Chapter 9 - Legal Descriptions Flashcards
The legal description of a parcel in a subdivision that has been recorded with lot and block numbers on a plat of survey is
the lot and block number, with section, township and meridian references
How many sections are there in a township
36
A datum is a reference point used for legal descriptions of
properties located above or below the earth’s surface
A certain legal description contains the ‘D. will create a special reference number. phrase’..southeasterly along happ road to the stone landmark….’ what kind of description is this?
metes and bounds
A legal description of real property is one which
accurately locates and identifies the boundaries of the subject parcel to a degree acceptable by courts of law in the state where the property is located.
A legal description is required for:
public recording
creating a valid deed of conveyance or lease
completing mortgage documents
executing and recording other legal documents
The three accepted methods of legally describing parcels of real estate are:
metes and bounds
rectangular survey system, or government survey method
recorded plat method, or lot and block method
East Coast states generally employ
metes and bounds descriptions. States in the Midwest and West predominantly use the rectangular survey system. Some states combine methods.
A metes and bounds description identifies
the boundaries of a parcel of real estate using reference points, distances, and angles.
The term “metes” refers to
distance and direction
the term “bounds” refers
to fixed reference points, or monuments and landmarks, which may be natural and artificial.
The federal government developed the rectangular survey system, or government survey method, to
simplify and standardize property descriptions as a replacement for the cumbersome and often inaccurate metes and bounds method. The system was further modified to facilitate the transfer of large quantities of government-owned western lands to private parties.
The object was of the rectangular survey system was to create uniform grids of squares, called
townships, which would have equal size and be given a numerical reference for identification
The north-south, longitudinal lines on the survey grid are
meridians
The principal meridian is the
single designated meridian for identifying townships in the principal meridian’s geographical “jurisdiction.”
The east-west, latitudinal lines are called
parallels.
The base parallel
or base line is the designated line for identifying townships. There is a base parallel for each principal meridian
The north-south area between consecutive meridians is called
a range
The east-west area between two parallels is called
a tier, or a township strip
A township is the area
enclosed by the intersection of two consecutive meridians and two consecutive parallels
The rectangular survey system divides a township into
thirty-six squares called sections. Each side of a section is one mile in length
The recorded plat method, also called the lot and block system, is used to
describe properties in residential, commercial, and industrial subdivisions.
The entire subdivision is surveyed to specify the size and location of each lot and block. The surveyor then
incorporates the survey data into a plat of survey, or subdivision plat map
The description of a recorded plat property first presents the
property’s lot number or letter, then the block identifier and the subdivision name
To describe property located above or below the earth’s surface, such as the air rights of a condominium, a surveyor must know
the property’s elevation
Standard elevation reference points, called
datums, have been established throughout the country.
The original datum was defined
by the U.S. Geological Survey as mean sea level at New York harbor.
