The Situation
A client was acquiring ₦1,200,000,000 of office space in Ikoyi. The documentation was complete, the seller had a settled reputation in the market, and nothing in the transaction gave a reason for concern.
Our search at the Land Registry returned a subsisting mortgage against the property for ₦350,000,000, which the seller had not disclosed. The lender had given no consent to the disposal, so completion would have left our client holding an encumbered asset with a bank able to enforce against it.
The transaction was suspended and the seller was required to discharge the mortgage before it could proceed.
Encumbrances sit on the register rather than in the seller's file, and no amount of counterparty quality substitutes for looking. A reputable seller with complete documents is exactly the transaction where a buyer is most likely to treat the registry search as a formality, which is why this one is worth running last and hardest.