In Ghana, Land is mainly owned through ethnical and tribal and family ties, with chiefs, kings, and queen mothers acting as trustees and deciding on behalf and in the trust for a group/family. Generally, there are two types of lands in Ghana: Customary Land and Public Land. However, you may also come across some individual lands but are not common.Customary Land is made up of 80% of lands in Ghana and is sub divided into Stool land and Family land. This type of land has the occupant of the stool or the head of the family making decisions for and in trust of the group/family. The consent of the occupant of the stool or the family head, who acts in concert with elders or members of the family is required before purchasing this type of land. Hence, anyone interested in purchasing this type of land must be wary of the fact and act accordingly. Public land on the other hand represents 20% of lands in Ghana and can be subdivided into state land and vested land. State land is primarily for the state, which is often used to undertake developmental projects that will benefit the entire nation, the government has absolute control over it. Vested l and is land that originally belonged to the community or a group and was later declared as vested to the state, where the state has been vested with the right and authority to decide for and in trust on behalf of the community. However, the process of acquiring either of them needs concurrence from the regional lands commission. In recent times, the huge housing deficit in Ghana has compelled many Ghanaians to acquire land to build their own houses and save them from the high cost of renting in the major city. Landowners have taken advantage of this to sell a parcel of land to multiple buyers and creating land litigation problems in Ghana. How would you know the interest in the title you are acquiring is genuine? How would you know the land you are purchasing is a litigation-free land? What must you do to avoid buying the wrong land? What are the processes you need to go through to get you out of this tussle? All the answers and processes you need to go through to avoid buying a litigated land are provided in this article. In the remaining paragraphs, I will show you systematically what you need to do to get a land devoid of litigation. IDENTIFY THE IDENTITY AND CAPACITY OF THE VENDOR The first thing you need to do when you come into contact with any vendor who sells land is to ask for his identity and the capacity in which he/she is selling the said land. Normally, when he is an agent, he/she should be able to provide you with the site plan, power of attorney, and other documentation concerning the land in question. If the vendor claims to be the leader of a group/family our an occupant of the stool, he/she should be able to provide documentary evidence as the right person to deal with. After knowing his/her capacity, you proceed to ask for his/her identification such as Passport identification, Voter identification, Driver’s license or any national identification and make photocopies of each of them. This is to help you know the person you are dealing with and also, your ability to trace his/her identity in case the deal goes wrong. SITE INSPECTION AND DUE DILIGENCE What is important after identifying the capacity and identity of the vendor is to go to the site with the seller/vendor to physically inspect the land. The site inspection will help you know the type of land (Waterlog, dry land etc.) you are buying, and also help you see the surrounding environment and the general topography of the land. You are advised to visit the site again when you are free. At this point, you have a great opportunity to ask your would-be neighbours questions like, “The history of the land, and also whether or not the land in question is free from land litigation.” The answers you gather will give you a fair idea of what to do afterward. CONDUCT A SEARCH/TITLE INVESTIGATION Once the site viewing and due diligence on the land are done, the next most important thing to do is to take a copy of the site plan from the Vendor or seller and conduct a search at the land’s commission. At the lands commission, you will be conducting three searches; Public Vested Land Management Division (P.V.L.M.D) search, Survey and Mapping Division (S.M.D) search, and Land Registration (LRD)search. Public and Vested Land Management Division search is to enable the buyer to know the type of land he/she is purchasing, either public or customary land. This is very important because the process of acquiring each of them varies. For instance, Public lands need authorization from the regional lands commission, and also you must deal directly with a governmental body, not just an individual. And so, when the search reveals public land but the vendor in question is an individual, you must rescind your decision of buying that land from the individual and rather seek help from the right authorities. Survey and Mapping Division SearchSurvey and Mapping Division Search is to enable you to know whether or not the land you are about to acquire is plotted or not. The search will also help disclose survey activities on the land and any application for the title of the land in question from other parties. However, it is advisable to send a Licensed surveyor there yourself to survey the land and compare it to the site plan given to you by the vendor. This will help you to know whether or not the site plan given to you by the vendor is for the land in question. People normally give site plans for different lands, and your search at the survey and mapping may reveal that the land is