Chapter 10 - Legal Descriptions (5%) Flashcards
Section 10.1: LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS
:::STATE EXAM CONTENT AREA: X.A: PURPOSE OF LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS:::
Legal Descriptions
Identification
Boundary information
Exact quantity of land
Reestablish boundaries
Divide a large tract
- The legal description is used in all significant documents regarding property including sales contracts, mortgages, deeds, title policies, and so on.
Section 10.1: LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS
:::STATE EXAM CONTENT AREA: X.B: TYPES OF LEGAL LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS:::
Property Description Methods
1) Surveyor’s method (metes and bounds method)
2) Government survey method (rectangular method)
3) Lot and block method (recorded plat method)
Section 10.2: SURVEYOR’S METHOD (METES AND BOUNDS)
:::STATE EXAM CONTENT AREA: X.B.1: METES AND BOUNDS:::
**/*** Surveyor’s Method (Metes and Bounds)
**/*** MOST ACCURATE METHOD and OLDEST METHOD
**/*** Used to describe regularly and irregularly shaped tracts
**/*** Begins at a Point of Beginning (POB)
**/*** Metes – Distance
**/*** Bounds - Angle or directions
**/*** North or South
**/*** Degrees toward East or West
**/*** Monuments – fixed markers
**/*** Point of beginning (POB) - edge of the property
**/*** Directions begin at monument
**/*** Closing –
**/*** Directions continue to point of beginning
**/*** See attached image, pp 4-5, and page 167
Section 10.3: GOVERNMENT SURVEY METHOD
:::STATE EXAM CONTENT AREA: X.B.3: GOVERNMENT SURVEY METHOD:::
**/*** Government Survey Method
North-South lines called RANGES - 6 miles wide - numbered from Tallahassee
PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN - Vertical Line - Tallahassee
East-West lines called TIERS- 6 miles wide - numbered from Tallahassee
BASELINE - Horizontal Line - Tallahassee
Principal Meridian and Tallahassee Base Line intersect near the courthouse in Tallahassee
** GUIDE MERIDIANS - Vertical Lines
** Drawn every 24 miles
** CORRECTION LINES - Horizontal Lines
** Drawn every 24 miles
** The interesection of guide meridians and correction lines forms a 24 mile square area called a CHECK.
** A TOWNSHIP is a 6 mile square
** it is subdivided into 36 sections
** A SECTION is a 1 mile square
** contains 640 acres
** contains 36 squares
*** Example: SW Corner of Section 32, Tier 1N Range 3E
*** How far is Tallahassee? 13 miles
REMEMBER: STAR: Section , Tier and Range
** See PP 2O and pages 171-173
** Find the number of acres in a Parcel containing contiguous tracts
** See PP and pages 171-174
Section 10.4: PLAT METHOD
:::STATE EXAM CONTENT AREA: X.B.2: LOT AND BLOCK:::
** Plat Method
** Used to describe small parcells of property
** The subdivision or city map is based on a survey that initially described the entire area, usually metes and bounds
** Subdivision is divided into Streets (named), Lots (numbered), and Blocks (numbered)
** Used where Plat Maps have been recorded in the public record (residential subdivision)
** Shows dimensions, easements, and other necesssary info
** Once recorded, all legal descriptions of properties w/i the plattd area are then described by reference to the lot number, block number, subdivision name, book number, and page number
Section 10.5: ASSESSOR’S PARCEL NUMBER (APN)
:::STATE EXAM CONTENT AREA: X.B: LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS:::
** APN
** Number assigned by county property assessor
** Identifies property from all others in jurisdiction – unique
Assessors offices use different names for APN
ID number
Folio number
Assessor’s identification number (AIN)
Parcel identification number (PIN)
Parcel Control number (PCN)
Section 10.6: COMMON AREA MEASUREMENT
:::STATE EXAM CONTENT AREA: X.B.4: LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS - MATH - LEGAL DESCRIPTION:::
** Important Measurements
** Acre – 43,560 square feet
** Section – 640 acres
** Township – 6 miles square, not 6 square miles – 36 square miles
** Government lot – fractional pieces of land less than a full quarter section located along the banks of lakes or streams
** Check – intersection of guide meridians and correction lines that form a square every 24miles.
** Calculate the area of a rectangle or triangle - pgs 176-177
