10.3-19
Locating Sections in the Government Survey System
An example of identification of a parcel of land using the government survey system is: Section 6, Township 1 South, Range 1 East of the Tallahassee Principal Meridian and Base Line. This identification may be abbreviated as "Sec 6, T1S, R1E". To locate a section, it is necessary to know the following elements: A. The principal meridian and base line from which to begin (Tallahassee Principal Meridian and Base Line) B. The section number (Section 6) C. The number and direction of the township line (T1S) D. The number and direction of the range line (R1E)
ASSESSOR'S PARCEL NUMBER
Each property is assigned a tax identification number. This number is used to identify the property for purposes of taxation. Tax identification numbers are included on the recorded plat map. It is extremely important to write the correct tax identification number on a contract for sale and purchase of real estate.
PURPOSE OF REAL ESTATE
The purpose of the legal description is to identify a parcel of property clearly and in a standard way. It is a method of describing the location of real estate that will be accepted by a court. The legal description lists or names a series of boundary lines.
METHODS OF DESCRIBING REAL ESTATE
All of the systems for creating legal descriptions of property are based on the principle that clear descriptions of boundary lines must be provided to identify the location and area of a parcel of land. In practice, boundary lines are usually indicated by monuments. Monuments can be natural objects such as a tree line, a boulder, or a stream. They can also be artificial objects such as a fence, a stake, or a concrete monument placed by a surveyor. There are 3 types of legal descriptions: 1. Metes and bounds 2. Government survey system (also called the rectangular method or the U.S. System of Rectangular Surveys) 3. Plat of survey method (also called the 'recorded plat method' and the 'lot and block method'
ASSESSMENT ROLL
An assessment roll exists in each county.It is the base on which property taxes are calculated each year and is used to evaluate the income from property taxes when approving the county budget. It records the assessed value of the land and the structures on it. Every parcel of property in the county is recorded in the assessment roll by parcel number. The assessment roll (also called tax roll) includes the name and address of the owner of record, along with other information on each piece of property in the county.
Compass Bearings
Compass bearings are used to describe the direction of the boundary lines. If a straight line is drawn connecting north and south on a circle and another straight line is drawn perpendicular to it connecting east and west the result is a circle divided into four quadrants.The line connecting north and south is referred to as the PRIMARY REFERENCE LINE. Land descriptions begin by stating the primary reference direction (either north or south) then moving either east or west around the compass a specified number of degrees, up to a maximum of 90° (degrees). For example, a direction might specify north as the primary direction, an angle of 60° (degrees), and secondary direction of west. It would be presented as "North 60° West." Directions are given in degrees. A circle is divided into 360° (degrees). Directions are given with the use of the following symbols: Degrees: ° Minutes:' Seconds:" A 90° angle means that the axes are perpendicular to each other. Each degree can be subdivided into 60 minutes and each minute can be subdivided in 60 seconds. A direction using these subdivisions is presented as follows: North 60° 15' 20" West. Examples of correct directions are: N 45° 25' 20" E (North 45 degrees, 25 minutes, 20 seconds East) S 43° W N 85° E Examples of wrong directions are: E 34° S (the first reference must always be either N or S) N 98° W (angles under 90° degrees must be used)
Subdividing Sections
Each section is one square mile or 640 acres. All four sides are one mile long. Sections are divided in quarters: NW, NE, SW, and SE. Each quarter is 160 acres. (The north half of the section is equal to the south half; each is 320 acres in area.) Each quarter can be further subdivided into another four sections, each having a size of 40 acres. Subdivision into successively smaller parcels can be continued in this matter, making it theoretically possible to identify any tract of land that you are concerned with.
1. METES AND BOUNDS DESCRIPTION
Metes and bounds is a method of land description used by land surveyors. It details all the boundary lines of a parcel of land together with their terminal points and angles. It is one of the oldest methods of describing land. METES refer to distance, which is measured in feet; BOUNDS refer to direction (east, west, north, and south). A metes-and-bounds description begins from a reference point called a point of beginning (POB). From the point of beginning, the legal description gives the direction and the distances of the boundaries.
A. Range Lines
Parallel to the principal meridian it is possible to draw other vertical lines. These other vertical lines are called range lines.Ranges are six mile wide strips of land running north and south. They are numbered in relation to the principal meridian depending upon whether they go west or east. For example, the strip of land between the principal meridian and the parallel line passing 6 miles west is called Range 1 West or R1W. The strip of land between the principal meridian and the imaginary line parallel to it passing 6 miles east is called Range 1 East. R2W is the 6 mile wide vertical strip of land running north south between the Range 1 West and the Range 3 West.
USE OF THE SURVEY SYSTEM
Surveys are uncommon in the residential real estate business, but they are extremely useful when dealing with land transactions. They are used to establish and verify borders or to reveal encroachment or possible title defects, such as easements. A survey typically shows the measurements, boundaries, and contours of the land. Surveys rely on benchmarks as a starting point and for measuring elevations. Benchmarks are permanent, fixed marks that establish the elevation of a place. They are usually placed by government surveyors. To measure elevation, surveyors use a method called leveling. They set up a survey scope halfway between a point of known elevation (a benchmark) and the point for which an elevation is needed. An assistant holds a measuring rod on the benchmark. The point where the cross hairs of the scope fall on the rod is added to the elevation of the benchmark to yield the elevation of the instrument. The measuring rod is then moved to the point for which an elevation is needed. This reading is subtracted from the instrument elevation to compute the elevation of the new point.
ASSESSED VALUE OF LAND AND STRUCTURES
The assessed value of real property is used to levy taxes every year. Usually, the value of a structure is revised periodically. Each time that a property is sold or bought, the office of the county assessor may reappraise it. The county may also revise the assessed value of a property annually based on the average increase of property values in the county itself. Sometimes buyers will ask licensees to check the tax bill of the previous owner. As a general rule, this is usually not a good idea because it is hard to predict how the property tax may change. Taxes are assessed separately on the land and improvements. When buildings are constructed on leased land, the owner of the land pays taxes on the land and the owner of the building pays taxes only on the improvements.
Correction Lines and Guide Meridians
The government survey system divides the land as if it was flat. But if lines follow the curvature of the earth --as meridians and base lines do -- they converge at the earth's north and south poles. To correct this, the government uses lines drawn every 24 miles. If these lines are parallel to the principal meridian, they are called GUIDE MERIDIANS. If they are parallel to the base line, they are called CORRECTION LINES. The intersection of a correction line and a guide meridian forms a 24-by-24 mile square called a CHECK. Range lines and township lines were the result of surveys using the correction lines and guide meridians. Range lines run north and south parallel to the guide meridians at six mile intervals. Township lines run east and west, parallel to the correction lines at six mile intervals. As a result, monuments were established at six mile intervals to mark township and range lines.
GOVERNMENT SURVEY SYSTEM
The government survey system is a quick and practical way to subdivide the country's land by means of a grid of rectangular lines. The system, which was adopted in 1785, is also called the U.S. System of Rectangular Surveys or the rectangular method. It is used in all states except the original 13 states and Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Texas. The idea behind the government survey system is to make it possible to identify any point on a plane by reference to the intersection of two lines or axes. In the government survey system, the land is thought of as a plane and it is subdivided by vertical and horizontal lines. This system takes into account the curvature of the Earth by including a correction check.
Monuments
The point of beginning (POB) can be a man-made monument, like a bronze statue or may be a natural element like a tree or a rock. However, there are problems associated with the use of such objects. Trees may fall down; manmade monuments like railroads or churches may be removed or destroyed by natural forces. As a result, concrete monuments are now used as POBs for metes and bounds descriptions.These monuments are placed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or by private contractors.
FRACTIONAL SECTIONS AND GOVERNMENT LOTS
The size of a parcel can be measured by identifying a parcel in a section or by calculating its size with a fractional system as we have been doing so far. To identify a parcel, simply subdivide the section into quarters. The last quarter mentioned in the legal description is the larger section and the first one mentioned is the smallest. This is the reason the legal description NW 1/4 NE 1/4 SW 1/4 SE 1/4 is read the NW one quarter of the NE one quarter of the SW one quarter of the SE one quarter. In the government survey system, lots within a section which are irregular in size in comparison to the majority of other lots (often on the north or west boundaries of a township) are referred to as government lots. Also, sections which are intruded upon by the meander of a body of water or a metes and bounds claim are often referred to as government lots.
PLAT OF SURVEY METHOD
The third way to legally describe property is by using the plat survey method. It is also called the 'recorded plat method' and the 'lot and block method.' A plat map is the plan of a development superimposed on a land map. It divides a subdivision into large areas called blocks and smaller portions of land referred to as lots. It shows the details of the development including lot divisions, street locations, other improvements, and the actual dimensions for all of these. The plat map also shows the monuments placed by survey and provides the survey data needed to locate each lot, block, and street. Lots are often numbered for identification purposes, and blocks may be assigned letters. The plat map must be approved and recorded by the local municipality.
6-Mile Square Township
There are 2 separate meanings for the term township: 1. An east/west strip of land north or south of the base line. 2. The intersection between two township lines and two range lines, forming a 6 mile X 6 mile parcel of land. It is 36 square miles. A township in the second meaning is identified by the numbers of the range lines and township lines which form its boundaries. For example, a township just south of the Tallahassee base line and just west of the Tallahassee principal meridian is identified as T1S, R1W (Township 1 South, Range 1 West). The township just west of T1S, R1W is T1S, R2W, and so on. Because the township is a square with 6 mile sides, it has an area of 36 square miles and therefore can be subdivided into 36 one mile sections.
B. Township Lines
Township lines are horizontal lines running east to west every six miles. It creates a strip of land that runs parallel to the base line. In Florida, the intersection of the base line and principal meridian is in Tallahassee. The township line immediately south of the Tallahassee base line is defined as T1S (township one south), and the township line immediately north of the base line is defined as T1N (township one north).Townships are numbered progressively as they go south or north from the base line: T1S, T2S, T3S and T1N, T2N, T3N, and so on.Townships are also referred to as tiers.
Numbering the 36 Sections in a Township
Township sections are identified by a numbering system that moves from right (east) to left (west) and then reverses itself (from west to east) for the next row. Section number one is in the upper right or northeast corner. The numbering proceeds right to left (east to west) for sections 1-6. Section 7 is immediately south of section 6. Then the numbering proceeds left to right (west to east) for sections 7 through 12. Section 13 is immediately south of section 12 and the count proceeds in this zigzag pattern until it reaches section 36 in the southeast corner of the township. As the map shows, when you are in Section 1 of T1S, R1W, the section just east of you will be Section 6 of T1S, R1E. The section just west of you is Section 1 for T1S, R2W, and so on. </</center>
Primary Reference Lines
Using the latitude and longitude lines that form circles around the globe, the government survey system designates particular longitudes (north-south lines) as principal meridians and particular latitudes (east-west lines) as base lines. Over the continent of the United States, 36 sets of principal meridians and base lines intersect and form a grid or pattern of squares. In Florida, they intersect at a point in Tallahassee. The grids created using these primary reference lines can be subdivided by the following: A. Ranges B. Townships C. Correction lines D. Guide meridians
CONNECTING PARCELS
When two parcels of land that are not contiguous belong to the same legal description, the word "and" is used to link them. In calculating the size, the word "and" is equivalent to a "+". For example, NW 1/4, NE 1/4, SE 1/4, SW 1/4 and NE 1/4, NW 1/4, SW 1/4, SE 1/4 indicates two parcels of land that are not close to each other, each measuring 2.5 acres and having a total area of 5 acres. The calculation is done the same way, but each tract is calculated separately and then their totals are added: NW 1/4, NE 1/4, SE 1/4, SW 1/4 = 640 divided by 4 X 4 X 4 X 4 = 2.5. NE 1/4, NW 1/4, SW 1/4, SE 1/4 = 640 divided by 4 X 4 X 4 X 4 = 2.5. Total area = 2.5 + 2.5 = 5.
Calculating Size
You can calculate the size of a piece of land from the legal description, even if it is not expressly stated on the surveyor report. Descriptions are usually written as follows: NW 1/4, NE 1/4, SW 1/4, and SE 1/2. To understand the description, think of a section. The description tells you which part of the section you are seeking to measure. In this case, it is the NW 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of the SE 1/2. The size can be calculated by multiplying 640 acres (the area of a section) by all of the fractions in the description, beginning with the last fraction in the description: Size = 640 acres (area of a section) X all the fractions in the description. 640 X (1/2) X (1/4) X (1/4) X (1/4) = 5 acres This calculation is done in either of two ways. 1. Convert the fractions into decimals and multiply 640 X .5 X .25 X .25 X .25. 2. Multiply the denominators (the bottom number) of each fraction: 2 X 4 X 4 X 4 = 128. Then, divide 640 by 128. If the parcel has a legal description NW 1/2, NE 1/2, SW 1/4, SE 1/4, you can perform the calculation with either of the following methods: 1. Convert the fractions into decimals and multiply 640 X .25 X .25 X .5 X .5 = 10 2. Multiply the denominators: 4 X 4 X 2 X 2 = 64. 640 divided by 64 = 10.