YOU CAN’T GIVE WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE – LAND BUYERS BEWARE

YOU CAN’T GIVE WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE – LAND BUYERS BEWARE

A buyer thought he had struck gold in a nice area in Port Harcourt. He paid for 10 plots with no due diligence, just an unregistered Survey Plan and Deed of Conveyance.

Fast forward to one year, he was chased off the land by the seller’s angry family. They claimed the seller had no authority to sell. No family consent to sell the family land. Something due diligence would have revealed.

They resold it all and his Deed of Conveyance became like ash in his hands – a worthless paper.  Not worth the paper it was written on.

The Latin maxim nemo dat quod non habet means “you can’t give what you don’t have.” It’s not just Lawyer talk. It’s the hard truth in land transactions.

If the person selling land to you has no ownership or authority to sell, then nothing (not a receipt, survey plan or even a registered Deed of Conveyance) can transfer ownership to you.

You can’t put something on nothing and expect it to stay there; it will fall.

Land transactions are not powered by trust; they are powered by ownership. If the seller does not have valid ownership, you’re buying a legal disaster, not land.

Before you throw millions into any property, demand proof of ownership or authority to sell. Engage a Property Lawyer to do a proper search and verification. Anything less is playing Lotto with your money.

In real estate, ignorance is more expensive than land itself.
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APEX CHAMBERS, Law Firm of Property and Business Lawyers, Barristers, Solicitors, Legal Practitioners (rendering legal services), Legal Consultants and Notary Public with Law Office in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

Phone: +234(0)7030868694 (Calls & Whatsapp)
Email: info@apexchambersglobal.com
Website: www.apexchambersglobal.com