Real Estate Legal Descriptions Flashcards

Real Estate Legal Descriptions Flashcards A legal descriptionis 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 description is based on information collected through a 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. A street address will not tell a surveyor how large the property is or where it begins and ends.Township TiersLines running east and west, parallel to the base line and six miles apart, are referred to as township lines. They form strips of land called township tiers. These township tiers are designated by consecutive numbers north or south of the base line. For instance, the strip of land between 6 and 12 miles north of a base line is Township 2 North.RECTANGULAR (GOVERNMENT) SURVEY SYSTEM- 1785 Congress established- Divides land into rectangles- Based on insertecting lines of Base Lines & Meridians

METES-AND-BOUNDS DESCRIPTIONS WITHIN THE

RECTANGULAR SURVEY SYSTEM

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:when describing an

irregular tract;when a tract is too small to be described by quarter-sections; orwhen 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 Land on either side of a Principal Meridian is divided into ____ mile wide strips of land called ______.SixRanges A lot-and-block survey is performed in two steps. First, a large parcel of land is described either by the metes-and-bounds method or by rectangular survey. Once this large parcel is surveyed, it is broken into smaller parcels. As a result, a lot-and-block legal description always refers to a prior metes-and-bounds or rectangular survey description. For each parcel described under the lot-and-block system, the lot refers to the numerical designation of any particular parcel. The block refers to the name of the subdivision under which the map is recorded.The block reference is drawn from the early 1900s, when a city block was the most common type of subdivided property.

Principal Meridians- Run North and South- Intersect with the Base Lines- There are 37 Principal Meridians in the US- Each Meridian describes a specific area - No parcel is descibed by reference to more than 1 Meridian (maybe not the one closes to the parcel) Base Lines- Run East and West- The lot-and-block system starts with the preparation of a subdivision plat by a licensed surveyor or an 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. When properly signed and approved, the subdivision plat is recorded in the county in which the land is located. The plat becomes part of the legal description. In describing a lot from a recorded

subdivision plat, three identifiers are used:Lot and block

numberName or number of the subdivision platName of the county and state Sections quarters & halves can be subdivided into further quarters * halves.True or False True Township squares are subdivided into sections and subsections called h____ and q____, which can be further divided.HalvesQuarters Ranges are designated by consecutive numbers East or West of the Meridi_____ Meridian Township SquaresWhen the horizontal township lines and the vertical range lines intersect, they form squares. These township squares are the basic units of the rectangular survey system.Each township contains____ sections.36 Each township is given a legal description. The township's

description includes the following:

• Designation of the township tier in which the township is

located2. Designation of the range strip3. Name or number of the principal meridian for that area RECTANGULAR SURVEY SYSTEM: SECTIONSTownship squares are subdivided into sections and subsections called halves and quarters, which can be further divided. Each township contains 36 sections. Each section is one square mile or 640 acres, with 43,560 square feet in each acre. Sections are numbered 1 through 36, as shown below. Section 1 is always in the northeast, or upper right-hand, corner. The numbering proceeds right to left to the upper left-hand corner. From there, the numbers drop down to the next tier and continue from left to right, then back from right to left. By law, each Section 16 was set aside for school purposes, and the sale or rental proceeds from this land were originally available for township school use. The schoolhouse was usually located in this section so it would be centrally located for all the

students in the township. As a result, Section 16 is commonly referred to as a school section.Township Lines run E_____ - W ___EastWest Sections are also divided into q____ (____ 160 acres)quarters160 LOT-AND-BLOCK SYSTEMhis system uses lot and block numbers referred to in a plat map filed in the public records of the county where the land is located. The plat map is a map of a town, a section, or a subdivision, indicating the location and boundaries of individual properties. The lot-and-block system is used mostly in subdivisions and urban areas.Each section is ___ square mile or ___ acres one640 Sections are divided into H____ (____ acres) Halves320 There are ___ square feet in an acre43,560 Townships are ___ miles square and contain___ square miles (23,040 acres).636

Range lines run N_____ - S______NorthSouth One square mile is ____ acres and _____ feet 64027,878,400