Level 4 Chapter 1: Basic Legal Description Methods

Question 1

Legal Description

Answer 1

Description of a property that is distinct and precise enough to distinguish it from all other properties. These descriptions can be used by courts to clarify any disputes about the property that may arise.

That means that a sales contract must contain a legal property description that uniquely identifies the property involved in the transaction.

Question 2

Survey

Answer 2

The process and physical product of finding and measuring the boundaries of a piece of real estate, including the location of improvements, encroachments, and easements. (Improvements are permanent, human-made additions to the property.)

Question 3

3 Types of Determining Property Boundaries

Answer 3

1. Metes and bounds
2. Lot and block
3. Rectangular survey system

Question 4

Metes and bounds

Answer 4

A land survey process in which a licensed land surveyor starts at a readily identifiable point of beginning and defines the boundaries of a property in terms of distances and compass directions, finally returning to the point of beginning. Metes refers to the distance measurements used in the description. Distances are often expressed in feet. Bounds are the compass directions used in creating the boundaries that enclose a parcel of real estate. You remember those, right? North, east, south, and west.

Question 5

Point of beginning (POB)

Answer 5

An established starting point, often located on a road, from which the description begins.

Question 6

Monuments

Answer 6

Used as points of beginning or markers for the metes and bounds system. Monuments are fixed landmarks, either natural or human-made. Natural monuments can include things like streams, large boulders, or trees. Natural monuments were very commonly used in the early days of surveying.

Question 7

Benchmarks

Answer 7

Surveyors may also opt for using more permanent markers as reference points, permanent markers of known location and elevation as established by a government survey team. The locations of benchmarks are extremely accurate, usually to less than an inch.

Question 8

Lot and Block

Answer 8

Sometimes called the subdivision plat or recorded plat method (gotta keep things fresh!). It’s a type of legal description that identifies a piece of platted property by referring to the section, lot, and block numbers in a subdivision

Question 9

Plat

Answer 9

A drawing of a development used in the block and lot method

Question 10

Parcel

Answer 10

A part or portion of land; often used to identify a specific lot within a larger tract of property

Question 11

Lot

Answer 11

Individual piece of land measured and defined by the metes and bounds system

Question 12

Block

Answer 12

A collection of lots

Question 13

Tract

Answer 13

The totality of the property represented on a plat

Question 14

Recorded plat method

Answer 14

Describes property by referring to a lot and block number within a recorded subdivision map (also called a plat).

Question 15

Reference to a plat

Answer 15

A description on a deed that includes the property’s location on a plat map