Site Plan

A site plan is a scaled drawing of your plot of land that showing its size and boundaries.

Bar Coded Site Plan

A barcoded site plan is an official unique identification barcode issued by the Lands Commission of Ghana. It makes a site plan legally complete.  Without it, one cannot register land or obtain a Land Title Certificate in Ghana.  Its digital nature also helps avoid duplication and alteration.  It comes with a scannable QR code and should come with the stamp of the Regional Surveyor at Lands Commission,

Freehold

Freehold means you own the property and the land it’s built on. You’ll usually be responsible for maintenance of the property and have more freedom to extend or change it.

Indenture

Under Ghanaian land law, an indenture is a formal legal instrument used to record an interest in land.  It is a document through which parties set out the terms of a land transaction and formally transfer or create rights over land

Leasehold

Leasehold means you buy the right to live in a property for a fixed number of years. A freeholder will own the land the property is built on.  Generally, you’ll have to pay ground rent and services charges.

The length of the leasehold is recorded on the lease agreement. If the lease runs out, the ownership goes back to the freeholder. Leases can be extended, but it can be expensive depending on the location of the land.

Sales and Purchase agreement

A sales and purchase agreement is a legal contract that obliges the buyer to buy and the seller to sell a land or property.  It serves as a foundation for the land transaction to take place and provides a framework for how the transaction will proceed.

Ground Rent

Ground rent is a regular payment made by the leaseholder to the freeholder, or management company.

How much you pay and how often you pay it will be written into the conditions of your lease. If you don’t pay your ground rent, the freeholder could take you to court and ultimately repossess your property.

Ground rent varies from property to property.

Annual Service Charge

Service charges are a regular payment for things like building insurance, caretakers, security, lighting, heating, cleaning and maintenance for shared areas of an estate.

In summary, it’s a contribution towards the maintenance of an estate’s communal facilities.  Always make sure that you understand the charges.

Security Deposit

A deposit provides security for a landlord against damage, or unpaid rent by a tenant.  This security deposit is normally refundable if the tenant hands over the property in its original condition save standard wear and tear and if the tenant is up to date on their rent on completion of the term