Property Descriptions Flashcards
The different methods of legally describing real property
Lot and block
Metes and bounds
Government survey
PROPERTY DESCRIPTIONS
As a result of the Statute of Frauds, all elements in a real estate contract , including property description must be in writing.
Parol Evidence (oral testimony) may be used to identify the property but not to provide the actual description.
If the written agreement and admissible parol evidence do not enable a surveyor to locate the property and establish boundaries, the contract may be void.
ADEQUATE DESCRIPTIONS
An adequate property description will identify property with absolute certainty so as to avoid litigation or defeat of the parties purpose.
Identification would include location, boundaries and area, so that parcel can be distinguished from all other land.
When the property description enables a disinterested party to segregate the object being described from all other objects of its type is called a “legal description”.
An adequate legal description will identify the property that a court would compel a seller to give or a buyer to accept the property.
Adequate Description
PERSONAL PROPERTY
If personal property such as a fridge or swing set is to be included in the transaction, that item must be specifically identified and written in the offer.
Specific I’d, serial number, brand, and location and a photo .
REAL PROPERTY
A LISTING AGREEMENT OR OFFER TO PURCHASE REAL PROPERTY WILL NORMALLY INCLUDE THE LAND AND AHYTHING THAT IS PERMANENTLY ATTACHED.
The description of the real property in an offer to purchase or a deed, however, will be only of the surface and not all improvements and rights appurtenances to the land.
LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS
The best means of describing real property is to use a description based on a survey so that the location is completely enclosed by surveyed boundaries.
There are 3 types of property survey methods commonly found on deeds, preliminary title reports , and title insurance policies.
Lot and block ( or recorded plat)
Metes ands bounds
Rectangular (or government) survey
LOT AND BLOCK
Method is the shortest easiest and simplest method to describe real property.
It describes parcels in platted subdivisions by referring to the recorded plat (map) for the subdivision. Hence it is referred to as “recorded plat method”.
A surveyor divides the property into streets, blocks and lots.
A subdivision plat is recorded in the county or city in which the property resides and is available for public inspection.
LOT AND BLOCK
A plat may include a number of other features:
Number of Square ft
Dimensions in feet, to the nearest hundredth of a foot inside the lot along boundary line, each lot’s frontage or front lot line( the line along the front of lot separating it from store); the rear lot line ( boundary on the rear of the lot); the side lot line ( boundaries on the side). When describing the dimensions of a lot, the frontage is shown first, e.g. a rectangular lot described as 75’ x 100 ‘ has 75 ‘ frontage and a depth
Of 100’.
LOT AND BLOCK
A plat may include a number of other features:
Building restriction lines (“building lines aka setback lines”) shown by long dashed lines with the distance of the setback. Setback lines, whether set by zoning ordinance, subdivision restrictions or statute, are theMINIMUM distance a structure must be set back from a street, lotline or boundary.
Easement for streets, turnarounds, utility lines for water and electricity, sewer lines, flight paths shown as dashed lines with their width and purpose.
The direction of each boundary line, measured by its bearing from north to south points on a compass., in degrees, minutes and seconds.
LOT AND BLOCK
A plat may include a number of other features:
A north arrow on a plat points to north in relation to the plat. If there is no arrow, presume the top of the plat is north.
To understand directions, picture a circle at the beginning of each line with the point at which the line starts being the center of the circle.
A circle has 360 degrees. Each degree has 60 minutes (60’). Each minute has 60 seconds (60”)
N 1535’ 30” E. Is North15 degrees, 35 minutes, 30 seconds East
LOT AND BLOCK
Air Space above land my be divided into air lots.
Descriptions of air lots include elevations.
Elevations can be measured using benchmarks.
These are metal disks set in rock or permanent structures through out the country by the National Geodetic Survey to precisely measure elevation.
MARKERS AND MONUMENTS
Parcels that have not been platted may be identified by describing their boundaries.
Originally this was done through “markers and monuments system”.
A monument is a fixed object used to establish a real estate boundary.
It may be natural (river, or rock formation)
It may be man-made ( a fence, building or iron stake placed by a surveyor).
It may be tangible ( another point established by another surveyor) Or
It may be intangible (the centerline of a street).
METES AND BOUNDS
A more accurate method of describing the boundaries of a property is provided by metes (measurements) and bounds( boundaries)
This method describes the land by providing measurement and direction aka course and bearing of each boundary line.
Metes and Bounds
A property boundary may include a waterway.
Owners of property adjoining a river or stream are riparian owners.
Owners of property adjoining lakes and oceans are called littoral owners.
GOVERNMENT or RECTANGULAR SURVEY
a third type of property description is the “government survey method”. Aka rectangular survey method or section and township system.
There are 36 fixed points in country from which separate surveys begin.
Through each point runs an imaginary line in a true north-south direction called a “a meridian or principal meridian”.
And an imaginary line in a true East-west direction called “a baseline.”
Parallel to the meridian and 6 miles apart are range lines. The area between each range line is called a range.
Range lines and ranges are numbered consecutively from this meridian.
On the west they are Range 1w, range 2 w.
On the East are Range R1E , range R2E
Lines running east-west6 miles apart and parallel to the baseline are “township lines”
They are numbered consecutively north and south from the baseline. The area between the township lines running east-west is called a fire or township.
