Start with the instrument, not the plot
A parcel in Cameroon can be held under a land certificate, a temporary grant, a customary attestation or nothing recognisable at all. Only the land certificate gives you an indefeasible right. Everything else is a claim of varying strength, and the price should reflect which one you are buying.
Ask for the instrument before you ask for the price. If a seller cannot produce it within a week, that is the answer to your next three questions.
The six checks
One: a registry search at the competent land office, obtained by you or your counsel, not handed to you. Two: a boundary walk with the government surveyor, confirming the beacons on the ground match the plan on paper. Three: an encumbrance check for mortgages and caveats. Four: a litigation check in the local courts. Five: an overlap check against neighbouring certificates. Six: confirmation of the seller's capacity — that the person signing is the person entitled to sign, and that any spousal or family consent required has been obtained in writing.
When to walk away
Walk away when the boundaries on the ground do not match the survey plan and nobody can explain the gap. Walk away when there are two attestations for the same parcel, regardless of how convincingly the discrepancy is explained. Walk away when the seller insists on cash and refuses a notarial deed — the saving is never worth the exposure.
Need this applied to a real deal?
Send us the asset and we will tell you, plainly, whether it holds up.
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