There is a lot of talk that the economy is doing well. So, people are excited and trying to get a piece of the action, but they are limited by capital.

Have you been looking carefully at the assets you have? What about that piece of registered or unregistered land in the country? Do you know that these unused assets can catapult you into financial freedom?

Here is how you do it.

REGISTERED LAND

Stage One

You may own a piece of registered land but feel stuck because of issues with this land. For example, one or two of the joint owners might have passed away.

I would recommend first conducting a title search, particularly if the land has just been sitting unattended for many years. It would then be advisable to conduct a surveyor’s identification report, just to ensure that your boundaries have not been disturbed. It would also be prudent to obtain a valuation report to obtain the market value from the land. You should also check on outstanding property taxes because all financial institutions require that property taxes be paid; this is the same for your water status — ensure you clear any outstanding charges and conduct a caveat search with the National Land Agency.

Once you have done all of this and confirmed that the property is in good standing, you are ready for stage two.

Stage Two

Check to ensure there are no legal impediments that will prevent you from dealing with the title immediately. For example, ensure you answer the following questions:

1. Is the title in your name alone or is it with a deceased person(s)?

2. Is there a caveat lodged against the title?

3. If other title holders are not deceased, can you locate them?

4. Is the title in your name but held as tenants-in-common with a deceased person?

5. Are you the owner by way of inheritance? If so, do you have a last will and testament?

Where you hold title with another person who is deceased, and the title is jointly held, then all that is required of you is to note the death of the deceased person(s) on the registered title, which will effectively remove the deceased name from the registered title.

Pursuant to a recent change that took effect April 1, 2019, where the estate property has a value of less than $10 million, you will not be required to pay death taxes to the Tax Administration Jamaica.

Once the application is complete, you can start negotiating with any financial institution of your choice for a loan to allow you to pay off debts, invest in a property, or accomplish whatever other financial goals you have.

Stage Three

Where there are legal impediments the following must be done before you can deal with the registered title.

Items 1-2 will require an application to be made to the National Land Agency to note the death of the joint holder or to seek to make the relevant applications to have the caveat withdrawn.

Item 3 will require you to obtain the services of an attorney.

Items 4-5 will require an application for a grant of probate to be made in the Supreme Court of Judicature of Jamaica, or if there is no last will and testament of the deceased person on the registered title then an application for consent from the Administrator General’s Department to allow for a grant of letters of administration out of the Supreme Court will have to be made. These legal processes are very involved, therefore, you will need to retain the services of an attorney that can effectively help you on your way to financial freedom.

LAND FOR PRODUCTION

Where you own land, and do not wish to seek a loan, you can consider other options. For example:

1. leasing your unused land to investors for farming, 2. consider farming.

Where you have acres of land, you can approach the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and advise RADA of your intention to lease. While RADA does not lease land, their designated officers can advise you when they are approached by investors who are looking for large parcels of land for farming opportunities.

Small land owners can still approach RADA for advice on seeking small investors, register as a farmer or to obtain advice on how to put your land into production.

Investors can be locally or internationally found for farming. Therefore, it is prudent to have all the documents pertaining to the land you are seeking to conduct business with registered in your name.

LAND FOR DEVELOPMENT

With your registered title endorsed in your name, you can now consider the property location if leasing for farming or farming yourself does not interest you. Consider whether your land is in a location that is prime real estate.

I suggest that you seek the assistant of a realtor and a certified valuator to give you a written opinion about the development potential of your land.

Once you have your opinion about the potential, you can seek to leverage your land with an investor for a housing or commercial development.

If you decide to take this route, consult with an attorney before negotiation.

UNREGISTERED LAND

Where you have lands that are not registered under the Registration of Titles Act, it means your parcel of land has no title.

The Government has worked with the National Land Agency to enable people who have an unregistered parcel of land to bring their lands under the Registration of Titles Act through a programme called Land Administration & Management Programme (LAMP). Under this programme, the costs to make the application under this programme are significantly reduced.

Through this programme, the process is simplified, and the staff are helpful and will give you all the necessary details about how to proceed with your application for registered land title.

Venice Williams-Gordon is an attorney-at-law and partner at Lewis, Smith, Williams & Company.