Glossary

Vocabulary is often used to hurry people into decisions. If a term below is being used at you and you are not certain what it means, that is reason to slow down, not to nod along.

Title and documents

• Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) — a document issued by a state governor evidencing a right to occupy land for a term of years. Ordinarily the strongest common evidence of title.
• Right of Occupancy — under the Land Use Act, land is held by the state and what you acquire is the right to occupy and use it, not absolute ownership.
• Governor’s Consent — the approval required when land already granted is transferred to someone else. A transfer without it can be challenged later.
• Excision — the formal release of a portion of land by government back to the community that holds it.
• Gazette — the official government publication recording an excision. Ask for the gazette number, page and year, then verify it.
• Deed of Assignment — the instrument transferring an interest in land from one party to another. Evidence of a transaction, not proof that the seller’s own title was good.
• Survey Plan — a surveyor’s drawing identifying a parcel by measured coordinates and beacons.
• Charting — checking a survey plan against government records to confirm the parcel is free of acquisition, setbacks or committed land.
• Encumbrance — any claim against a property: a mortgage, a caveat, a pending suit, an unpaid charge.
• Perfection of title — completing registration and consent so your interest is recorded and enforceable.

Money and decisions

• Due diligence — the checks you make before committing money. Ordinary practice, not suspicion.
• Total cost of acquisition — price plus every fee, levy and work needed before the asset is usable.
• Holding cost — what it costs you each year simply to keep owning something.
• Appreciation — an increase in value over time. It is a possibility, never a promise, and it can reverse.
• Return on investment (ROI) — what you gained relative to what you put in. Meaningless unless the “put in” figure includes every cost.
• Liquidity — how quickly an asset can be turned back into cash without cutting the price. Land is generally illiquid.
• Portfolio — the set of assets you hold, considered together rather than one at a time.
• Capital preservation — protecting what you have already built, so a setback elsewhere does not undo it.

Words that should make you pause

“Guaranteed return”, “last chance”, “the price goes up tomorrow”, “everyone is buying”, “don’t overthink it”. None of these are information. A genuine opportunity survives questions.