A THOUGHT ON THE PERENNIAL DISPUTE BETWEEN PROPERTY PURCHASERS AND VENDORS/DEVELOPERS
In the last few years, there has been an upsurge in disputes between property purchasers and vendors/developers. From my experience, the underlying cause of the dispute is often that purchasers hardly get what they thought they were offered by the vendors/developers. There are also cases of outright fraud under the guise of ‘flexible’ payment terms spread over a long period.
The major issue is that in order to ‘commit’ people to buy properties, property vendors/developers make representations and promises in flyers, through their agents and marketers. One of such promises is provision of infrastructures. Prospective buyers are often shown a 3D drawing of the proposed estate showing the infrastructures. In some cases, unrealistic timelines for allocation of the property is given. In one case involving the sale of plots of land in a waterlogged area, the prospective buyers were promised the land would be sand-filled.
Interestingly, when the offer is made, these promises are not reflected. As it is often the case, people accept the offers and make payments without ensuring that the promises form part of the agreement. Many months and sometimes years after when the ‘promises’ are not fulfilled, the buyers realize the difficulty in enforcing the promises which the developers deliberately omitted from the agreement.
It is important for you to examine the offers from vendors/developers to see whether it reflects the promises/representations made during negotiations. In this regard, it is advisable to consult a lawyer before buying property, no matter the assurances from vendors and developers. Vendors/developers have mastered the act fashioning agreements that insulates them from the promises. Apart from the fact that the lawyer would confirm the vendor/developer’s title, he/she would ensure that the documentation for the purchase of the property captures your expectation. This will make enforcing the agreement easier.
Never use a lawyer recommended by the vendor!
Partner at Cass Legal Director at Kabelmetal Nig. Plc
5 年Lovely article Elvis. Problem is we don’t value services in this part of the World and Nigeria in particular gives the impression that Laws are not to be obeyed because of the difficulty of seeking redress. I’ve seen Doctors refuse to get an Engineer to build their home; they have the work to bricklayers. I’ve seen lots of professionals self medicate to the point of death. The list is endless. I’m always shocked when clients come into our office to complain about issues that shouldn’t even have occurred if they only employed the services of a professional; any decent professional.