title.

But don't start rejoicing if you find a property with a clear marketable title, ask the landlord to conduct a survey of the land preferably on a weekend during peak hours. Extend the survey for atleast an hour and do it calmly (check land measurements properly and match it with the plan). See if any one turns up inquiring about what's going on. If the land is under dispute, some one or the other should definitely turn up. This happens in cases where the land is illegally occupied.

Even if the survey goes smoothly, don't just hand over the the entire payment to the seller. Make a purchase agreement and hand over a small token (10–20%). Then ask the land owner to have a boundary wall made over the land under his supervision, of course at your cost.

The reason for this is that during making a boundary, the adjacent plot owners with vested interests make hurdles asking you to leave a part of the land for access (though you are not legally obligated to do so). They will block the work unless you meet their demands. If the original land owner is involved, he may tackle the issue in a better way since he will have to accept a lesser payment (due to decreased usable land size) if this happens. If it does happen you can always renegotiate with the seller since you are at a loss here.

Land is the best kind of property investment but with high risks! Be careful in every step.

Idisi Omamuzou Benjamin, your Real Estate Researcher
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