The due diligence will assist you to establish the rightful and lawful owner of the property, the actual size of the property, the location of the property, the category of ownership (land tenure) under which it falls, and if there are any encumbrances on the property like a mortgage. The due diligence involves activities like.
1). Arranging a site visit to see the property.
Your real estate agent should arrange the site visit to see the property, learn about the neighborhood, social infrastructure, physical landmarks, and more.
2). Introduce you to the local leader/community leader
Assuming you’re impressed with the property, then your real estate agent should introduce you to the owner of the property and also contact the Local Council Chairperson (LC1) and the neighbors/locals in the area to inform them that you are interested in buying a property in their community. It is very, very important that you meet the locals and the leaders and talk to them.
This is important to discover if there are any squatter claims and any unknown disputes in regards to the property that you are interested in.
This will also give you the proper history of the property and teach you more about the community or area in which you are going to buy your new property.
Acquire a copy of the land title and authenticate the seller’s details.
If all looks great by this point, then, ask the seller to give you a copy of the property title (usually a land title or condominium title) to help you authenticate the owner’s details.
At this stage, your lawyer will conduct a land search at the Lands Office to verify the authenticity of the land title and the true owner of the property and also ensure that there are no encumbrances on the property.
In addition to the above, your lawyer should also find out if the person you are in the process of buying land from has a spouse. Spousal consent is stipulated under section 38(a) of the Land Act provides for spousal security and consent. If the seller has a spouse, consent should be in written form and both should sign. Ensure that the property is located in an area designated for the purpose that you want.
Still undergoing background checks, your lawyer should ensure that you are buying land in an area that is designated for the purpose that you want.
All land is designated for specific purposes, like residential, industries, forestry, farmland, wetland, etc. For example, An individual cannot buy land in a wetland, construct residential units in an industrial park, or buy land to set up an industry/factory in a residential area.
Your real estate agent and a lawyer should ensure that the land you are about to buy legally suits the purpose for which you want it.
All the above steps are crucial in doing background checks to establish authenticity and ensure that you are buying the right property in the right location from the right seller without any encumbrances on it.
