By Akhigbe Dominic M.
Sometimes in March this year, I got involved in perfecting a Housing deal for a close client of mine. He bought to buy a house from a deceased family who transited without a former Will. The family was going in tatters over the three bedroom bungalow located in a suburb of Lagos. To have lasting peace, the older folks to the deceased fellow directed the wives and children to sell off the contentious property and appropriate the proceeds. This idea was bought by the entire family and the house was advertised for sale. It was at this point a good friend to this client of mine got wind of the decision to sell the property, and got my client notified. He registered a strong interest and immediately informed me of it. Though i was not in town at that moment; I got my junior colleague to help conduct due diligence to ensure the house was free of all known encumbrances. This was thoroughly done and the result sent to me. I still advised my client to tarry a while as I was due to return in another few days. As impatience as he was, he waited. As soon as I arrived, I double-checked all the result given to me by my junior colleague. I was personally convinced that it was a thorough job. All the same; I requested to speak with the direct successors in title, I was introduced to two wives and five children. Of the children, three were already above eighteen years and as such could undertake for themselves. Haven interacted with them, I felt a sense of satisfaction and I consequently cleared the coast for the discussion to be advanced while I went ahead to prepare the necessary papers. I also ensured I carried the Baale of the community, who was instrumental to the purchase of the land by the deceased man along. This I did to be sure no gray areas were left behind, no matter how insignificant they may look initially.
When the papers were ready and my client was set with payment; I told the family it was necessary we signed all documents in the country home of the deceased family head somewhere in Oshogbo, Capital of THE STATE OF Osun. I did this deliberately to have the opportunity to scan the feelings of the extended family that I was earlier told had great influence over the deceased family head. On a Saturday, we got to Oshogbo. The entire larger family had gathered; including the very aged mother and father of the late head. The setting was akin to a distant remote community expecting the arrival of an important political dignitary. I was truly convinced that the larger family had an unfettered interest in what would become of this transaction. Almost immediately, we set the business of the day in motion. I noticed, at introduction that a number of the deceased sibling were very educated. We were not just dealing with a family that could be described as wishy-washy. They even got a Counsel to be available so as to be properly guided. I was not bothered since we had sufficiently prepared and my documentation has taken general practice standard into consideration. Pronto, the meeting flagged off. I brought out the Deed of Conveyance I had prepared for the parties to execute. A member of the family, who earlier introduced himself as a lecturer in one of the higher institutions in the state requested for sometimes to peruse the document in greater detail. The counsel they invited also picked a copy and went through it. He was convinced that it was made to required standard. He then advised that the parties could sign. The lecturer would not take this as he started raising objection to every section of the document. When he read the indemnity clause; he posited to the family that the document was a trap and should be kept at alms length. Even their counsel labored helplessly to educate him that such documents, by standard would always carry such clauses to cover the Assignee against unforeseen adverse situations that could arise from non-disclosure on the part of the Assignors among others. He wouldn’t take any of such. At a point, he started accusing their own counsel of ‘conniving’ with me to arm-twist the family and swore that he would stand his grounds to ‘protect’ his family from such trap. The family was divided along this pattern of evaluation by Prof and the family Counsel while the rest of us watched helplessly as spectators. At a point, the Baale that made the trip with us from Lagos managed to calm down the warring factions. He took time to educate the Professor that the indemnity clause provision was a basic requirement. When the lecturer was not looking convinced; the Baale put a call across to his lawyer in Lagos, put the phone on speaker and read the entire document to the hearing of the counsel on the other side of the phone in the presence of all at the meeting. The lawyer, without any form of hesitation concur that it was a well made document. At this point, the prof became even more infuriated and started accusing all lawyers. However, this strategy by the Baale got him to loose his sympathizers as everyone but he wanted to execute this document and receive the cash without further delay. At this point; something happened that became a game changer for the Professor.
Some moments into the signing ceremony; a daughter to one of the older siblings to the late family head rushed in with her phone and handed it to her father. It turned out that the person on the other side of the line was ‘an interested party’. She was at a point, a ‘girlfriend’ to the deceased head man and in the course of the relationship had a daughter for him. She was never in the good book of the larger family as she was said to be rude and uncultured. She took a walk with her daughter and kept her distance from the family. Not even the plea of the family to allow the daughter to pay last respect to her father at his demise could persuade the woman to retrace her steps. However; one of the days while the man was yet alive but away on posting to the far Northern part of the country and every other member of the family had gone on their legitimate daily assignment; this lady came, broke into the house and carted away the purchase receipt of this same land on which the house was built. She kept this receipt to herself waiting for an appropriate time to take her pound of flesh. As the house was advertised for sale; she got wind of it and kept her tab on the unfolding event. As soon as she heard the voice of the man on the other end, she said; ‘am aware you people are selling my husband’s house without cross-checking with me; do not think you can sell that house without my approval. As I speak to you, I have the purchase receipt of the same land with me’. She hung the phone before he could muster a response. Since the receiver of the call had anticipated a bombshell when he was informed by his daughter that she was the one on the line, he had quickly pushed the speaker button for everyone to be part of the conversation. At this point, the family Counsel now asked the Professor to respond to the woman’s threat. He simply called her bluff and opined that she couldn’t do more than a dead rat. In a chorus-like tone, the family counsel and I told the prof that her threat could not just be wished away like that. I now drew his attention back to the same immunity clause which he had vehemently stood his grounds against and quietly asked him: ‘Pro., if this woman waited for this deal to be sealed and filed a Claim in the court, who should take the blame for this lapse?’; he retorted; ‘the family of course!’ I said, that’s the usefulness of the Compensation Clause! All parties involved now took further step to ensure her position was of no immediate or remote threat to the transaction. No stone should be left unturned in the documentation exercise when a landed property is to exchange hands. As insignificant as that little piece of paper may be; it could just be a spanner thrown at works when the chips are down!
Akhigbe is a consultant in Real Estate & an investment portfolio manager and a seasoned Nigerian Micro, Small & Medium Scale Business Coach. Contact:08034846284
