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Buying Land in Ghana, 101
Land purchasing in Ghana
can
be simple, it just has to be done correctly, no shortcuts.
Prudence and due diligence are the only path to
insuring your piece of land, while maintaining your peace of mind. Here we
walk you through the 7 simple steps:
1) Find land of your choice.
First and foremost, you must choose property in an area of
optimum benefit to your personal tastes and requirements. Ghana is a vastly
sparse state, with drastically varying landscapes, we have metropolitan,
suburban, country sides, beach fronts and mountainous areas. No choice is more
important. For this reason we suggest you properly
scout the areas and weigh the differences. Prices will inevitably get cheaper,
the further you go from the city. If you need help deciding where is best for you, we will assist
by giving comparative views, based on your specific requests.
2) Negotiate price with land owner.
After choosing a land most suitable for your needs then we will begin
negotiation with the land owner, but this must be preceded by a Knocking Fee,
a gesture of serious intent, which will give us the ear of the head of family.
Most important in these negotiations is the terms by which the purchase or lease
will be made, whether the land will be sold as freehold land (an irrevocable sale)
or a long term lease, which returns the land to its original owners in 50 or 99
years. Technically a non-Ghanaian does not have the right to own land outright
in Ghana, however a Ghanaian business is a Ghanaian entity and it may own land
outright. We will counsel you in the best approach for your unique situation.
3) Survey. The seller of the land may have
his own site plan, but for your security we employ our own surveyor to check the
land and provide a site plan that we can take to Land's Commission at the next
step when we do Title Search. Demarcation (clearing of the land) may be
necessary is the land is overgrown with bush and trees.
4) Title search.
This will determine if the person selling the
land is the rightful owner and/or if there are any existing disputes on the
land.
5) Prepare indenture.
The contract of sale must now be prepared. Land owners
generally prepare their indenture and bring it to the table, but we provide our
clients with indentures prepared by our team to reflect the specific needs and
requests of our client. Once it is prepared and reviewed by our lawyer then we
make a date to have the closing.
6) Closing.
In accordance with the agreement we reached at the initial
negotiation, we perform the necessary rites and present the necessary monies to
the land owner. At that time we sign three copies of the indenture, along with
our witnesses and that of the landlord’s. Pictures are taken and videos are
also made to serve as supporting evidence of our transaction.
7) Register the land.
Immediately after purchasing the land we begin with the
registration process. This establishes our ownership with the government’s
registry, the Lands Commission. This also protects us in the event there is a
future dispute.
A breakdown of costs are as follows:
|
Item |
Description |
Amount |
|
Knocking Fee |
Token of interest |
$100 & Schnapps |
|
Title Search |
Depends on size |
$150 p/plot, $50 each additional plot |
|
Survey |
Depends on
acreage or number of plots. Generally $200 per plot, inclusive of
site plan |
$500 |
|
Indenture |
Sales contract |
$500 |
|
Registration |
Register transfer with Lands Commission |
$300 + 3%(to state) |
|
Legal fees |
Attorney's fees |
$350 |
|
Commission |
5% of total sale amount, but not less than $500 |
$500 |
|
Total |
|
$2,450 |
Our attorney handles title search, indenture and
registration. The closing is also done in his chambers.
And there is no law that states you have to use an
attorney. You will save about $800 in total cost if you give the
above listed tasks to lay men, but you will not sleep the same. The
attorney is your insurance policy against foul play or litigation. I
strongly suggest it. |