21 Jan
HOW TO SEARCH AND VERIFY LAND IN ABUJA
In Abuja, you must first send an application to the right authority or land registry in order to do a land verification. The right authority or strata corporation in Abuja is the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS).
- A person who wants to buy land in the Federal Capital Territory must send the following to AGIS in order to do a search or confirm the details of the land or property:
- Start by writing an application letter to the Director of Lands Administration. In the letter, include the name of the owner, the file number, the plot number(s), the Certificate of Occupancy Number, and the date.
- Proof that you paid the N10, 000 (for residential purposes) or N20,000 (for commercial purposes) and the legal search fee (commercial purposes). For this, the bank has a special teller for this.
- You’ll need an original certificate or a right of occupancy for documentation and sighting.
- There must be a copy of a valid form of identification.
- The staff at the Land Registry will do the search and put together a report that says if the information in the letter matches the information on the document or any land registered there. The report will also say how much the rates are and if there are any encumbrances on the land.
- Physical Inspection: Any obvious flaws in a property would be made clear by a physical inspection of the property before it was bought.
- Probate Search: The goal of a Probate Registry search is to find out who can sell the deceased person’s property. This registry is connected to the court and can be seen at the High Court in Maitama, Abuja.
- Corporate Affairs Commission. This is to find out if there are any charges against the assets of the company. It also shows if the vendor is allowed to act on behalf of the company and do business in its name. It also shows if the property has been mortgaged. A lawyer who is an authorized agent with the Corporate Affairs Commission can do this search.
- Lastly, a Land search should be done to make sure that the owner owns the title that is going to be bought. The search also helps find out if the land is blocked in any way.
Having an attorney help makes it easy and makes sure that the search for the title is thorough and quick, so that any problems that might come up in the future can be avoided.