Buying property — checklist

Understand what is being sold

Establish what interest the seller actually holdsUnder the Land Use Act 1978 land in each state is vested in the Governor, and what a holder has is a right of occupancy rather than absolute ownership.
Identify whether it is a statutory or customary right of occupancyThe distinction affects the documents you should expect and the authority that granted them.
Trace the root of title and the whole chain sinceHow the seller came to hold the interest, and every transfer since, is the question that a certificate alone does not answer.
Where family or community land is involved, establish who may deal with itA signature from someone without authority to sell does not become good by being notarised.

Conduct a search at the relevant lands registrySearch the registry yourself or through a lawyer. Do not rely on documents handed over by the seller.
Confirm Governor's consent was obtained for prior transactionsBecause the holder has a right of occupancy, transfers and mortgages generally require consent. Missing consent is a defect in title, not paperwork to tidy later.
Check for encumbrancesMortgages, charges, caveats, court processes and unpaid charges attach to the land, not to the person who created them.
Check planning and zoning positionWhat you may lawfully build or operate is a separate question from who owns the land.
Confirm the land is not subject to a government acquisition or setbackAcquisition, road schemes and setbacks are discovered far more cheaply before payment.

Visit the land and confirm the physical identityMatch the survey plan to what is actually there. Boundaries in a document and boundaries on the ground are not always the same.
Ask who is in occupationOccupants, tenants and caretakers may hold rights that the seller did not mention.
Ask neighbours and the local community about the land's historyDisputes are usually known locally long before they appear in any register.

Never pay in cash without a traceable recordPay in a way that creates evidence of who received what and when.
Use a written agreement that states the interest being transferredParties, property description, consideration, timing, and what each side must do to complete.
Keep receipts and every version of every documentIncluding the drafts. A change between versions is sometimes the whole dispute.

Obtain the Governor's consent for your own transactionThis is the step buyers most often defer and most often regret deferring.
Perfect and register your titleRegistration protects your position against later dealings by others.
Take possession and secure the propertyUnattended land invites the encroachment that becomes the next owner's litigation.

Establish what interest the seller actually holdsUnder the Land Use Act 1978 land in each state is vested in the Governor, and what a holder has is a right of occupancy rather than absolute ownership.
Identify whether it is a statutory or customary right of occupancyThe distinction affects the documents you should expect and the authority that granted them.
Trace the root of title and the whole chain sinceHow the seller came to hold the interest, and every transfer since, is the question that a certificate alone does not answer.
Where family or community land is involved, establish who may deal with itA signature from someone without authority to sell does not become good by being notarised.

Conduct a search at the relevant lands registrySearch the registry yourself or through a lawyer. Do not rely on documents handed over by the seller.
Confirm Governor's consent was obtained for prior transactionsBecause the holder has a right of occupancy, transfers and mortgages generally require consent. Missing consent is a defect in title, not paperwork to tidy later.
Check for encumbrancesMortgages, charges, caveats, court processes and unpaid charges attach to the land, not to the person who created them.
Check planning and zoning positionWhat you may lawfully build or operate is a separate question from who owns the land.
Confirm the land is not subject to a government acquisition or setbackAcquisition, road schemes and setbacks are discovered far more cheaply before payment.

Visit the land and confirm the physical identityMatch the survey plan to what is actually there. Boundaries in a document and boundaries on the ground are not always the same.
Ask who is in occupationOccupants, tenants and caretakers may hold rights that the seller did not mention.
Ask neighbours and the local community about the land's historyDisputes are usually known locally long before they appear in any register.

Never pay in cash without a traceable recordPay in a way that creates evidence of who received what and when.
Use a written agreement that states the interest being transferredParties, property description, consideration, timing, and what each side must do to complete.
Keep receipts and every version of every documentIncluding the drafts. A change between versions is sometimes the whole dispute.

Obtain the Governor's consent for your own transactionThis is the step buyers most often defer and most often regret deferring.
Perfect and register your titleRegistration protects your position against later dealings by others.
Take possession and secure the propertyUnattended land invites the encroachment that becomes the next owner's litigation.