ABSTRACT
In Caribbean jurisdictions, as in England, the transfer of land by sale is essentially a two-stage process: (i) a binding contract of sale is drawn up and signed by both vendor and purchaser; (ii) ‘completion’ takes place by means of a conveyance of the legal title by the vendor to the purchaser (in the case of unregistered land), or a transfer of the title by the appropriate form (in the case of registered land). In unregistered land, the conveyance of the legal estate has the effect of immediately vesting the legal title in the purchaser; in registered land, the transfer of title is not fi nal and complete until it is recorded in the Land Register. 1
During the period before the contract of sale is signed, the parties will negotiate (usually through their attorneys) 2 the terms of the agreement, such as the purchase price, and the precise extent of the property to be sold. The boundaries of the property should be established by a qualifi ed surveyor and, if the property comprises a substantial building, the prospective purchaser may be well advised to employ a civil engineer to carry out an inspection. If the purchaser requires mortgage fi nancing to make the purchase, he will need to secure a mortgage offer from a bank or other institutional lender. Also, the purchaser’s attorney will need to peruse the title deeds and inspect the land itself in order to be satisfi ed that there are no patent problems or defects associated with the property, such as lack of access or drainage rights. However, more intensive and detailed investigation of the title normally occurs after the signing of the contract, since the parties will normally desire to reach a concluded contract as early as possible, subject to the purchaser’s right to rescind in the event that the vendor cannot show a ‘good unencumbered title’.
