The significance of land titles cannot be overstated. People who took it for granted either lost a lot of money or became embroiled in unnecessary litigation.
Before purchasing a property, it is critical to understand and confirm the title. However, you must also understand how that title affects your property.
There are various types of land titles that a land can have, and each has a different impact on the land.
- Freehold Land & Under Acquisition
This is land in which the government has shown no interest, whereas government acquisition of land indicates that the government is interested in the land for urban development or industrialization projects. Such property should be avoided.
- GLOBAL ACQUISITION & COMMITTED ACQUISITION
The government can acquire land through Global Acquisition or Committed
Acquisition.
The committed acquisition means that the government has designed that parcel of land for a specific project, and as a result, those parcels of land can never be
released to individuals or organizations for development projects. It is critical to understand that acquiring lands subject to the committed acquisition will result in a significant loss of investment when the government moves to take full possession of such a parcel of land.
Global acquisition-At the moment, there is no specific government purpose for this, so those parcels of land can later be free or committed as the case may be. There are two ways for land subject to global acquisition to become free.
- Excision
- Validation.
- Excision & Gazette
This is the process by which the government returns a parcel of land to its indigenous owners for residential and commercial development. When these excised parcels of land are published in the government’s official gazette, the title is said to be Gazette.
Excision and gazette are both excellent titles. Such parcels of land are safe to purchase and develop, and proper title can be obtained.
- Certificate OF Occupancy (C of O)
Most people are familiar with this land title. Parcels of Land with Certificate of Occupancy are extremely safe to invest in. A Certificate of Occupancy is usually issued by the State Government and it connotes that the state government has officially leased the piece of land to the applicant, for 99 years.
- Governor’s Consent
Many people are familiar with this land title. Land parcels with a Certificate of Occupancy are a very safe investment. A Certificate of Occupancy is typically issued by the State Government and indicates that the state government has officially leased the applicant the piece of land for 99 years.
- Registered Deed OF Assignment
A Deed of Assignment is not a property title, but rather an agreement between the buyer and the owner(seller) of the property that shows the buyer that the owner(seller) has transferred all rights, title interest, and ownership of the property to the buyer.
The land or property is now completely and legally owned by the buyer of the property following the exchange of the deed of assignment and registration of the document at the land registry.