Property mortgages in The Gambia: questions before signing

Who is borrowing and whose property is at risk?

Identify the borrower, lender and owner of the property. They may not be the same people. A person offering property for another person’s or company’s borrowing needs to understand the obligations secured and when the lender can seek to enforce them.

Provide the available ownership records, plan, occupation details and earlier finance documents. Establish the interest being offered as security and the authority of everyone expected to sign. A lender’s valuation does not replace a legal review of title or the borrower’s assessment of affordability.

Which loan terms deserve attention?

• The amount advanced, currency and repayment schedule.
• Interest, charges and circumstances in which they may change.
• Events of default, demand provisions and early repayment terms.
• Insurance, maintenance and restrictions on use, letting or sale.
• Any guarantee or obligation extending beyond the stated loan.

Compare the offer letter with the facility and mortgage documents. Ask for unexplained differences to be resolved before signing. If the property is a family home or occupied by others, tell the adviser at the outset.

What should happen before funds are released?

Agree which searches, approvals, execution and registration steps are required, who will complete them and what evidence will be supplied. The Ministry of Justice lists mortgages among the documents handled by the Deeds Registry, but the complete requirements depend on the transaction.

Where an existing lender must be repaid, coordinate the repayment and release arrangements. A new advance should not be planned on an assumption that an earlier security interest has already disappeared.

What if payments become difficult or the loan is repaid?

Take any demand or enforcement notice to an adviser promptly, with the agreement and payment history. Record the dates and avoid assuming that an informal discussion changes the written terms.

After repayment, obtain the documents and confirmations needed to record the release of security. If you plan to sell or refinance, make that work part of the completion timetable. See preparing a commercial property sale where the property is being sold.

Official information

See the Ministry of Justice’s Deeds Registry information for its published document categories. Confirm the required steps for the proposed mortgage.

Related guidance

• Banking and finance legal services
• Property conveyancing
• Business assets and share security