The Three Critical Documents You Will Need When Buying Land in Kenya.

1 .Offer letter or reservation form 

A letter of offer is a document expressing interest by a buyer to purchase a property . 

It is a single page document that outlines the contractual terms and conditions for both the person selling the land (vendor) and the person looking to buy the land (purchaser) . 

It is the first document you as a buyer are required to sign after selecting and booking for a given plot . 

The main contents of the document are: 

• The name of the vendor 
• The name of the purchase 
• A witness to the transaction 
• The property identification number (plot number) 
• The preferred payment term, in most cases cash or installment 

The vendor and the seller should each have a copy of this document whose main aim is to eliminates the probability of two parties purchasing the same property . 

2 . Sale agreement 

A sale agreement is a next document you will need when purchasing land . 

 It is a legally binding document that spells out the obligation of each party to a purchasing contract . 

What it does is it binds the vendor to sell the property and the buyers to purchase the said property . 

You are advised to sign this contract after doing your due diligence to ascertain everything checks out . 

Due diligence in land dealing involves attending a site visit to verify the location and the size of the property, doing a land search to confirm that the seller is indeed the owner of the property among other things . 

• The contents of the agreement are: 
• The full names of both the seller and the buyer . 
• The description of the property under sale . (This includes its physical location, size of the land, plot number and its condition that is whether vacant or occupied land. )
•  The purchasing price of the property and how the payments are to be made . 
•  Special conditions surrounding the property, this dictates who is to pay for other charges such as stamp duty, legal fees, and title transfer costs . 

 A sale agreement is an important document as it protects both parties in a land purchasing process . 

With this document, if either the seller or the purchaser fails to meet the purchase terms, then the aggrieved party can take legal action to recover the damages caused . 

To properly protect yourself, we advise that a sale agreement be filled in triplicate, one copy for the property vendor, a copy for the buyer, and the other for a lawyer who should oversee the transaction . 

 3 . Title transfer document

 Finally, after all the payments for the property are made to the seller, you will need to sign a title transfer document . 

This document is the one used to transfer the ownership of the property from the vendor to you as a purchaser . 

Before submitting a transfer request to the Land Registry, the following documents needs to be attached: 

• An approved consent of sale from the Lands Control Board 
• Proof of having paid the Stamp duty 
• Copies of identification documents 
• KRA pin certificate of the buyer 
• Two passport photos 

A title transfer document is the legal proof of land transfer, it can be used when tracing the history of the property in the Land Registry . 

The document is to be filled in triplicate: a copy at the Land Registry, a copy for the buyer, and the other for the seller .