30/01/2025
IS THAT LAND GENUINE? 7 WAYS TO FIND OUT
Points in brief.
1. Ask the seller to clear the land. Be there to monitor it. Reason? The real owner might pop up and lay claim to that land if its not genuine. Or the caretaker of that land may chase away any strange activity. In fact, anybody connected to that land will raise alarm. Even neighbors will alert the real owner of the property.
2. Dig into the history of that land. Don’t accept, at face value, the sellers assertion that he is the rightful owner until proven, by investigation, to be true. Request for the title documents of the land. Why is this necessary? Among others, in the document, you will see the name of the present owner(transferee) of the land and the previous owner(transferor). With this information, you can begin investigation. Start this way: ask neighbours about the real owner of that land. Neighbours are a good source of information. The closest neighbor to the land will most likely know the real owner of the property or the stactus of the land, i.e whether it is under dispute or not.
3. Confirm title documents at Edo Geographic Information service(EDOGIS ).
4. Make sure you are not buying government property, do a land ownership search at EDOGIS.
5 Consult the Odionwere or Enogie. You will also acquire useful information from them regarding the land since they live in that community.
6. Ask to see the relatives of the supposed owner but don’t disclose your intention. Reason: family members could be fighting over the ownership, and one of them may be in a hurry to sell it off on behalf of others. Probe the relatives about the land, and they will give you first-hand information.
7. Do the unusual. Request that you want to start the building project before payment. Assure the seller that once there is no evidence of dispute, you will then pay for the land. Know that the time you start working on the land it will attract the attention of everyone.
