In the recent past, scores of unsuspecting Kenyans have fallen prey to fraudsters disguised as real estate companies offering affordable pieces of land and homes. The fraudsters have perfected their skill by convincing and swindling innocent Kenyans who are eager to invest and have their own properties. There have also been various incidences where authorities have demolished high rise buildings that have already been sold to investors thereby causing immeasurable losses. This begs the question, how does a prospective purchaser or investor protect themselves? Let us find out!
Due diligence is conducted mainly to verify the ownership of title over the property and any obstacles over the property, so as to protect oneself against pre-existing claims over the property.
The following are the basic steps that a buyer ought to take before executing the sale agreement:
- Physically visit the land of your choice and identify the beacons. Ensure that there are no squatters on the desired property. Where possible, enquire about the history of the land from the neighbors.
- Request to see the original title deed/the subdivision certificate and survey map in case of a property that has been sub-divided and ask for copies of the same. If the seller is a company, ask for the certificate of incorporation and CR12, minutes and board resolutions authorizing the sale and copies of a national identity card and KRA pin in case the seller is an individual.
- Conduct an official manual search at the Lands’ office. This enables you to determine the transactions on the title and whether the seller is the actual owner of the land. Moreover, a search will enable a buyer to check whether the land has an adverse claim against the title deed and whether there are any interests on the land such as a charge, caution etc.
- Confirm any unpaid land rates or rent.
- Obtain a map from the Survey of Kenya to confirm the boundaries.
- Sign the sale agreement.
- Upon the surrender of completion documents by the vendor or vendor’s advocate, execute the transfer and lodge it for registration upon payment of stamp duty.
- Conduct a search to ascertain that the property has now been registered in your name.
For this and more information regarding the various dispositions of interests in land, please contact us on [email protected]
