Chp 11

government suvery

A government survey description describes a parcel in reference to survey grids imposed by the United States government. There are several dozen grids, each with its own prime meridian and base line.

Metes and bounds

A metes and bounds description describes a parcel by describing the length and direction of each side of the property's perimeter.

acquiescence or agreement

A property's boundary may be determined under the agreed boundary doctrine, in which the parties make an express or implied agreement as to where the boundary line is located. The parties may put this into writing, in the form of a boundary line agreement.

Recorded Map

A recorded map description makes reference to a plat map of a subdivision that is recorded in the recorder's office of the county where the property is located. The property is described in terms of its lot and block number.

Recording Procedures

A written copy of the document should be recorded in the county where the property is located. The document may need to be acknowledged, and the person recording the document will need to pay a recording fee.

Air Lot

An air lot (such as a condominium unit) must be described in terms of its elevation as well as its location on the ground. Elevation may be described in reference to a bench mark or datum.

Recorded Documents

Any instrument that affects ownership or possession of real property can be recorded, such as deeds, land contracts, long-term leases, lis pendens, mechanic's liens, mortgages, and deeds of trust.

Typical Poblems

Common problems with land descriptions include incorrect or ambiguous descriptions, omissions from descriptions, disagreements between adjacent owners over boundary lines, and discrepancies between original survey lines and modern surveys.

Point of beginning

Every metes and bounds description must have a point of beginning, which may be a monument or make reference to a monument. The last leg of the description must conclude by returning to the point of beginning.

possession

Examining who is actually in possession of the property is a potential solution to an unclear or incomplete land description.

Original Survery

If a property is resurveyed and errors are found, the boundaries will still be based on the incorrect assumptions of the original government survey.

Rancho

Many areas in California were once ranchos, large grants of land made during the 1700s and 1800s, when California was controlled by Spain and Mexico. Ranchos were excluded from the original government survey system, and a legal description of property that was once in a rancho should make reference to the rancho.

Priority

Recording is based on a race-notice system, where the first person to record a document (without having notice of any competing interest) is generally considered to have the superior claim. An interest created later but recorded first may take priority if the second party had no knowledge of the first interest and paid value for the property.

Reformation

Reformation may be used to resolve a land description problem if the transferor of the property is willing to execute a new deed that contains the correct description.

township

The basic unit of the government survey method is the township, which is located at the intersection of a township tier and a range. A township is six miles on each side, or 36 square miles.

practical location

The doctrine of practical location states that if, at the time of a sale, the parties accept a marked boundary as the dividing line between properties, then that will be the boundary, even if it differs from the description in the deed.

Notice

The purpose of recording is to provide notice to the world of the interest established in the instrument. Recording provides constructive notice (the legal presumption that a person knows a fact, whether or not she actually does).