Due diligence in Real Estate: The Need for Documentation —Ayorinde Ejioye

Documentation is one, if not the most important, aspect of real estate property acquisition and development. Therefore, acquiring a real estate property requires that you do due diligence, which is a function of documentation beyond verbal agreements and mutual consensus.

This article highlights important documents you must have on any landed property purchase you make.

1. Survey Plan: This document, also referred to as layout, is a legal document that shows the expanse of a landed property using boundaries and measurements.
This document allows you to search and crosscheck, at the Surveyor General’s office, if your potential landed property purchase is not under any government acquisition or committed area. It also helps in avoiding or resolving land boundary disputes in other instances.

2. Certificate of Occupancy (C of O): Doing due diligence also includes perfecting a property’s ownership with the government. C of O is the legal document of ownership offered by the government to acclaim the legitimate ownership of a landed property.
Regardless of the landed property’s possession, it shows the actual owner of such property, whatever the case may be.

3. Deed of Assignment: This document explicitly shows the agreement between a real estate property vendor and a buyer. A deed of assignment legally transfers the property ownership from a developer to the buyer.

4. Contract of Sales: This document highlights the terms and conditions attributed to a landed property sale or purchase. It is important to request and outrightly receive this document on any real estate property purchase you make.

Conclusion:

In essence, it is important to have these highlighted documents alongside any real estate landed property purchase you make. In this light, and in any case of unavailability of the documents highlighted above, it is advisable to back off of such a deal to prevent unverified purchases and unreliable transactions.

Author: Ayorinde Ejioye
Ayorinde Ejioye is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Gidi Real Estate Investment Limited