Just give me you email address I'll write to you

What is a FAKE TITLE DEED?

A deed is a signed agreement especially about the ownership of property or legal rights. A Title deed is a legal document providing somebody’s right to property and subsequently ownership.

Then what is a deed plan? This is a signed plan by the Director of Surveys showing the precise particulars of a surveyed piece of land. It shows the details as in the shape of the plot, the distances and bearings all round the plot, scale of plotting, Deed plan number, land reference no., size of the plot in hectares, signature of the Director of Surveys, the date of authentication by the Director of Surveys and above all it shows if the plot is a New Grant or an extension of lease. This is practice is under the provisions of Registration of Titles Act. This deed plan once it is duly prepared, it is attached to a certificate defining the current owner and any endorsements by the relevant Registrar in the event the property has changed hands or there are encumbrances therein whatsoever relating to the plot.

What about a mutation? Under the Registered Land Act (commonly referred to as Cap 300) the mutation form shows how a bigger land (mother) mutated into smaller pieces and the details of the proprietor (Names, ID, box number and signature). It further shows the date the surveying was done. It also details the subdivision details (existing roads, LR numbers of the resultant plots, the exact measurements of the plots and their areas in hectares). Other signatures therein include the one of a licensed / district surveyor and the land registrar who prepared the resultant titles. This document is ordinarily forwarded to survey of Kenya for purposes of amending the RIM (Registry Index map) which basically keeps track of all subdivisions in a specific area.

Then what is the meaning of the word “fake”? To make something false appear genuine.

From the foregoing therefore a fake title deed is a false replica of a genuine Title deed where it could have all the attachments but does not relate to any physical piece of land. Equally it purports to confer a right that doesn’t exist.

In early 1990s there was the infamous 13th floor of Ardhi House where false documentation was done to support surveys and issuance of Title deeds by the unsuspecting authorities. This floor was in reference of a room in River Road Nairobi. After all Ardhi house goes up to 12th floor. The fraudsters could therefore generate documents including allotment letters, Part Development Plans (PDP) and all that appertains to excision of land from the Government land (GL). They could even go ahead and file these documents in the files of the Ministry of lands using inner house staff of the Ministry at a small fee. That is the point where corruption sets in the process. It even becomes difficult for the Ministry to trace the entry point of the fake documents in the Ministry’s genuine files. Where allocation of a genuine plot is substituted with the “fake” one it becomes even more complex to unearth the conversion stage from a genuine Title deed to a fake one.

Would a naked eye be able to identify a fake title? From the aforementioned info, it gets very tricky coz most fake titles are replicas of the original, meaning the details therein are the same. How then can you tell it is fake? It is pretty hard, but the easier approach is to tell a fake owner coz obviously the ‘owner’ should have other document especially the ID card. We also have document experts who can verify the title. Most security companies / experts can verify IDs. Banks when financing land deals use experts to detect forgeries of titles and IDs. If you carry out proper due diligence you should get to know if the owner is the real one and if the documentation is proper.

By the way, other than fake titles, whenever then you transact with plots, take time to carry out proper due diligence to establish the history and more importantly the conception process of the plot. Only then you will tell the plot was grabbed or was acquired the right way. Else you could invest on a road reserve where caterpillars of the Ministry of roads will be your obvious guests. In this case no compensation by the state will come your way as the rights of the society surpasses individual interest.

Finally, do u know that an official search at the land registry office is not sufficient due diligence?? I’ll expound more in the next post as we look at how to carry out a comprehensive due diligence you can carry out to protect yourself from getting conned when purchasing land.

Other upcoming topics will include land tenancy, understanding /interpreting an agreement, understanding a search (cautions, restrictions, and encumbrances), caveat emptor etc.

@Marty, once again thank you for the good work. Can you kindly explain to us what is a green card. I've encountered a seller who has a green card instead of a title deed, this got me confused.

Aki Wakenya!!!!

Thanks Marty.

Please email pope-2009@live.com with this great info

Thx

Listing at the NSE is the ultimate for any Company. Soon, we'll get there.

they can as well fantasize about the massive profits they will make from the buyout .

Due Diligence

On this particular Saturday morning sometimes in 2008, my partner Paul and I met one of our brokers who showed us a very nice piece of land in Ruiru off the Eastern bypass. It was approximately 2km from the junction of Thika Road and Eastern bypass towards Ruai, third row from the tarmac. The site was wonderful but we have since learnt not to be so excited by the aesthetics of a shamba. The shamba was up for sale and the good thing is that the broker knew the owner at a personal level.

We expressed interest to acquire it and decided to carry out due diligence. The 1.25 acre shambas in Ruiru were originally owned by shareholders of Githunguri ranching company. The first thing we do is to check on the survey maps to confirm that the ground we are being shown and the title number as seen on the map adds up. We then check the original owner from the records of Githunguri coz the company still exists. It is easier to trace the original owner and any subsequent transfers of title in Thika. For this particular shamba the story went that the original owner (an old lady) had given the son the land as a gift but the son had never transferred the title in his name. It was thus easy to confirm coz the title was still in the name of the original owner. After that confirmation, we carried out an official search at Thika and confirmed the records. When we finally met the son, we negotiated the price further and agreed. However, we insisted that the son takes us to the mother, who in actual sense was the proprietor. We drove all the way to Githunguri and met the old lady at her home. She actually confirmed the story and agreed to appear before a lawyer and sign the agreement and any other document.

We normally demand that the Vendor must have all the completion documents including the consent to transfer. On the day of signing the deal, we met the Vendor and insisted that we go to the site first so that we are shown the beacons before we enter into an agreement and pay 10% deposit. When we landed at the site, we got the shock of our lives. We found fresh subdivision beacons on the land. In my estimation, the land must have been beaconed the day before. You can imagine the reaction of the Vendor. He was tongue tied, speechless ama aliona na mdomo… Of course the deal never proceeded but I advised the old lady to carry out investigations and establish what could have happened.

A week later, I met our broker and he told me what exactly had happened. The land in question had been on sale for like 6 months or so. The original broker in charge of the sale had circulated copies of its title to so many other brokers. The guy had also narrated the story to other brokers of how the son had acquired the land from the mother as a gift and the fact that the son had never executed the transfer. Crooked fellows just did another title (similar to the copy they had accessed) and the ID in the name of the old lady. When a prospective purchaser got wind of that the land was on sale and the guy was given the story behind the ownership he decided to purchase. When the prospective purchaser did a search in Thika, the title was clean and in the name of the old lady. Little did he know that the purported vendor was an old lady whom the crooks just hired and one of the crooks posed as the son and the vendor was convinced that the story added up. So he paid for the deal in cash and received the fake title, consent to transfer, passports and copies of the fake ID and fake PIN. So the guy decided to physically subdivide the land as he awaited the transfer to go through. It was shock on him…. He was suckered and lost a whopping 2.5M.

Basically, I’d also think we survived by a whisker though we were dealing with the real owner but the prospects of a court case chasing our hard earned cash was not anything we’d have wanted. But again you may wonder what error of omission or commission did the conned guy commit.

How best can you carry out due diligence?

1. Always trust your 6th sense; basically your instinct. When you feel like there is something not adding up, most likely there is a problem. When you meet a vendor who does not sound confident and wants the deal done as fast as possible, it is a red flag.
2. Get to know the history of the land you are buying from the locals. You’d be surprised at the kind of info you can gather from locals. Biggest challenge is land / plots in town; imagine CBD, whom do you approach? Like I remember in 2003 when I first bought a plot in Syokimau, the sales lady from the Company I bought from mentioned that there is some contentious land whose ownership is claimed by KAA but some fellows are selling. It is so sad that turned out to demolitions witnessed the other day…so so painful. My point is, the info is always there if you are keen to ask around.
3. Check the land / plot on the survey map. This will also ensure that whatever you are being shown is in line with what the area map shows. A survey map clearly shows the LR numbers, the access roads etc. Make sure it is an authentic map. At the survey of Kenya they go for around Kshs 300.
4. Carry out an official search for the land /plot and ensure that the title is clean. A clean title has no encumbrances (cautions, restrictions, charges, etc. we’ll talk about these later). Take note that a search cannot tell you anything about a fake title. It is just shows the records as per the green card at the land registry. However, when a fake title is presented to the land registry for a transfer to be executed, then they’ll notice at that point; but by then you’ll have probably lost your money.
5. Use an Advocate who understand conveyancing and one who is not only licensed to practice but has renewed their license. Some advocates have no clue about conveyancing. They normally must renew their licenses annually. By the way, a transaction done by a lawyer who is not licensed is voidable. This site gives this info: http://online.lsk.or.ke/online/searchengine.php

6. There is that Ndung’u report. It is wise just to confirm that what you are buying is not mentioned in that report.

7. Last but not least, ensure you confirm that the ID of the vendor is not fake. You can use security experts / firms to confirm that.

8. If you can, get to have an idea where the vendor works or lives. Wherever possible, just pay a 10% deposit and le the balance be held by an advocate to be released upon successful transfer.

Play safe coz losses in land deals are usually big and painful. You might cry in the toilet after s**t hits the fan.

Next post we’ll talk about how to interpret the official search document and special circumstances where you can go ahead and deal in a plot which has encumbrances especially when charged by financiers.

[quote=propertyzote]CMA now launches investor education: How timely!!
With the fact that only 10 per cent of Kenyans have invested in the stock market, says the Capital Markets Authority.
The apathy has been attributed to lack of awareness on the importance of such investment and how the capital markets work.
To reverse the trend, CMA has unveiled an investor education in the 47 counties. More read http://ht.ly/aOY2X[/quote]

i also found it to be a very nice move and and well timed one just when the index is waking up .
somebody somewhere will be a millionaire this year