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Legal Property Descriptions
- Describing Land
a) A proper description of real estate is essential for legal documents relating to real estate. A legally sufficient description is one that would:
Property address is generally _______________.
b) Three methods are typically used to legally describe real estate
Metes and bounds descriptions
Rectangular survey system
Recorded plat system
- Metes and Bounds Property Descriptions
b) Property is described by starting at a designated place on the parcel – the point of the beginning (POB). It this proceeds around the property’s boundaries following the description given.
The description must always end at the POB.
Metes are the distances used in the description
Bounds are the directions of the boundaries that enclose the land
Monuments are identifying landmarks
- Rectangular Survey System
a) Created after the revolutionary war, this system is based on two sets of intersecting lines: Principal meridians run north and south.
Base lines run east and west. Each principal meridian has its own base line. Both principal meridians and base lines are located by reference to degrees of longitude and latitude. Each area is assigned to a particular meridian and base line. Ours is used to reference information in all of Kansas and Nebraska, most of Oklahoma, and parts of Colorado.
Township lines are 6 miles apart, running east and west.
They define strips of land called township teirs. The township tiers are designated by consecutive numbers north or south of the base line.
Range Lines are 6 miles apart running north and south.
They define strips of land called ranges , which are designated by consecutive numbers east and west of the principal meridian.
Township squares are the 36 square miles squares formed by the intersections of the township and range lines.
c) Subdivisions of a Section
Each section is divided into halves (320 acres) and quarters (160 acres). In turn, each of these parts is further divided into halves and quarters. Each is defined in relation to its position in the section.
Note that it is possible to combine portions of a section. For example, NE ¼ of SW ¼ and N ½ of SE ¼. Sometimes a semicolon is used to denote “and”: NE ¼ of SW ¼; N ½ of SE ¼
d) Other measurements that matter: One chain = 66 feet One rod = 4 chains = 264 feet One furlong = 660 feet = 10 chains One acre = 1 chain 10 chains = 66 feet 660 feet = 43,560 square feet The book has a nice box outlining the history of these measurements (page 36).
- Correction Lines – The curvature of the earth means that the range lines are not strictly parallel. Thus, few townships are exactly six miles square. a) To adjust for this, every fifth township line (both north and south of the base line) are termed correction lines. On each correction line, the range lines are measured to the full distance of six miles apart. Thus, the correction lines are exactly 30 miles apart from each other at each point on the line. b) In many parts of the country, the correction lines are 24 miles apart.
- Measuring Elevations
a) Elevations can also be a part of legal property descriptions.
b) A datum is a point, line or surface from which elevations are measured or indicated.
