Title Deed is a legal document showing the rightful owner of a property or land. Without it you cannot claim ownership of the land. There are many fake title deeds floated in the market these days hence this blog post is very relevant to all land investors to be informed and avoid falling victim to fraudsters.
Below are ways that you can use to verify an original Title Deed in Kenya:
1. Physical Features
It’s very important to exermine the deed carefully. It has four pages and each page has different details on it as explained below;
First Page: has Title Deed number, government seals and watermark, estimated land size, map sheet number, name of the owner & his or her National ID number, brief ownership explaination of the land status, either absolute or leasehold, registrar signature and stamp and dates it was documented or printed.
Second Page: has section A and B described as property and proprietorship . Other details such as parcel number, details of the owner, signature of registrar and official stamp.
Third Page: this section provides in-depth details on the history of the land. It’s called the incumbrances section, showing any liens on the land such as court case, loans and mortgages.
Fourth Page: This is the back cover of the document, it shows records of the title deed number and document serial number.
2. Quality of the document
Title Deeds are clearly printed with good font size., no smudging or inconsistencies, serial numbers on pages must match, all pages have to be signed by the land registrar and his official stamp showing clearly.
In conclusion do a search of the green card to ascertain actual details match with the title deed. Green card is a document that holds original records of all transactions relating to a parcel of land. When a new title deed is issued and it’s a freehold, it is preceded by opening a green card, if it’s a leasehold property a white card is registered. Green card is domiciled at the local land registry where the property is located, while white card is domiciled at both Ardhi house in Nairobi and at district land registry too, they are out together in binders.
It’s always advisable to physically visit the land registry where Title Deed is registered and carryout due diligence before purchasing, without the owner or seller. Alpha Shine Real Estate has a team of experts and lawyers who carry out a thorough background check on the land and the owners of the properties we sell to you, ensuring the Title Deeds we issue to you are genuine and clear.
Invest with us with confidence, we are a dependable brand and we know land transactions well.
