(Lesson 2) Legal Descriptions (Unit #9)

Question 1

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• identify the three methods used to describe real estate
• describe how a survey is prepared

Answer 1

KEY TERMS
air lot – base line – benchmark – correction line – datum – fractional section – government check – government lot – legal description – (lot-and-block system) – rectangular survey system - (metes-and-bounds) – section – method – survey – monument – township – plat map – township line – point of beginning (POB) – township tier – government lot – principal meridian

Question 2

define legal description

Answer 2

a legal description is a detailed way of describing a parcel of land for documents such as deeds and mortgages that will be accepted in a court of law.

**the information is collected through a survey

Question 3

define survey

Answer 3

survey: the process by which boundaries are measured by calculating the dimensions and area to determine the exact location of a piece of land. Courts have stated that a description is legally sufficient if it allows a surveyor to locate the parcel.

**in this context locate means that the surveyor must be able to define the exact boundaries of the property.

Question 4

what are the 3 methods of describing real estate

Answer 4

The following three basic methods are used to describe real estate:

• Metes and bounds
• rectangular (or government) survey
• lot and block (recorded plat)

Question 5

Define metes and bounds method

Answer 5

metes-and-bounds method is the oldest type of legal description (metes means distance and bounds means compass directions or angles).. Used in the original 13 colonies, this method relies on a property’s physical features to determine the boundaries and measurements of the parcel.

**a metes and bounds description always starts at a designated place on the parcel called, the point of the beginning (POB) - from there the surveyor proceeds around the property boundaries.

**the boundaries are recorded by referring to linear measurements, natural and artificial landmarks (called monuments)

**a metes bounds always ends at the POB.. so that the tract being described is fully enclosed

Question 6

Define monuments in relation to metes and bounds

Answer 6

monuments are fixed objects used to identify the POB

Question 7

define rectangular survey system

Answer 7

the public land survey system (PLSS) (AKA rectangular survey system) was established by congress in 1785 to standardized the description of land acquired by the newly formed government.

**this system is based on two sets of intersecting lines: principal meridians and base lines.

Question 8

Principal meridians vs base lines in relation to the rectangular system

Answer 8

Principal meridians run north and south

base lines run east and west

Question 9

how many meridian lines are there in the United States and how many do we use in Illinois

Answer 9

there are 37 principal meridians in the United States.

locations in Illinois are described by their relation to one of the three meridians

**note only two of these three meridians actually run through Illinois

Question 10

define township tiers and township lines and their relation

Answer 10

township lines: lines running east and west, parallel to the base line and six miles apart, are called township lines.

**they form strips of land called township tiers

Question 11

define ranges and range lines

Answer 11

the land on either side of a principal meridian is divided into six mile wide strips by lines called range lines running north and side.. these lines form strips called range

Question 12

define township squares

Answer 12

when the horizontal township lines and vertical range lines intersect they form squares. these squares are called township squares.

**townships are six miles square and contain 36 square miles

Question 13

township lines vs township tiers vs township squares

Answer 13

township lines: run east and west… they form strips of land called township tiers… township squares are formed by the vertical range lines intersecting the tiers.

Question 14

each township is given a legal description.. The townships description includes the following

Answer 14

• designation of the township tier in which the township is located
• designation of the range strip
• name or number of the principal meridian for that area

Question 15

define correction lines

Answer 15

because of the round earth problem, every fourth township line, both north and south of the base line, is designated a correction line.

**on each correction line, the range lines are measured to the full distance of six miles apart.

**guide meridians run north and south at 24-mile intervals from the principal meridian.

Question 16

define a government check

Answer 16

is the irregular area created by these corrections; such an area is about 24 miles square

Question 17

MUST KNOW MEASUREMENTS

Answer 17

• sections are smaller than townships
• township = 6 miles x 6 miles = 36 sections per township
• 640 acres in a section
• section = 1 mile x 1 mile = 1 square mile
• 43,560 = square feet per acre
• 5,280 feet in a mile

Question 18

define fractional sections

Answer 18

fractional sections: undersized or oversized sections

Question 19

what is metes and bounds descriptions within rectangular survey system

Answer 19

land in states that use the rectangular survey system also may require a metes and bounds description..

• *this is usually occurs in one of three situations:
• when describing an irregular tract
• when a tract is too small to be described in quarter sections
• when a tract does not follow the lot or block lines of recorded subdivision for section, quarter section lines, or other fractional section lines.

Question 20

Define lot-and-block system

Answer 20

lot and block system(also called the recorded plat system): is the third method of legal description

**this system uses lot-and-block number referred to in a plat map filed in the public records of the county where the land is located.

**the lot and block system is often used to describe property in subdivisions and urban areas

**lot and block legal description is always smaller part of metes and bounds or rectangular survey description.

Question 21

lot and block relationship with subdivision plat

Answer 21

the lot and block system starts with the preparation of a subdivision plat by a licensed surveyor or an engineer.

the plat becomes part of the legal description.. in describing a lot from a recorded subdivision plat, the following three identifiers are used:

• lot-and-block number
• name or number of the subdivision plat
• name of the county and state

Question 22

define air lots

Answer 22

air lots are composed of the airspace within specific boundaries located over a parcel of land

Question 23

define datum

Answer 23

a datum is a point, line, surface from which elevations are measured of indicated,

Question 24

define benchmarks

Answer 24

benchmarks are permanent reference points that have been established throughout the United States,