Waligo and his wife bought land in December 2022. They agreed to buy registered land. Registered land is land with a certificate of Title. One of their friends recommended someone with the registered land. They bought the land and had it transferred into their names. Last year they wanted to develop it.
They hired an architect to produce a house plan. The architect asked them to provide a copy of the certificate of title to get the extentof the land. Later on, the architect went to do a site visit, and she found that the dimensions on the deed plan were not tallying with the ground dimensions. The architect advised the couple to acquire the services of a professional land surveyor. The surveyor carried out a boundary opening and found that the title they had was not for the land they wanted to develop. The title was for the water-logged plot next to what they had ‘bought’. The seller had shown them one plot and gave them a different certificate of title of another. The couple were infuriated when they got the news but they couldn’t recover their money.
Many people like Waligo have lost their hardearned money during land transactions. Countless stories abound and I bet you have heard or read about them in the media. In this article, I will discuss some of the things you can do to protect yourself from being conned. In the following paragraphs, I briefly talk about the steps you can take to have a fraud-free transaction.
Carry out an official search: For registered land, you as an intending purchaser should be availed with the particulars of the subject land in terms of description. It must have Block and plot numbers, the details of the registered owner, the location of the land, the area/land size, etc. You should carry out a search to ascertain the right ownership, and its genuineness, establish its existence plus identifying the conditions, pending rates or encumbrances on the title, if any.
With the computerized land management system, the buyer can verify the seller’s details at the Land Registry including his appearance to avoid fraud through impersonation, This information regarding the land would guide you to decide if or not to proceed with the transaction. As a prospective buyer, you should take your time and insist on seeing the original land title and a search at the registry for verification, before money changes hands.
Site visit to the land/property: Physically visiting land is significant not only because it familiarizes the purchaser with the property in question and the neighborhood, but also because it offers one the opportunity to gather some vital information, which may not be accessible through the Land Registry. Some of the information can only be obtained from the neighbors around the piece of land for example who they know the real owner of the property, whether there have been any disputes in the past, etc.
Examining the physical attributes of the land one wants to buy is part of the due diligence that the law expects everyone to carry out before paying his/her hard-earned money. You may be sold a swampy area, family burial grounds, land with squatters, and other unpalatable pieces of land. During a site visit, you may get an opportunity to interact with the Local Council officials and other people in the area to further confirm ownership of the property and to establish if there are any disputes about the land.
Additionally, you should endeavor to find out whether the land belongs to a married couple and is thus subject to spousal consent or if there are any equitable interests by other parties on the land. Sometimes people lease out their land to other people to use for a period. They usually lease to farmers to grow their crops for a given duration. You will need to know the people using the land and for how long they are going to use the land. Knowing the people with other interests in the land you desire to purchase helps you negotiate with the intending seller and the lessees on the terms of use.
Boundary opening/Area Verification: As discussed earlier, all registered land must have a specific delineation and specification as to the boundaries and area size. It is therefore important you engage a professional surveyor to ascertain the size of the property and confirm its true descriptions as they appear on the title. You must engage a professional surveyor to conduct a boundary opening – basically to confirm whether the boundaries are consistent with the particulars on the land title. This process is absolutely necessary as it helps to find out if there is a mistake on the title in terms of measurements.
For unregistered land, it is also crucial to do an area verification of the land on sale. This reduces the chances of being defrauded in terms of the size of the land you are buying. You need to hire a land surveyor to measure the land available for sale to truly ascertain its correct size. It is also important to check with the help of a professional land surveyor if the land you intend to buy does not fall in protected areas and reserves. The land surveyor is able to check at the Different Ministerial Zonal offices (MZOs) and advise accordingly.
Engage land-based professionals: Lawyers, Surveyors, and other land-based professionals generally have the knowledge and the experience to guide a prospective buyer through the intricate process of making a fraud-proof land transaction. While these services often do come at a cost, they can help you with the ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ of making a genuine land transaction. Indeed, it could be far more costly for you if the transaction were to go wrong. Property offered for sale at giveaway prices and in a rush may not always be genuine.
It is always advisable to engage professionals who belong to regulatory bodies like the Institution of Surveyors of Uganda (ISU), the Surveyor Registration Board,(SRB), the Uganda Law Society (ULS), and others as you can follow up with the regulators in case of any unprofessional conduct. When you diligently follow the above steps, you will be able to protect your hard-earned money and also get a good land deal. It should be noted that the above steps are not the only steps, one needs to take to have a fraud-free land transaction. They are the foundational steps on which other steps can be built. In the next article, I will talk about the other elements like the contents of a good land sales agreement
The author is a Land surveyor and Author of a book: Buy the land; How to make a fraud proof land transaction in Busoga
1 Comment
Busiga is blessed to have people like Isaac, knowledgeable and willing to sacrifice their time to assist eradicate chaos.
May God bless you always.