Do due diligence when buying land- Dr Seth Sallah advises Ghanaians

As land in Ghana has seen increasingly high levels of demand due to the growing population, an entrepreneur and a real estate developer, Dr Seth Kwame Sallah has called on all Ghanaians to always do due diligence when purchasing a parcel of land to avoid disputes over ownership of such lands.

He noted that as a real estate developer, he is aware that both locals and expatriates alike aspire to buy lands in order to serve either as a foundation for a home or for other commercial purposes but are always deceived to buy lands from wrongful owners which always lead to violent disputes and protracted court litigations.

The Chief Executive officer of Setho Classic Group of Companies who acknowledged the difficulties associated with the land acquisition process in Ghana also attributed the problems to prospective buyers who rather prefer to buy land from people without traceable offices and the relevant documents on such land they claimed to owners.

Speaking exclusively to The Republic, he said before buying a piece of land, one has to make enquiries and checks to ascertain the true owner(s) of the land and whether the claimed owner has all the necessary documents covering the said land.

According to him, the Lands Commission has not set standard procedure in acquiring land in Ghana. This, he said, raises the risk of buying a disputed piece of land, and if this happens, the best case scenario is to take the matter up in court, which could drag on for years.

"The onus is therefore on you to check for any fraudulent behaviour from the seller. A case in point is a seller who demands payment for a cadastral plan, which should not be the case", he observed.

He said after doing the background checks on the seller, you also need to check with the Lands Commission, or the survey department to verify whether the land actually belongs to that individual or group. This process, he said, usually takes a minimum of two weeks and, considering the length of time it can take for a court process or losing one's life.

"You need to establish the area you want to acquire the land from, find a set location and have the seller provide you with a cadastral or site plan prepared by a licensed surveyor which shows the precise location and coordinates of the land. This site plan helps prevent ownership disputes with land guards as the Lands Commission keeps copies in their office", he advises.

The young entrepreneur furthered that the cadastral plan is a strong indicator of land availability but not a guarantee adding that hiring an independent surveyor to cross-check the land against the site plan is a move in the right direction as it reduces the risk of disputes.

Prospective buyers, according to him need to note that buying land in Ghana can only be done as a lease-hold and not a freehold agreement.

"When we in the estate development talk of a freehold, it can be described as a life estate; meaning the land is the eternal property of the owner. A lease-hold, on the other hand, is property that can be sold for a limited duration. In Ghana, the maximum ownership duration for expats is 50 years while for locals, it is 99 years", he explained.

He continued that before Prospective buyer makes a payment, he/she should make sure to draft a purchase and transfer agreement endorsed by you and the seller to his/her protect your interest on the land.