Generally, there are two (2) type of contract of sale of land.However due to the peculiarities of the Nigeria system,there are three (3) types of contract of sale of Land.They include:
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Open contract of sale of land
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Formal Contract of sale of land
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Oral Contract of sale of land.
Under the Oral contract of sale of land,it is a transaction common to sale of land under customary Law.These are transaction done through the mouth.parties orally agrees to contract the sale of land and be legally bound to their agreement .The requirements of having the contract of sale of land reduced into writing does not apply for sale of land under customary /native Law.The necessary requirement are; payment of purchase price,witnesses to attest to the contract and the purchase taking possession.
The Open contract of sale of land is one that follows the requirements under Section 4 of Statute of Fraud Act 1877 which provide that there must be a memorandum or note in writing, signed by the parties for a valid contract of sale of land.The essential of a memorandum include:
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The agreement must be in writing
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The parties involved must be stated
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The land in question must be described.
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The amount payable must be stipulated.
An example of a opened contract of sale of land is a purchase receipt. An illustration for an opened contract of sale of Land is;
I, John James, of plot 203 Benin receive #10,000 from Benedita of No 5 college road been an amount paid for purchase of a piece of land in Plot 23 Benin city.
Formal Contract of sale of land consist of the particular of the parties,general condition of sale and special condition of sale.(such as Balance and interest on unpaid balance ).
A formal contract is more detailed contract compared to an opened contract.