Unit 5 - Land Description Flashcards
Acre
A measure of land equal to 43,650 square feet, 4,840 square yards, 4,047 square meters, 169 square rods, or 0.4047 hectares.
Air lots
Designated airspace over a piece of land. An air lot, like surface property, may be transferred.
Base line
The main imaginary line running east and west and crossing a principal meridian at a definite point; used by surveyors for reference in locating and describing land under the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.
Benchmark
Permanent reference marks or points established for use by surveyors in measuring differences in elevation.
Datum
A horizontal plane from which heights and depths are measured.
Government survey system
Rectangular survey system; a system established in 1785 by the federal government, providing for surveying and describing land by reference to principal meridians and base lines.
Legal description
A description of a specific parcel of real estate complete enough for an independent surveyor to locate and identify it.
Lot-and-block (recorded plat) method
A method of describing real property that identifies a parcel of land by reference to lot and block numbers within a subdivision, as specified in a recorded subdivision plat.
Meridian
One of a set of imaginary lines running north to south and crossing the base line at a definitive point, used in the rectangular (government) survey system of property description.
Metes-and-bounds method
A method used to describe a parcel of land that begins at a well-marked point and follows the property’s boundaries, using directions and distances around the tract, back to the place of beginning.
Monument
A fixed natural or artificial object used to establish real estate boundaries for metes-and-bounds description.
Point of beginning (POB)
In a metes-and-bounds legal description, the starting point of the survey, situated in one corner of the parcel; all metes-and-bounds descriptions must follow the boundaries back the the point of beginning.
Plat map
A map of a town, section, or subdivision indicating the location and boundaries of individual properties.
Principal meridian
The main imaginary line running north and south and crossing a base line at a definitive point; used by surveyors for reference in locating and describing land under the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.
Range
A strip of land six miles wide, extending north and south and numbered east and west according to its distance from the principal meridian in the rectangular (government) survey system of legal land description.
Recorded plat
A map of a subdivision filed as a public record showing the location and boundaries of the individual parcels.
Rectangular (government) survey system
A system established in 1785 by the federal government, providing for surveying and describing land by reference to principal meridians and base lines.
Government survey system.
Section
A portion of a township under the rectangular (government) survey system. A township is divided into 36 sections, numbered 1-36. A section is a square with mile-long sides and an area of one square mile, or 640 acres.
Spot survey
A survey that shows the location, size, and shape of buildings on the lot, in addition to the lot’s legal description.
Subdivision plat
Plat map; a map of a town, section, or subdivision indicating the location and boundaries of individual properties.
Survey
The process by which boundaries are measured and land areas are determined; the on-site measurement of lot lines, dimensions, and position of a house on a lot, including the determination of any existing encroachments or easements.
Tiers
Strips of land that are six miles wide, extending east and west and numbered north and south according to their distance from the base line in the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.
Township
The principal unit of the rectangular (government) survey system. A township is a 6-mile square of 36 square miles.
Township lines
All the lines in a rectangular survey system that run east and west, parallel to the base line and six miles apart.
Township strips
Tier; Strips of land that are six miles wide, extending east and west and numbered north and south according to their distance from the base line in the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.
A ____ is a detailed way of describing a parcel of land in a document that will be accepted in a court of law.
The description is based on information collected through a ____ — the process by which boundaries are measured by calculating the dimensions and area to determine the exact location of a piece of land.
- Legal description
2. Survey
True or false
Courts have stated that a description is legally sufficient if it allows a surveyor to locate the parcel.
True - the surveyor must be able to define the exact boundaries of the property using the description.
The three basic methods for describing real estate are
- Metes and bounds
- Rectangular (or government) survey
- Lot and block (recorded plat)
The ____ method relies on a property’s physical features to determine the boundaries and measurements of the parcel.
This land description starts at a designated place on the parcel, called the ____. It is also where the description ends.
- Metes and bounds
2. Point of beginning
____ are fixed objects used to identify the point of beginning, all corners of the parcel or ends of boundary segments, and the location of intersecting boundaries.
In colonial times, these objects might have been a natural object such as a stone, a large tree, a lake, or a stream. It may also be a street, a fence, or other marker.
Often use words “more or less” and “to the point of beginning”.
Monuments
The ____ divides land into rectangles and is based on two sets of intersecting lines: ____ , running north and south, and ____, running east and west.
Rectangular (government) survey system
Principal meridians
Base lines.
Lines running east and west, parallel to the base line and six miles apart, are called ____ lines.
These lines form strips of land called ____.
Township
Tiers
The land on either side of a principal meridian is divided into six-mile wide strips by lines that run north and south. These north-south strips of land are called ____.
When the horizontal township lines and vertical range lines intersect, the form squares, or ____, that are the basic units of the rectangular survey system. These are 6 miles square and contain 36 square miles (23,040 acres).
Ranges
Townships
True or false
- Townships are numbered the way a field is plowed; right to left.
- There are 36 sections in a township.
- True
2. True
Townships are divided into ____ and ____ called halves and quarters, which can be further divided.
Each ____ contains 36 sections.
Each section is one square mile or ____ acres, with ____ square feet in each acre.
Sections and subsections
Township
640, 43,560
Sections in a township are numbered 1-36 with section one always being in the northeast, upper right-hand corner.
6 5 4 3 2 1
7 8 9 10 11 12
18 17 16* 15 14 13
19 20 21 22 23 24
30 29 28 27 26 25
31 32 33 34 35 36
Section 16 is set aside for what purposes?
Section 16 is commonly called a ____ section.
School purposes
School section
Sections are divided into halves (____ acres) and quarters (____ acres).
The southeast quarter of a section, which is a 160-acre tract, is abbreviated SE1/4. The SE1/4 of SE1/4 of SE1/4 would be a ____ acre* square in the lower right-hand corner of section 1.
320, 160 (because one section is 640 acres)
10 acres*
*to calculate acres in a rectangular survey system description, multiply all the denominations and decide that number by 640. For instance, the SE1/4 of SE1/4 of SE1/4 of section 1 = 4 x 4 x 4 = 64;
640 divided by 64 = 10 acres.
In a rectangular survey system, sometimes a shorthand method is used in its descriptions. For instance, a comma may be used in place of the word “of. Semicolon means “and”.
How many acres would be in the description:
NE1/4, SW1/4; N1/2, NW1/4, SE1/4
60 acres.
NE1/4 of SW1/4 = 4 x 4 = 16
640 divided by 16 = 40 acres
N1/2 of NW1/4 of SE1/4 = 2 x 4 x 4 = 32
640 divided by 32 = 20 acres
40 acres + 20 acres = 60 acres
To determine the location and size of a property described in the rectangular or government survey style, start at the end and work backward to the beginning, reading from ____ to ____.
True or false
Legal descriptions do not need to include the county or state in which the land is located.
Right to left
False - meridians often relate to more than one state and occasionally relate to two base lines.
Land in states that use the rectangular survey system may also require a metes and bounds description.
This usually occurs in one of three situations:
1.
2.
3.
- When describing an irregular tract
- When a tract is too small to be described by quarter sections
- When a tract does not follow the lot or block lines of a recorded subdivision or section, quarter section lines, or other fractional section lines.
- The ____ method uses lot and block numbers referred to in a ____ map filed in the public records of the county where the land is located.
- This map is a map of a town, a ____, or a subdivision, indicating the location and boundaries of individual properties.
- For each parcel described, the ____ refers to the numerical designation of any particular parcel. The ____ refers to the name of the subdivision under which the map is recorded.
- Lot and block (recorded plat) method, plat map
- Section
- Lot, block
The lot and block system starts with the preparation of a subdivision plat by a licensed surveyor or engineer. On this plat, the land is divided into numbered or lettered lots and blocks, and streets or access roads for public use are indicated. Lot sizes and street details must be described completely and must comply with all local ordinances and requirements.
In describing a lot from a recorded subdivision plat, three identifiers are used:
- Lot and block number
- Name or number of the subdivision plat
- Name of the county and state
A licensed surveyor is trained and authorized to locate and determine the legal description of any parcel of land. The surveyor does this by preparing two documents: a survey and a sketch.
The ____ states the property’s legal description.
The ___ shows the location and dimensions of the parcel.
When a survey shows the location, size and shape of buildings on the lot, it is referred to as a ____ survey.
Survey
Survey sketch
Spot survey
True or false
An improvement location certificate (ILC) can be prepared in a shorter time frame and at a less cost, and provides the location and improvements, easements, and any encroachments in relation to property boundaries.
True
The owner may subdivide the air space above the land into ____; composed of the airspace within specific boundaries located over a parcel of land.
The condominium laws passed in all states require registered land surveyors prepare a plat map that shows elevations of floor and ceiling surfaces and vertical boundaries of each unit with reference to an official ____.
Subsurface rights can be legally described in the same manner as air rights, but they are measured ____ the datum rather than above it.
Air lots
Datum
Below
A ____ is a point, line, or surface from which elevations are measured or indicated. The the purpose of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), this is defined as the mean sea level at New York Harbor.
True or false
A surveyor would use a datum in determining the height of a structure or establishing the grade of a street.
Datum
True
Monuments are traditionally used to mark surface measurements between points.
____ are monuments that have been established as permanent reference points throughout the United States. They are usually embossed brass markers set into solid concrete or asphalt bases. Their principal reference use is for marking datums.
True or false
Surveyors rely most heavily on these to mark their work accurately and permanently.
Benchmarks
True
Land units and measurements:
Mile = ____ feet; 1,760 yards; 320 rods
Furlong = 220 yards; 660 feet; 40 rods; 10 chains
Chain = 66 feet; 4 rods; 100 links
Rod = 16.5 feet; 5.50 yards
Square mile = ____ acres (5,280 x 5280 = 27,878,400 divided by 43,560)
Acre = ____ square feet
Cubic yard = 27 cubic feet
Square yard = 9 square feet
Square foot = ____ square inches
Mile = 5,280 feet
Square mile = 640 acres
Acre = 43,560 square feet
Square foot = 144 square inches
To calculate the cost of a parcel of land of three acres at $1.10 per square foot, convert the acreage to square feet before multiplying.
43,560 square feet per acre x 3 acres = 130,680 square feet
130,680 square feet x $1.10 per square foot = $143,748
To calculate the cost of a parcel of land of 17,500 square feet at $60,000 per acre, convert the cost per acre into the cost per square food before multiplying by the number of square feet in the parcel.
$60,000 per acre / 43,560 square feet per acre = $1.38 (rounded) per square foot
17,509 square feet x $1.38 per square foot = $24,150
The ____ is being developed by the federal government to coordinate the land descriptions found in public record, making use of the accuracy in determining and recording property boundaries that is possible with current technology.
National integrated land system
The ____ measures distances (metes), starting from a ____, and following compass directions or angles (bounds) to arrive back at the POB. ____ identify the POB and corners or places where the boundary line changes direction.
Metes and bounds method
Point of beginning
Monuments
The ____ divides land into rectangles called ____, measured from the intersection of a ____ and _____, and referenced by degrees of longitude and latitude.
Rectangular (government) survey system
Townships
Principal meridian
Base line
____ lines within a section run east to west parallel to the base line, six miles apart; ____ lines run north to south parallel to and counted from the principal meridian, six miles apart.
Rows of townships are called ____ and columns of townships are called ____.
A township is divided into 36 ____ of one square mile (____ acres) each and run from right to left, then left to right, starting at section 1 at the northeast corner of the township and ending at section 36 at the south east corner of the township.
Township
Range
Tiers
Ranges
Sections
640
The ____ divides a subdivision into ____ and ____ (individual parcels) and references all data in a subdivision ____, noting lot sizes, street names, and other required information that is approved by the governing body, and filed in public records of the county where the land is located.
Lot and block (recorded plat) method
Block
Lot numbers
Plat map
Survey preparation includes both ____ and a survey ____. A less precise analysis, found in the improvement location certificate (ILC), may be used. The legal description must be included by reference or transcribed exactly as written to avoid future problems over incorrect boundaries.
Legal description
Sketch
Elevations must be measured if ____ above the surface or subsurface rights below the datum are to be described and conveyed. Distances are noted as above or below ____, defined by US Geological Survey (USGS) as mean sea level at ____, making use of permanent ____ that are established throughout the United States and are often on a local official datum, and noting monuments marking surface measurements between points.
Air lots
Datum
New York Harbor
Benchmarks
The most common units of land measurement include
____ of 5,280 feet
____ of 43,560 square feet (apx. 209x209 feet)
____ of 640 acres (a section)
Mile
Acre
Square mile
