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Unit 4 Flashcards Unit/MeasuremenMile5,280 feet; 1,760 yardsRod16.5 feetAcre43,560 square feetSection1 mile square; 640 acres160 acres = A quarter sectionSquare yard9 square feetSquare foot144 square inchesCubic yard27 cubic feet Legal descriptions should not A metes-and-boundsdescription relies on the physical features of a property to deter-mine the boundaries and measurements of the parcel of land. A metes-and-bounds description always ends at the POB so that the parcel being described is completely enclosed.Lot and blockThe lot-and-block (recorded plat) description uses lot and block numbers referred to in a plat map filed in the recorder of deeds office in 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.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.The lot-and-block system starts with a subdivision plat prepared by a licensed surveyor or an engineer (see Subdivision Plat Map). 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
The lot-and-block description(or recorded plat system) uses lot and block numbers re-ferred to in a plat map filed in the recorder of deeds office in the county where the land is located.Three basic methods can be used to describe real estate:-Metes and bounds-Rectangular (or government) survey- Lot and block (recorded plat)Although each method can be used independently, the methods may be combined in some situations. Some states use only one method; others use all three.In Pennsylvania The methods used are metes and bounds-the oldest type of legal description-and lots and blocks. However, all three methods of describing land are discussed here to familiarize readers with systems used throughout the country.Metes-and-bounds descriptions were used in the original 13 colonies and in those states that were being settled while the rectangular survey system was being developed. Today, as technology allows for greater precision and expanded record keeping, there is greater integration of land description information.Currently, the Federal Bureau of Land Management and the USDA Forest Service are developing the National Integrated Land System (NILS) in cooperation with states, counties, and private industry. This new system of land description is designed to be compatible with both the metes-and-bounds description and the rectangular survey system. The NILS has unified the worlds of surveying into the Geographic Information System (GIS) for the management of cadastral (public survey records) and land parcel information.Virtually all large cities have established a local official datum that is used in place of the U.S. Geological Survey datum.just as SURFACE RIGHTS must be identified A lot-and-blockDescription always refers to a prior metes-and-bounds description. The lot-and-block system is used, at least in part, in all states. Some states have passed plat acts that specify the smallest parcel that may be sold without a subdivision plat map being prepared, approved, and recorded.In Pennsylvania The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code defines a subdivision as two or more lots, tracts, or parcels, unless it is for agricultural purposes.The
following is an example of a lot-and-block description:Lots
2, 3 and 4 in Block 5 of L. Robinson's Subdivision of the property beginning at a point on the North side of Main Road, 175 feet east from the corner formed by the intersection of the south side of Main Road and the east side of State Route 54; thence...
Base LineThe 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.Benchmarks are permanent reference points that have been established throughout the United States. They are usually embossed brass markers set into solid concrete or asphalt bases. While used to some degree for surface measurements, their principal reference use is for marking datums.BenchmarksBenchmarks are permanent reference points that have been established throughout the United States. They are usually embossed brass markers set into solid concrete or asphalt bases. While used to some degree for surface measurements, their principal reference use is for marking datums.Quiz The statement is true. Just as surface rights must be identified, surveyed, and described, so must rights to the property above the earth's surface. In the same way land may be measured and divided into parcels, the air may be divided. An owner may subdivide the air above the land into air lots.Which lot has the MOST frontage on Jasmine Lane The metes-and-bounds descriptionIs the oldest type of legal description. Metes means to measure, and bounds means linear directions. The method relies on a property's physical features to determine the boundaries and measurements of the parcel. A metes-and-bounds description starts at a designated place on the parcel, called the point of beginning (POB). The POB is also the point of ending (POE), but often only the POB is used in describing the property. From there, the surveyor proceeds around the property's boundaries. The boundaries are recorded by referring to linear measurements, natural and artificial landmarks (called monuments), and directions. A metes-and-bounds description always ends back at the POB so that the tract being described is completely enclosed.Monuments are fixed objects used to locate the point of beginning (POB), all corners of the parcel or ends of boundary segments, and the location of intersecting boundaries. In colonial times, a monument might have been a natural object such as a stone, large tree, lake, or stream. It also may have been a street, fence, or other marker. Today, monuments are iron pins or concrete posts placed by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, other government departments, or trained private surveyors. Measurements often include the words
more or less because the location of the monuments is more important than the distances between them. The actual distance between monuments takes precedence over any linear measurements in the description. Because monuments can be moved, surveyors give their final metes-and-bounds reference in terms of cardinal points and distance. They include the statement "to the point of beginning (POB)" to ensure closure and to remove questions if an error in footage prevents closure.Because such items are subject to the whims of nature and vandals, their accuracy is sometimes suspect. As a result, surveyors rely most heavily on benchmarks (discussed later in this unit) to mark their work accurately and permanently.An example of a metes-and-bounds description of a parcel of land (pictured in Metes-and-Bounds Tract) follows.ALL THAT CERTAIN piece or parcel of land situate in Wayne Township, Clinton County, Pennsylvania, bounded and described in accordance with a survey made by H. Richard Ohl, Registered Surveyor, dated November 9, 1984, as
follows:BEGINNING at an iron pin on the Easterly line of
Pennsylvania Route 18013, which iron pin is on the Boundary line between the parcel to be conveyed and land of the United States of America (United States Army Reserve Center of Lock Haven); thence along the land of the said United States of America, North 70 degrees 41 minutes 10 seconds East a distance of sixty-six and 27/100 (66.27) feet to an iron pin; thence continuing along the same, South 31 degrees 23 minutes 30 seconds East a distance of six hundred seventy-seven and 1/10 (677.1) feet to an iron pin on the Northerly line of Township Route 425, thence along the Northerly line of said Township
Route 425, the following five (5) courses and distances: (1)
South 70 degrees 44 minutes West a distance of fifty-one and 5/10 (51.5) feet to an iron pin, (2) South 60 degrees 06 minutes West a distance of five hundred thirty-six and 6/10 (536.6) feet to an iron pin, (3) North 29 degrees 54 minutes West a distance of thirteen and 5/10 (13.5) feet to an iron pin, (4) South 61 degrees 54 minutes West a distance of eighty and 5/10 (80.5) feet to an iron pin; (5) South 74 degrees 05 minutes West a distance of 54.00 feet to an iron pin; thence along Pennsylvania Route 18013 North 34 degrees 40 minutes West a distance of fifty-nine and 6/10 (59.6) feet to an iron pin; thence continuing along Pennsylvania Route 18013 North 17 degrees 28 minutes East a distance of eight hundred seventy-two and 8/10
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