How to Buy a House or Landed Property in Cameroon

Are you planning on buying a house or landed property in Cameroon?

If yes, this step-by-step guide describes how to purchase your desired property in Cameroon.

Investing in Property in Cameroon

These days buying fundamental properties are the biggest, most secure, long-lasting, and best investment one can establish while he or she is still young, vibrant, and active. No one wants to be homeless or helpless when he or she is old and cannot work.

Investing in a property that will give a significant return on investment depends on the location or the nature of the property in question.

Also, buying a property depends on choice and the area one intends to stay in.

Properties in urban or developed areas are more expensive than those in rural or remote areas.

At the same time, a property with a suitable title document tends to be costlier than one that doesn't have a title.

Read the cost of building a 3-bedroom bungalow in Cameroon.

What to ask when or before buying land in Cameroon

It is essential to ask some relevant questions before purchasing any property. Because there is a lot of confidential information, a seller will only tell the buyer after the purchase or verifications have been made.

These questions are better asked during the inspection and processing of the transaction rather than at the time of payment.

Also, depending on the question's nature, you can ask a real estate agent or the seller.

Questions to ask the seller before buying land

Are there other fees to pay besides the land fee?
If it's residential or commercial land, ask: "is there any building plan permit on the land"?
What are the title documents that the land has?
What are the exciting things about the area the land is located (i.e., neighboring community)?
How is the access road to the land?
What is the nature of the land? (i.e., is it a dry, hill, swampy, or water area).
What is the family name or name of the owner?
Is there any dispute on the property?
Is there any written notice or warning from the government concerning the property?
Is there any tax obligation on the property? If yes, have you paid them?

Read This: What to know before buying land in Cameroon?

The Process of buying a house or landed property in Cameroon

From the moment you think of buying a property, it is expected that you should already have a budget in mind. That is to say, how much you plan to spend on the property and how and when you intend to finish the payment ( if it's not an outright purchase).

Also, you should know the cities, areas, or locations you intend to purchase the property.

Having planned all that in mind, here are the five steps to follow when buying any property in Cameroon.

Step 1: Contact a real estate agent or consultant.

Before you can get your desired property, you need to contact a realtor or real estate agent that resides in your chosen location so that they can help you with your property search and possibly show you some of their different properties to choose from.

Ways to meet a realtor

Online: One of the easiest ways to meet agents these days is by going to google and searching for the real estate agent that resides in your area of interest. You can visit their website to learn more about them, their office, contact address, etc. Also, you can meet them through any of their social media platforms or sometimes when they run an online advert on a similar property of interest.

Referral: You can also meet an agent through referral; you may know someone that has bought a property or have a close relation who has purchased a property in that area. In this case is easy to get their contact and, reach out to them, and explain what you want.

Going to their office: This method is only sometimes used, especially if you don't stay in the area you plan to buy the property. But sometimes people use this method, primarily if they reside in that same area and know some real estate office nearby. With that, they can quickly go to their office, register their request, and also enquire about the available properties.

After getting your desired property of interest, the next thing is to inquire about the area or location and inspect the property.

Step 2: Inspection and inquiry of the property

Often time getting truthful information about a property is always done during the time of inspection. (Enquiry on a property and review of the same property works hand in hand). This has been proven to be the best way to get accurate and correct information on any property of interest.

If you don't like the property at the end of the inspection, then there will not be any need to go for an inquiry. You simply need to continue another search.

But, if you become interested in the property at the end of the inspection. There and then, you should look around and meet a few people living around that area to enquire more information (like who owns it, if there has been an issue on the property, what happens in that area, etc.) and compare it with the information your agent must have told you about the property to ascertain the correct information.

Meanwhile, when inspecting any property of interest, it is advisable to go with your architect and surveyor (if it's land). You will definitely need their professional input on the property.

Step 3: Go for a Property search at the appropriate authority

Before you go for a property search at the governmental offices, you will need to get some information from the seller.

Every property with good title documents is expected to have a record on official government authorities. That makes it easy to verify the valid owner of the property. With that id number, you can verify if the property is genuinely his and if he has the right to sell it to you.

Also, when you go for a property search, you will get to know if the property in question is a government property or not. Also, you will get to see the name of the valid owner. That is, if the seller is actually the owner or if he or she has the right to sell it to you.

In the case of family property, you will have to verify the family name.

Thus, property search helps the buyer know the actual owner and the current situation (i.e., if it is government property, if the property is for commercial, residential, or agricultural use).

From your findings, you can decide whether to go ahead with the purchase.

Note This: Property search can be stressful; you may want to give the job to your lawyer to do the duly diligence.

Read This: Types of House Designs in Cameroon.

Step 4: Arrange a meeting with the seller to conclude the transaction

After you have done all your findings and everything is genuine, the next thing is to arrange a meeting with the seller, your lawyer, and one other eyewitness to conclude the transaction.

At this junction, you are expected to have concluded the price of the property in question with the seller. Also are supposed to have discussed this with your lawyer concerning the transaction.

He is expected to come to the meeting with the prepared documents, such as the deed of assignment or any other relevant document for both parties to sign. Also, he is to write the agreement in favor of the buyer.

After all the agreements & payments have also been made, and all documents have been signed, the transaction takes place. The seller is expected to hand you all the necessary documents regarding the property.

Please note: There are other fees to pay apart from paying for the property. For example, if you are to purchase land from a real estate developer, after paying for the land, you will pay for development fees, a survey plan, etc.

So always inquire about other fees before arranging the meeting and plan yourself better.

Step 5: Take possession of the property and process the title document

If you were to buy the property, land, from an estate developer, these documents are likely to associate with the transaction: a receipt of payment, allocation letter, contract of sales, and deed of assignment.

But if you were to purchase a piece of land from family members, the documents that are likely to be associated with the transaction are the receipt and deed of assignment. That is why it is wise to immediately engage your surveyor to complete the survey plan.

After paying for the property and signing all the necessary documents, the next thing is for you to proceed to process your own title documents.

If it's land, you must do your own survey plan; if it is a house you purchase, you will have to legalize the title documents to your name. Also, you must get a good title.

Although people tend to start construction on land after purchase by fencing it first before any other thing. That is a good idea; it shows ownership.

Also, if you are to buy land from family members, fence it shortly after payment, and proceed to get the required documents in your name.

Land Title or Certificate in Cameroon

In Cameroon today, many people tend to shy away from taking this step after purchasing a property; only the learned and wise ones acknowledge the importance of it.

Most times, people take it as not being necessary because they are avoiding spending money. But the truth is that perfecting your property papers is the best action and the official and legal proof that you are the rightful owner of the property.

At least whenever someone goes to any government-authorized body to verify the owner, they should be able to see your name as the current owner, not the seller's name.

The truth is that it requires finances also the Process can be stressful. That is why many people, after buying a property, just continue whatever they intend to do with it without perfecting the title document.

Agent fee associated with buying a house or landed property in Cameroon

Agent fees in Cameroon differ from one seller to another. For example, if you were to buy a property from a family, the commission or agent fee would vary from that of a real estate developer or an individual.

For instance, many real estate companies pay five to fifteen percent commission as agent fees. But families and individuals pay one to ten percent commission depending on the nature of the property.

Now the question is, who pays the agent fee? Is it the buyer or the seller?

Agent fees are paid this way: if a buyer contacts or has an agent that found the desired property for him or her, he or she will be the one to pay the agent.

Conversely, if the buyer has no agent and the seller has an agent that brought the buyer to him, the seller will be the one to pay the agent.

In a situation where the buyer had an agent, and the same agent was working with some property sellers, they had an agreement based on a percentage commission.

Then it is the responsibility of both the seller and the buyer to pay the agreed percentage to the agent.

If there are two or more agents from the buyer's or seller's side, the agents will have to agree on how to share the commission.

The bottom line here is once a buyer or seller has an agent working for them, and they agree on a percentage commission, the moment the transaction takes place, they must pay the agreed percentage commission they had with the agent.