Expert Charges RSG On Mortgage Deeds

As part of efforts to fast-track the process of acquisition of property in Rivers State, and elimination of administrative bottlenecks which have inhibited the rapid development  of the housing sector, an estate surveyor in the state, Hyacinth Oseji, has urged the Rivers State Government to empower the Commissioner for Lands to sign deed of mortgage and deed of assignment.

Making this known in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt, Oseji who is the partner in Osas & Oseji firm, an estate surveying firm in Port Harcourt said that the current method of going from the Ministry of  Lands to the Ministry of Justice for signing of deed of mortgage had created administrative bottleneck and delay in the processing.

He said that when the Commissioner of  Lands was empowered over that, it would make the process faster, adding that one major issue in Port Harcourt which he said was a problem was the title issue.

According  to him, “most property  in Port Harcourt do not have registered titles as what they have mostly is the deed of conveyance granted before 1978 before the Land Use Decree, and as a result are not registrable and what they require now is the C of O, adding that the property that have registrable title are mostly in government areas like GRA, elekahia Estate, Old Township, D/Line Trans-Amadi and a few other places.

Oseji who is a member of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) explained that one major reason why mortgage loans could not be obtained from banks was because of lack of proper title to the property, noting that this was a problem in housing development.

He said without a property title, the mortgager could not give loan to the mortgagee, stressing that the few mortgage institutions available did not have access to long-term finance for mortgage, which he said was also a problem.  Oseji also lamented the process of obtaining a C of O which he said was cumbersome in terms of  the processing and that the cost of perfecting land transaction was  high in Rivers State. The estate valuer however suggested that government should devise a method to simplify the process of registering titles, as well as carrying out enlightenment campaign and publicity to educate the public on the need and importance of repayment of mortgage loans. He lamented  the rate of apathy among the people towards repayment of mortgage loans.

Corlins Walter