Documents required when purchasing property

• Land Identification

Land is a scarce resource, which explains why many people clash over it. One must thus get it right when buying land to avoid conflicts or being conned. Here are those processes to follow. It all starts with land identification. This is where prospective buyer identifies a piece of land that meets their criterial including size, location, soil type etc.

• Search at the Lands Registry

The second stage is to carry out an official search at the County Registry. The search will state the ownership and size and whether a title has been issued. A title with any unresolved issues of above is not transferrable. The search results must be signed and sealed by the Registrar. If all is clear, then you can proceed to the next step which is writing a sale agreement.

• Sale Agreement

Here the buyer appoints a registered Real Estate agent / lawyer to represent him in spelling out the terms of sale agreement including the names of the buyer and seller, price of the land, mode of payment and documents to be supplied by the seller to facilitate registration of the transfer of land to the buyer.

At this point the buyer may be required to pay 10% deposit.

The document must then be stamped to make it legally abiding. This stamp is two hundred shillings (Ksh.200) for the original and twenty shillings (Ksh.20) for the others. Many land dealers omit this.

• Transfer and procurement Of completion documents

The fourth step is the transfer and procurement of completion documents. The transfer document is usually prepared by the buyer’s agent and approved by the seller’s agent. At this point the seller is supposed to procure the completion documents at his costs, including the: original title deed, 3 copies of transfer of land duly completed by the seller, ID card, PIN, 3 passport sized photos (if company, photos of two of its directors) and land rent clearance certificate (for leasehold land) rate clearance certificate, and consent to transfer and valuation form duly completed by the seller.

• Stamping the Transfer

The buyer is required to apply for the valuation of the land by the government valuer using valuation form duly completed by the seller. Lands office will use these documents to determine stamp duty payable. The stamp duty invoice is obtained from the nearest Huduma Centre or cyber and payment is made to the Commissioner of Domestic Taxes.

• Registration of the transfer

This is the last process of the land purchase, and it involves the registration of the transfer in favor of the buyer.