WHEN BUYING LAND/BUILDING, COLLECT ALL THE ORIGINAL COPIES OF THE SELLER’S PURCHASE DOCUMENTS

WHEN BUYING LAND/BUILDING, COLLECT ALL THE ORIGINAL COPIES OF THE SELLER’S PURCHASE DOCUMENTS

Last week a client contacted Apex Chambers and asked us a question:
“Barrister, the seller is requesting for a copy of the Deed of Conveyance you prepared for me over that land I bought from him. Am I supposed to give him one original copy of my land document?”

Our answer was “yes, but only one original copy, and only after you have collected all copies of his own purchase document.”

Before you hand over a copy of your own purchase documents, you must first retrieve all original land documents the seller has from when he acquired the property.

These may include a Deed of Conveyance or Assignment, Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), Allocation Paper or any document linking him to the land.

Those documents now form part of your chain of ownership. If the seller keeps them, it gives him the power to confuse, misrepresent or even fraudulently resell the land.

Once your Property Lawyer has verified and secured the seller’s documents, a fresh Deed of Conveyance or other relevant document (four original copies) is prepared in your name.

Distribute them like this: One copy to the seller; one copy to your Property/Real Estate Lawyer and keep two copies for yourself as property owner.

Ownership without document control is a risk you cannot afford.

Take no chances.
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APEX CHAMBERS, Law Firm of Property/Real Estate and Business/Corporate /Commercial Lawyers, Attorneys, Barristers, Solicitors Advocates, 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