Lesson 11: Legal Descriptions and Recording

Question 1

legal description

Answer 1

You should always include a full legal description, either within the document or attached as an addendum. A legal description is a precise description of a parcel of real estate that would enable a surveyor to locate its exact boundaries.

Note that you should never use a street address as a property description.

Question 2

metes and bounds

Answer 2

The metes and bounds method of land description is the oldest method. Its use in America dates back to colonial times, and it is still used throughout the eastern United States.

In the western and central states, it may be used to describe rural properties.

Question 3

government survey system

Answer 3

The government survey system, also known as the rectangular survey system, describes land according to a series of grids based on fixed survey markers.

This system was established after the states on the east coast had already been surveyed, and so is used primarily in the western and central parts of the country.

Question 4

township lines

Answer 4

The east/west lines are called township lines, and they divide the land into rows called township tiers.

Question 5

range lines

Answer 5

The north/south lines are called range lines, and they divide the land into columns called ranges.

Question 6

guide meridian

Answer 6

Every fourth range line is called a guide meridian.

Question 7

government lots

Answer 7

Some sections, or parcels within them, are also irregularly shaped because a large body of water occupies part of a section. In either case, irregularly shaped parcels are known as government lots and referred to by lot number.

Question 8

recorded map

Answer 8

The recorded map method of description is also referred to as the lot and block method, or the maps and plats method.

This is the method of land description used most frequently in metropolitan areas.

Question 9

datum

Answer 9

A description of an air lot (such as a condominium) will make reference to an established plane of elevation, called a datum.

Question 10

bench mark

Answer 10

Many cities have their own datum, as well as other reference points called bench marks.

Bench marks have been positioned relative to an existing datum, so surveyors can use them as a reference point if the datum is inconvenient.

Question 11

ranchos

Answer 11

In the 1700s and early 1800s, Spain and then Mexico controlled the land that is now California. During this time, the Spanish and Mexican governments made over 800 large grants of land to private individuals.

These grants, known as ranchos, included over ten million acres of the state’s most fertile land. The rancho grants were intended to encourage increased settlement and agriculture.

Question 12

reformation

Answer 12

The easiest solution to a land description problem is simply to have the party who transferred the property execute a new deed containing the correct description.

Or, if execution of a new deed is impossible, the transferee may obtain a court order to correct the description.

Either way, this is known as reformation.

Question 13

agreed boundary doctrine

Answer 13

Under the agreed boundary doctrine, two neighbors may resolve a boundary dispute through an express or implied agreement.

If the parties acquiesce to the agreed-upon boundary for five years, it becomes binding.

However, the five-year period may be shortened if a change in the boundary’s location would cause a substantial loss to one of the parties.

Question 14

boundary line agreement

Answer 14

A boundary line agreement is binding on both the parties and all subsequent owners if it is put into writing, signed, and acknowledged. The agreement should include an accurate legal description and survey map, and be recorded in the county where the property is located.

Question 15

doctrine of practical location

Answer 15

The doctrine of practical location is also used to resolve boundary disputes.

The doctrine applies when a property owner conveys part of his property to another party, marking the boundary between the parcels with a monument such as a fence or rock wall.

If both parties accept the marked boundary, it will be binding on them and future owners, even if it differs from the legal description in the deed.

Question 16

recording

Answer 16

Recording is the system by which instruments affecting the ownership and possession of real property are collected and stored in a public place.

Question 17

Constructive notice

Answer 17

Constructive notice, by contrast, is a legal presumption that a person has knowledge of a fact, whether or not she actually does. Under the law, a person has constructive notice of all recorded interests in a property.

As a result, a person who obtains an interest in a property is presumed to know about every other recorded interest in the property, even if she never checked the public record and is unaware of any other interests.

Question 18

priority

Answer 18

recording a document establishes the priority of the recorded interest.

If there is more than one lien against a property, establishing lien priority is important, since it can determine the order in which creditors are paid in the event of a foreclosure.

It can also be determinative if there are two competing claims of ownership.

Question 19

race-notice

Answer 19

California follows the race-notice system for determining the priority of interests in property.

This is best described with the phrase “first in time, first in right.”

The person who records a deed first (without notice of a competing interest) will have the superior claim to the property, even if someone else bought the property at an earlier date but didn’t record a deed.

Question 20

bona fide purchaser

Answer 20

In our example, Terry is a bona fide purchaser.

He acquired a later interest in the property, paid the market value for his interest, and had no notice (either actual or constructive) of a prior interest in the property.

If a bona fide purchaser records his interest, he will hold the superior claim to the property.