Chapter 4: Property Description Flashcards
What’s the square footage in acreage?
An acre of land consists of 43,560 square feet.
base line
The main imaginary line running east and west and crossing a principal meridian at a definite point; used by surveyors for reference in locating and describing land under the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.
call
In surveying, a reference to a course, distance, or monument when describing a property
government (rectangular or geodetic) survey system
A system established in 1785 by the federal government, providing for surveying and describing land by reference to principal meridians and base lines; used mainly west of the Mississippi River.
legal description
A description of a specific parcel of real estate complete enough for an independent surveyor to locate and identify it.
metes-and-bounds (boundary) description
A legal description of a parcel of land that begins at a well-marked point and follows the boundaries, using directions and distances around the tract, back to the place of beginning.
monument
A fixed natural or artificial object used to establish real estate boundaries for a metes-and-bounds description.
plat map
A map of a subdivision indicating the location and boundaries of individual properties. Generally shows lots, blocks, easements, streets, floodplains, et cetera. Usually requires official approval before recordation.
point of beginning (POB)
In a metes-and-bounds legal description, the starting point of the survey, situated at one corner of the parcel. All metes-and-bounds descriptions must follow the boundaries of the parcel back to the point of beginning.
principal meridians
The main imaginary line running north and south crossing a base line at a definite point; used by surveyors for reference in locating and describing land under the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.
range
A strip of land six miles wide, extending north and south and numbered east and west according to its distance from the principal meridian in the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.
reference to a recorded plat (lot-and-block or recorded plat system
A method of describing real property that identifies a parcel of land by reference to lot and block numbers within a subdivision, as specified on a recorded subdivision plat.
section
A portion of township under the rectangular (government) survey system. A township os divided into 36 sections, numbered 1 through 36. A section is a square with mile-long sides and an area of one square mile, or 640 acres.
survey
The process by which boundaries are measured and land areas are determined; the on-site measurements of lot lines, dimensions, and position of a house on a lot, including the determination of any existing encroachments or easements.
tier (township strip)
A strip of land six miles wide, extending east and west and numbered north and south according to its distance from the baseline in the government (rectangular) survey system of legal description.
