Be'cah Legal Practitioners

18/08/2020

Guide to Purchasing a Land. Part 3.

5. Conduct a search at the Lands Registry-: This also forms part of inspection of title documents. A search on the title documents at the Lands Registry usually reveals if; there is an encumbrance on the property (E.g. if it has been used as mortgage for a loan transaction); the property being sold is under government acquisition or a subject of litigation. In Lagos State you can conduct search at The Lagos State Land Bureau located at the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja and The Federal Land Registry, Ikoyi. Note: This depends on the land being under State or Federal jurisdiction.

6. Patience: Purchasing a land requires patience. Some processes take time and you should allow it run its course. Do not be in a hurry so you don’t overlook any step as such negligence may turn out disastrous in the end.

CONCLUSION.
The cost of purchasing a land without due diligence is very high for diligence saves you from trouble and heartaches. If you want to invest in a land, then it’s pertinent you do it right.

It should please be noted that this article is meant as a guide and does not deal extensively with the topic. It is also not intended to take the place of professional counsel. Please seek professional help so as to get a broader view as there are many peculiarities involved in land matters.

30/06/2020

Did you know that Section 27 of the Child's Right Law of Lagos State provides that:

A person must not have sexual in*******se with a child and that it is immaterial that the offender believed the person to be of or above the age of 18 years; or the sexual in*******se was with the consent of the child.

26/06/2020

GUIDE TO PURCHASING A LAND(PART 2).

3. Physical inspection of the Land-: It is important to physically inspect what you are buying. This allows you to see the state of the land and questions such as; whether it is situate in a waterlogged area, or landlocked, are there good roads? are resolved. Also in the course of experience, we have noticed that physical inspection also helps in discovering if the land is a subject of dispute or is being litigated upon. In such cases you find a sign that reads “This Land is not for Sale. Buyers beware” or the Suit no of the matter, if it’s under litigation.


4. Inspection of title documents.-: Title is important, it denotes ownership (this isn’t absolute though). This gives you information on how the seller came about the property to be sold. Some title documents include Certificate of Occupancy, Deed of Assignment, Family Receipts, Deed of Gift, Will, Letters of Administration e.t.c. Some of these title documents are subject to registration as required by law.

To be continued.

22/06/2020

GUIDE TO PURCHASING A LAND(PT 1).

Purchasing a land requires due diligence and it’s quite unfortunate that most people do not give this the attention it deserves. Oftentimes, some people would have committed their hard earned money before realising that they should have taken precautions before buying a land.
There are many factors responsible for this and some are as follows: Lackadaisical attitude Stinginess (not wanting to involve a lawyer), Ignorance (not having the requisite knowledge), Cultural attitude (e.g. a situation where the intended buyer doesn’t want to ask questions about the land to be sold because the Seller is an elder and asking questions may seem disrespectful) etc.
The thing is no matter the situation, it is important to ask questions before purchasing a land.
The under listed are guides to purchasing a Land. Please bear in mind that they are not exhaustive.
Get a Lawyer-: It is quite unfortunate that lawyers are usually employed at the last stage of a land transaction. This is wrong. Lawyers are trained for transactions such as these and they possess the requisite knowledge which is needed to protect your interests whilst ensuring that financial loss (if any) is reduced to the barest minimum. A Lawyer’s duty goes beyond drawing up the land purchase agreement and should never be restricted to that. One gets the best of land transaction when a lawyer is involved at the beginning.

Ensure you are communicating with the right person(s)-: There are instances where the supposed seller has no authority to sell or have no connection whatsoever with a land and would still attempt to sell. ‘Omonile’ comes to mind. Another example is in the case of a land jointly owned by a family. In such a scenario, the consent of every member of the family is needed before the land can be sold. It doesn’t matter if three out of the four members of the family consent to the sale, as long as the last member of the family does not consent, then there can be no valid sale.

12/06/2020

In our years of practice, we have observed that writing a Will in this part of the world is often treated with a lot of superstitions.

A large number of people shiver at the mere thought of writing one. It is often believed that those who express their desire to write a Will are courting death.

Another school of thought is that life will sort itself out.

A Will is a testamentary instrument voluntarily made, executed and attested according to law by which a person makes a disposition of his real and personal property to take effect after his/her death.

The one who makes a Will is called a Testator.

One of the advantages of making a will is that it encapsulates the wishes of the Testator. It expressly states who gets what. This helps to prevent untold hardship that dependants of the deceased would ordinarily have suffered in the hands of unscrupulous relatives.

It also spells out the wishes of the Testator as to how he/she should be buried.

Furthermore, it allows the Testator make a gift to persons that are not related to him/her by blood. E.g Charity.

WHO CAN MAKE A WILL?
Anyone, irrespective of their religious affiliation can make a Will. However, a child has no capacity to make a Will except in certain situations. Under the Wills Law of Lagos State, a child is someone below the age of 18.

The word ‘anyone’ also includes blind, deaf and dumb and Illiterate persons.. However, it is essential that a jurat be included in the Will for this category of Testators.
A jurat basically states that the Testator understood the content of the Will before signing.

The advantages of having a Will are tremendous and we hope more people embrace the idea, whether young or old.

So what are your fears/concerns about making a Will?

06/06/2020