RECEIPT FOR LAND PURCHASE IN LAGOS AND HOW TO AVIOD FAKE PROPERTY DOCUMENTS
The receipt of purchase of property, also known as a land purchase receipt, is a document that certifies that a person has received money for the land or building, regardless of whether the purchaser pays the vendor (owner) in full or in part. The vendor (the property owner or manager) must sign a document attesting to the transaction between the two parties. Formerly, a witness was once sufficient to transfer ownership of land to another individual. A receipt is now required and it is used in real estate transactions to show that the property was transferred from the vendor to the purchaser. In fact, you can no longer fully assert title of land with just a receipt of purchase.
Other crucial papers needed for a real estate sale or purchase include the Contract for the Sale, the Deed of assignment, and others. Above all else, the purchaser MUST retain the receipt for record-keeping. Most importantly, in order to register other land documents like a C of O or a deed of assignment, you will need the land purchase receipt. The receipt must always include any sales tax or VAT that was collected from a client or customer and such monies collected must then be remitted to the appropriate tax body.
WHAT SHOULD BE ON THE RECEPIT FOR THE PURCHASE OF PROPERTY?
- Name of the vendor in full
- Location of the vendor
- Name of the person making the payment in full
- Place of residence of the payer
- Description of the property to be sold
- If fully paid and remaining balance (if any)
- The payment date
- Space for the purchaser’s and vendor’s signatures
EXAMPLE OF A PROPERTY PAYMENT RECEIPT
I, Bayole Adelomi of No. 13, Idomuoge Street, Idimu, Lagos, Nigeria, hereby aknowledge the receipt of the sum of N2,000,000 (two million naira), paid by Iyanu Ipolagba of No. 56, Bayuyu Street, Opebi, Lagos, Nigeria, as complete payment for the acquisition of all that property listed as follows:
A 50 by 100 ft piece of land located in Lagos, Nigeria, at Kasimu Village, Ibeju-Lekki, Ibeju-Lekki LGA
Cash was used to make the payment as of this date April 20, 2021
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Purchaser and Vendor
HOW TO PREVENT FALSE LAND DOCUMENTS
We’ve heard gruesome stories of real estate thieves issuing receipts for the sale of property that wasn’t theirs. Just because you have a receipt for the purchase of land doesn’t mean that the land is legitimate. Or when one party, without the approval of the other family members or the family head, issues a receipt for the sale of a family’s property. Here are some steps to prevent this:
1) Before committing to a purchase like this, conduct your research thoroughly to prevent receiving a bogus land receipt. Since they have a purchase receipt, people who have them file for a Certificate of Occupancy. The Land Registry normally recognizes a certificate of occupancy as a registrable instrument, and as such, it is registered in the purchaser’s name with the proper Registration Number. According to research, some landowners backdate receipt in an effort to circumvent or lessen the effects of the Land Use Decree of 1978.
2) In certain circumstances, it undoubtedly portends increased danger for land purchasers to enable the vendor to backdate the land purchase receipt.
3) Verify that the vendor follows the regulations governing the sale of family real estate or other property. For instance, there are specific regulations controlling the alienation of family land, and a purchaser cannot circumvent those regulations and ultimately obtain a sound title.
4) Verify that the majority of the other principal members or the family head, whom the law considers to be an INSTITUTION, approved of the sale of the relevant land or property. If the issuing of such document is fraudulent or is based on deceptive information on the side of the vendor, you may lose your money regardless of any other titles or documents you may have on a piece of land. In fact, in some states, the following endorsement is issued on approved plans and if it is shown that this approval was gained through fraudulent presentation, it is revoked.
5) Don’t take a certificate issued by the Governor or other relevant authority under false pretences as a statement of what it actually says
CONTRIBUTORS:
- ISOCHUKWU MICHAEL
- AYENI OMONIKE
