ABSTRACT
Land titles registration and property investment are two processes which are very important in real estate development. But land registration precedes and guarantees certainty of ownership of site for
real construction to take place, after all investment does not take place in the air but on land. Therefore, this research was aimed at studying the effect of registration of land titles on property investment. The research adopted a descriptive design, with the data mainly obtained from secondary source. The result showed that registration of title on land over which property investment takes place reduces information asymmetries as both parties to land transaction can gain access to the same information, with the buyer receiving state guarantees about the authenticity of the registered information on land, thereby reducing land transaction costs, speeds up the process of land acquisition for investors and removing landownership uncertainty. Other results from the research indicated that land registration offers the land owners access to cheaper and additional medium or long term credit through mortgage; speedy and smooth land transaction; security of property investment in the case of overriding public interest which may be exercised by the state; and makes conveyance for property investment simpler thereby promoting socio-economic development. However, it was recommended from the research that any investor who wants to go into real estate should at most consider obtaining a legal title to his/her land where the investment is to take place through proper land registration.
Keywords: Land, Registration, Instrument, Property Investment.
CHAPTER 1
Background to the Study
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (9th Edition) defines Land title as the legal right to own land, and the document which shows that one has such a title. Land title refers to the documentary evidence of the right of ownership on a given plot of land to an individual or group. This documentary evidence is called Certicate of Title. Title to land is often insured by a state or municipal government to identify the owner or owners of real property. Land title comes as a result of land registration. Titles to land are means to formalize land ownership rights. Dixon (2002) described land registered if the title to it (which for convenience can be thought of as a right of ownership) is recorded in a register maintained by the Land Registry at a number of districts in a country. Land Registration or title registration is carried out in order to make claims to land enforceable and contract on land stick (Rosenberg and Birdzell, 1986). Land registration generally describes systems by which matters concerning ownership, possession or other rights in land can be recorded (usually with a government agency or department) to provide evidence of title, facilitate transaction and to prevent unlawful disposal which vary according to jurisdiction.
