please my fellow nairaland i want to buy land in a town in delta and i dont live their. I and the seller (owner) havent seen but am going tomorrow to see and the said land. So i am pleading to experience persons to advice me on things to do and observe in order for me to get the genuiness of the land and the person thanks and may God bless as u help a brother

You need a lawyer with experience in property search at your state Lands Bureau.

To begin you need the land documents from the seller.
Tell him to give you photocopies of (i) registered survey plan (ii) C of O or Governor's consent (iii) Government allocation paper(iv) Gazette (v) deed of transfer AND any other documents available.

As a minimum you need papers indicatiing exact co-ordinate of the plot. This is to ensure it is not within govt acquisition or committed land.

Note that Govt allocation paper is normally for plots in govt estates (and no C of O or Governor's consent is available for such plots). Allocation paper, C of O, Governor's consent carry the same weight as definitive owner's title (assumimg they are genuine).

If they show you excision documents that govt gave the land to the Ovie, Obi or paramount ruler of the locality and his people, the exact plot you are buying may be in the same named area BUT might just be outside the excision zone (bad market).

Be careful and good luck.

Area-Fada:
You need a lawyer with experience in property search at your state Lands Bureau.

To begin you need the land documents from the seller.
Tell him to give you photocopies of (i) registered survey plan (ii) C of O or Governor's consent (iii) Government allocation paper(iv) Gazette (v) deed of transfer AND any other documents available.

As a minimum you need papers indicatiing exact co-ordinate of the plot. This is to ensure it is not within govt acquisition or committed land.

Note that Govt allocation paper is normally for plots in govt estates (and no C of O or Governor's consent is available for such plots). Allocation paper, C of O, Governor's consent carry the same weight as definitive owner's title (assumimg they are genuine).

If they show you excision documents that govt gave the land to the Ovie, Obi or paramount ruler of the locality and his people, the exact plot you are buying may be in the same named area BUT might just be outside the excision zone (bad market).

Be careful and good luck.

thank u very much area fada am so happy for ur response, i will be going their today but please is state land bureau located in each L.G.A or only asaba cos the said land is not in the capital,

Let me take a cue from Area- Fada,

You will need a lawyer to help you conduct search on the title. In the meantime, please don't bother yourself about where the Land Bureau is. Just go to the land, snap pix if they will allow you, if you like the land, ask for copies of documents like C of O, Survey, Consent, excision etc. Please note that one of these documents plus survey would suffice. Your lawyer will complete the rest and based on the report, he/she would advise on wether to buy or not. Thanks.

thanks omogidi am about meeting with the said seller when am tru i wil definetly let you people know the proceedings once agaian thanks @area fada nd omogidi

have met the seller and his wife, from what i observe from the document shown to me (right of occupancy) and the land, is a propose GRA by the state govt and it as being survey by the ministry of land and survey, what i want to know is this is it possible for govt to give out such land to individual if yes do they have the right to withdraw it at anygiven time,

Ceenelly: have met the seller and his wife, from what i observe from the document shown to me (right of occupancy) and the land, is a propose GRA by the state govt and it as being survey by the ministry of land and survey, what i want to know is this is it possible for govt to give out such land to individual if yes do they have the right to withdraw it at anygiven time,

.

Well in theory it is possible. Note that R of O is not same as C of O.

They can withdraw R of O theoretically if there should arise overwhelming public interest in the land. E.g to build a stadium, hospital, University, barracks, airbase etc. So you will still need your C of O. At least with C of O, in such instance you will be compensated.

If you have any slight interest in the land, engage a good lawyer. With land matters don't be pressured into buying quick. Follow procedure.

thank you area fada, truely speaking am interested in the land so please is it possible for me to get C of O after buying the land cos from ur post u said R of O can be withdraw from the buyer by the govt

please house help what is the diff btw Right Of Ownership and Certificate Of Ownership

Ceenelly: please house help what is the diff btw Right Of Ownership and Certificate Of Ownership

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I think the lawyers in the house will be in a better position to explain. All this matter is due to Land Use Act decree 6 of 1978 rushed through by Obasanjo as Military HoS.

My understanding is this:

Right of Occupancy (R of O):
give you rights to take possession and use a piece of land BUT does not necessarily extinguish other existing rights of possession and use of the land.

Certificate of Occupancy (C of O):
is actually also a right of occupancy but it extinguishes existing rights of possession and use of the land. It is personally signed by the governor. For example the hope is that Fashola will sign the huge backlog of C of O applications just before leaving office. C of O is equivalent to Governor's Consent.

Because C of O for a particular plot of land is only ever issued once, if you buy a land that already has a C of O, you will have to apply for Governor's consent. So both or allocation letter for Govt estate plot are your final " de main, de main koko, holy grail of land documents.

God forbid 20 years from now govt decide that your mansion should make way for Asaba new 75 story skyscraper, only a C of O plus building permission will really ensure you're properly compensated. Although you may not really need the money after serving as Petroleum Minister.


NOTE that the Land Use Act doesn't really foresee "right of ownership". Instead it's occupation for X number of years, renewable usually 50 t0 100 years.

YES YOU CAN GET C of O PROVIDED THE LAND IS GENUINE AND ALL DOCUMENTS ARE GENUINE.

@CENELLY, are there other plots for sale in the area? Please send details including size and price to:

area.fada@yahoo.com

AreaFada2:
.

I think the lawyers in the house will be in a better position to explain. All this matter is due to Land Use Act decree 6 of 1978 rushed through by Obasanjo as Military HoS.

My understanding is this:

Right of Occupancy (R of O):
give you rights to take possession and use a piece of land BUT does not necessarily extinguish other existing rights of possession and use of the land.

Certificate of Occupancy (C of O):
is actually also a right of occupancy but it extinguishes existing rights of possession and use of the land. It is personally signed by the governor. For example the hope is that Fashola will sign the huge backlog of C of O applications just before leaving office. C of O is equivalent to Governor's Consent.

Because C of O for a particular plot of land is only ever issued once, if you buy a land that already has a C of O, you will have to apply for Governor's consent. So both or allocation letter for Govt estate plot are your final " de main, de main koko, holy grail of land documents.

God forbid 20 years from now govt decide that your mansion should make way for Asaba new 75 story skyscraper, only a C of O plus building permission will really ensure you're properly compensated. Although you may not really need the money after serving as Petroleum Minister.


NOTE that the Land Use Act doesn't really foresee "right of ownership". Instead it's occupation for X number of years, renewable usually 50 t0 100 years.

YES YOU CAN GET C of O PROVIDED THE LAND IS GENUINE AND ALL DOCUMENTS ARE GENUINE.

@CENELLY, are there other plots for sale in the area? Please send details including size and price to:

area.fada@yahoo.com

What if the buyer is buying a plot of land that the seller already applied for the C of O? How then will the buyer process get his own C of O when buyer already apply for it shortly before buyer approach him?