Land and Real Estate Glossary | Mashman Properties

The words that come up when vacant land and real estate are bought, held, and sold, defined plainly, with how Mashman Properties uses them. General definitions, not legal, tax, or financial advice: rules differ by state and county, so check the details of any deal with a professional.

A

Acquisition

The purchase of a property outright, so the buyer owns all of it. On this site, Acquisition is one of three kinds of deal, beside Investment (a stake in someone else's property or project) and Joint Venture.

Acre

A unit of land area equal to 43,560 square feet, roughly the size of an American football field without its end zones. Land in the United States is usually measured and priced in acres.

Related Acreage, Price per Acre, Lot

Acreage

The size of a piece of land, stated in acres. Small residential lots are often a fraction of an acre: the two Pine Bluff parcels Mashman Properties holds are 0.13 and 0.09 acres.

Related Acre, Parcel, Price per Acre

Acres to Square Feet Mashman

The signature of Mashman Properties: land measured in acres today, held toward the day it becomes building space measured in square feet. It compresses the firm's long-term mandate toward commercial real estate into four words.

After-Repair Value (ARV)

What a house is expected to be worth once the planned repairs and renovation are finished, usually estimated from recent sales of comparable homes. Buyers who fix and sell use it to decide what a house is worth paying for now.

Aggressive Patience Mashman

A principle from Isaac Mashman's book Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence (chapter 3.2): a long goal pursued with steady, deliberate action. Patience alone becomes an excuse not to act; aggressiveness alone ignores relationships and reputation. It is how land is held, too.

Read the article: what vacant land teaches about building a name

Assessed Value

The value a county or local assessor places on a property for property tax purposes. It can differ from what the property would sell for, and the tax bill is worked out from it.

Related Property Tax, Holding Costs

C

Chain of Title

The recorded history of a property's ownership, from one owner to the next, kept in the county's public records. A break or a question in the chain is what a title search looks for.

Closing

The final step of a real estate sale, when the money is paid, the deed is signed and delivered, and ownership passes to the buyer. The deed is then recorded with the county.

Closing Costs

The fees paid to complete a purchase beyond the price itself: title search and insurance, recording fees, transfer taxes, and any attorney or settlement fees. On this site they stay private; only purchase, list, and sale prices are ever shown.

Commercial Real Estate

Property used for business rather than as a home: offices, retail, industrial buildings, and the land they stand on. Mashman Properties holds undeveloped land with a long-term mandate toward commercial real estate.

Comparable Sales (Comps)

Recent sales of similar properties nearby, used to estimate what a property is worth. For land, size, access, zoning, and utilities matter as much as location.

D

Due Diligence

The checks a buyer makes before committing: title, survey, zoning, access, flood zone, utilities, and back taxes. On vacant land it often decides whether a cheap parcel is a bargain or a problem.

Related Title Search, Survey, Zoning

E

Earnest Money

A deposit a buyer pays when a purchase contract is signed, to show they are serious. It is usually credited toward the price at closing, and the contract says when it can be kept or refunded.

Related Closing, Under Contract

Easement

A right for someone else to use part of a property for a specific purpose, such as a utility line or a shared driveway. Easements usually stay with the land when it is sold.

Related Survey, Setback, Due Diligence

Entitlements

The approvals a piece of land needs before it can be built on as planned, such as zoning, permits, and site plans. Land with entitlements in place is usually worth more than the same land without them.

F

Fix and Flip

Buying a house, renovating it, and selling it to its next owner. It is Mashman Properties' stance for houses: they are bought, fixed, and sold, not held, and the firm rents only on special occasions, decided case by case.

H

Highest and Best Use

The use of a property that is legally allowed, physically possible, financially workable, and most valuable. Appraisers use it to value land, and land is often bought for what its highest and best use will be, not what it is today.

Holding Costs

What it costs to own a property while waiting: property taxes, insurance, and any upkeep. Vacant land has some of the lowest holding costs in real estate, with no tenants, no repairs, and nothing to wear out.

I

Improved Land

Land that has roads, utilities, or buildings on or to it. Unimproved land, or raw land, has none of these, which usually makes it cheaper to buy and slower to put to use.

Infill Lot

A vacant lot inside an area that is already built up, between existing homes or businesses. Infill lots usually have roads and utilities nearby already.

Related Vacant Land, Lot, Zoning

J

Joint Venture

A deal two or more parties take on together, sharing the cost, the work, and the return on one property or project. On this site, a joint venture's partner or share can be named in the deal detail.

Related Acquisition, Linked Deal

L

Land Banking

Buying land and holding it for years, ahead of growth, so it can be sold or developed later at a higher value. It trades income now for flexibility and value later.

Linked Deal Mashman

Two or more properties bought, listed, or sold together for one price. On this site, each property in a linked deal names the others, and the one price is shown once, for all of them: the two Pine Bluff parcels were bought together for $550 for both.

See the properties

Lot

A defined piece of land, usually one shown on a recorded plat in a subdivision or town. Lot size is often given in square feet rather than acres.

Related Parcel, Plat, Acre

P

Parcel

A single piece of land as the county records it for ownership and taxes, with its own boundaries and its own parcel number. One owner can hold several parcels side by side.

Parcel Number (APN)

The number a county assigns to each parcel to identify it in tax and property records, also called an assessor's parcel number. It is how a parcel is looked up on a county's map or tax site.

Personal Brand Mashman

What people know and believe about a person by name, and the trust that knowledge carries. Isaac Mashman, who founded Mashman Properties, wrote Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence, and its lessons on reputation apply in real estate, where deals run on trust.

About the book, at Mashman Publishing (opens in a new tab)

Plat

A recorded map showing how a piece of land is divided into lots, with their boundaries, streets, and easements. A plat is filed with the county once it is approved.

Related Lot, Survey, Easement

Price per Acre

A land price divided by its acreage, the usual way to compare land deals of different sizes. When several parcels are bought together for one price, the price per acre is worked out over their combined acreage.

Property Tax

A yearly tax charged by local governments on land and buildings, based on assessed value. It is the main holding cost of vacant land, and unpaid property tax can lead to a tax lien or a tax sale.

Q

Quitclaim Deed

A deed that passes whatever interest the seller has in a property, if any, without promising that the title is clear. It is common between family members and for clearing up title, and gives the buyer less protection than a warranty deed.

R

Raw Land

Land with no improvements: no buildings, and often no roads, water, sewer, or power to it. It is usually the cheapest land to buy and to hold, and the slowest to put to use.

Rezoning

Changing the zoning of a piece of land, for example from residential to commercial, through the local government's approval process. A successful rezoning can change what a property is worth.

Related Zoning, Variance, Entitlements

S

Setback

The minimum distance a building must stand from a property line, a street, or a feature such as a stream, set by local rules. Setbacks decide how much of a lot can actually be built on.

Related Zoning, Easement, Survey

Survey

A licensed surveyor's measurement and map of a property's boundaries, corners, and features such as easements and encroachments. Buyers of vacant land often order one before closing.

Related Plat, Easement, Due Diligence

T

Tax Deed

A deed given to the buyer of a property sold by a county for unpaid property taxes. The rules for tax sales, and for any right the former owner keeps to redeem the property, vary by state.

Tax Lien

A legal claim a government places on a property when its taxes go unpaid. In some states the lien itself is sold to investors; in others the property is eventually sold.

Related Tax Deed, Property Tax

Title

Legal ownership of a property, and the right to use and sell it. A clear title has no outstanding claims, liens, or disputes against it.

Title Insurance

Insurance that protects a buyer or lender against losses from problems with a property's title that existed before the purchase, such as an unknown lien or a forged deed. The owner's policy is paid once, at closing.

Title Search

A review of the public records to confirm who owns a property and whether any liens, judgments, or other claims are attached to it. It comes before title insurance is issued.

U

Under Contract

The stage between a signed purchase agreement and closing, while the buyer completes due diligence and financing. On this site, Under Contract is the first stage a property can show.

V

Vacant Land

Land with no building on it. It may be raw or have some improvements nearby. Vacant land is the core of what Mashman Properties holds, toward commercial real estate.

Why the firm holds vacant land

Variance

Permission from a local zoning board to depart from a zoning rule, such as a setback, on one property, usually because of a hardship particular to that land. It does not change the zoning itself.

Related Zoning, Rezoning, Setback

W

Warranty Deed

A deed in which the seller promises the buyer that the title is clear and that the seller has the right to sell. It gives the buyer more protection than a quitclaim deed.

Related Quitclaim Deed, Title, Closing

Z

Zoning

Local rules that divide land into districts and set what each may be used for, such as residential, commercial, or agricultural, and how it may be built on. Zoning is one of the first things to check on any piece of land.

Related Rezoning, Variance, Setback

Last reviewed October 22, 2026. Something missing? Tell the firm.

The words of land, defined.

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L

P

Q

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T

U

V

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Z

The thinking behind the words.