Legal Descriptions Flashcards
Define Survey
A legally valid drawing of the dimensions of a piece of real estate, including its boundaries and the location of improvements
Metes and Bounds
legal land description method identifying a piece of real estate’s exact dimensions and location in reference to a fixed and permanent monument
Define Point of Beginning
The definite starting point for a metes and bounds description
Define Monument
An object used to mark the boundaries of a piece of real estate
Define Rectangular Survey System
method to describe land by using principal meridians and base lines; also known as the government survey system
Define Lot and Block
A way to describe a piece of land by referring to the lot and block numbers in a subdivision that were assigned by the developer
Street numbers and place names are
Informal references
A street address is not
an adequate legal description.
In order for a document to be recorded for a real estate transaction, it has to contain a specific legal description, called a
valid legal description.
methods of surveying:
Metes and bounds
Rectangular survey system
Recorded plats (lot and block)
Metes and bounds are also considered the most accurate method of identifying a piece of land, which is probably why they’re the
most common method used for land description in Texas today.
Metes and bounds are a written legal land description identifying
a piece of real estate’s exact dimensions and location in reference to a fixed and permanent monument.
Metes refers to
the distance measurements used in the description.
Bounds are the descriptions
of the boundaries that enclose a parcel of real estate.
monuments were used as
corner markers for metes and bounds.
Monuments are typically a
metal pin or piece of rebar driven into the ground at each point of the description.
When a system of metes and bounds is used, the description of the property is made up of several
points described in relation to each other.
After point of beginning, the next point is described as
“X (number) of feet from the point of beginning.”
(Meters and bounds) This path of points usually moves in a
clockwise direction from the monument around a parcel of land, describing size/distance in feet and direction in degrees, minutes, and seconds.
rectangular survey system uses a more refined version of
longitude and latitude system of mapping with a surveyed grid of meridians, baselines, townships, and ranges to describe a piece of land.
lot and block system, also known as
recorded plats.
Lot and block uses metes and bounds to first
locate the borders of each parcel, or a sectioned off portion of real estate.
The Lot and Block (Recorded Plat) System has a handful of terms that could get confusing. Here’s a quick definition of each:
Plat - A drawing of a development used in the lot and block method
Parcel - Individual lots combined to make a block
Lot - Individual parcel of land measured and defined by the metes and bounds system
Block - A collection of lots (parcels)
Tract - The totality of the property represented on a plat
Define Plat
A drawing of a development used in the lot and block method