Buying Property The Gambia

Buying Property in The Gambia

The West African Country of The Gambia has become an increasingly popular place for overseas investors to purchase property in recent years. Low prices and ocean views make it an attractive alternative to other, higher priced international locations and the process is reasonably transparent. Like most purchases, though, it is important to understand the process when buying land or housing in The Gambia.

It is very important to know the difference in the Gambia between leasehold and freehold. Technically, the government owns all land and so when you buy land, you are actually leasing it from the government. All purchased land is under a 99 year lease to the purchaser, and this is officially called leasehold property. Thus, when you want to buy you have to apply to the government for a transfer of leasehold. With new developments and clear registry, this is a fairly quick process, but when the property has not been registered it can take as long as a year.

The Gambian Property Registry maintains a registry of purchased and registered land. If land is registered here, it is called leasehold. If, like much land in Africa, the land is not registered and has been passed on from generation to generation, the land is called freehold. When attempting to buy freehold land, it is a much more difficult process to obtain both permission and all the necessary documentation. Once you do buy and register it, then it too becomes leasehold property.

After you find your property and negotiate a selling price, then a contract is drawn up and a 10% deposit is paid. All necessary information should be contained in the contract, including such things as equipment status, services and so on. At this time your solicitor or lawyer should perform the necessary due diligence. If the property is registered, all the information will be on file at the Property Registry and this will not be a difficult process. If the property is not registered then a lot of work will probably need to be undertaken and this might take some time.

Once all diligence is completed and the financing is ready, you can move to closing on the property and final payment. There are lawyer’s fees, stamp tax and yearly rent and taxes due on the property. Once you have signed the final contract and paid, then you must register the property and pay the stamp or Alkali tax. There are also yearly rental fees and local taxes, which are fairly reasonable.