Unit 4

Benchmark

A permanent reference mark or point established for use by surveyors in measuring differences in elevation.

Rectangular Survey System

A system established in 1785 by the federal government, providing for surveying and describing land by reference to principal meridians and base lines.

Legal descriptions should not

be created, altered, or combined without adequate information from a surveyor or title attorney. In Pennsylvania, a land surveyor is a licensed professional who is an expert in measurement and boundary issues.

Quiz

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

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.

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.

Datum

A datum is a point, line, or surface from which elevations are measured or indicated. For the purposes of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), datum is defined as the mean sea level at New York Harbor. However, virtually all large cities have local official datum that is used instead of the USGS datum. A surveyor would use a datum in determining the height of a structure or establishing the grade of a street. In Practice All large cities have established a local official datum used in place of the USGS datum. For instance, the official datum for Chicago is known as the Chicago City Datum. It is a horizontal plane that corresponds to the low-water level of Lake Michigan in 1847 (the year in which the datum was established) and is considered to be at zero elevation. Although a surveyor's measurement of elevation based on the USGS datum will differ from one computed according to a local datum, it can be translated to an elevation based on the USGS. Cities with local datums also have designated official local benchmarks, which are assigned permanent identifying numbers. Local benchmarks simplify surveyors' work because the basic benchmarks may be miles away.

Datum

A horizontal plane from which heights and depths are measured.Datum A horizontal plane from which heights and depths are measured.

Metes-and-bounds Description

A legal description of a parcel of land that begins at a well-marked point and follows the boundaries, using directions and distances around the tract, back to the place of beginning.

Methods of Describing Real Estate

A street address, while usually enough to find the location of a particular building, is not precise enough to describe legal ownership. Addresses change as streets are renamed, or rural roads might become public streets in growing communities. Sales contracts, deeds, and mortgages require a more specific (or legally sufficient) description of property to be binding. A legal description is a detailed way of describing a parcel of land for documents such as deeds and mortgages that will be accepted in a court of law. The description is based on information collected through a survey—the process by which boundaries are measured by calculating the dimensions and area to determine the exact location of a piece of land. Courts have stated that a description is legally sufficient if it allows a surveyor to locate the parcel. In this context, locate means that the surveyor must be able to define the exact boundaries of the property. A street address will not tell a surveyor how large the property is or where it begins and ends. Several alternative systems of identification have been developed to express a legal description of real estate.

Benchmarks

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.Benchmarks 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.

A lot-and-block

Description 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...

The metes-and-bounds description

Is 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 (872.8) feet to an iron pin, the place of beginning, containing an area of 6.74 acres. BEING a portion of Tract No. 12 of the premises granted and conveyed to the Grantors herein by Deed of Betroblen Realty, Inc., dated January 6, 1986, and recorded in Clinton County Deed Book 295, Page 191. Metes-and-Bounds Tract

Measuring Elevations

Just as surface rights must be identified, surveyed, and described, so must rights to the property above the earth's surface. Recall from Unit 1 that land includes the space above the ground. In the same way land may be measured and divided into parcels, the air itself may also be divided. An owner may subdivide the air above the land into air lots. Air lots are composed of airspace within specific boundaries located over a parcel of land. The condominium laws passed in all states require that a registered land surveyor prepare a plat map that shows the elevations of floor and ceiling surfaces and the vertical boundaries of each unit with reference to an official datum. A unit's floor, for instance, might be 60 feet above the datum and its ceiling, 69 feet. Typically, a separate plat is prepared for each floor in the condominium building. In Pennsylvania Pennsylvania's condominium property acts require that a registered land surveyor prepare a plat showing the elevations of floors and ceilings on a vertical plane and the boundaries of a condominium unit with reference to an official datum. Typically, a separate plat will be prepared for each floor in the condominium building. The following is an example of the legal description of a condominium apartment unit that includes a fractional share of the common elements of the building and land: THAT certain Unit in the property known, named and identified in the Declaration Plan referred to below as King's Arms Condominium, situate in the Village of Westover, Hampden Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, which has been submitted to the provisions of the Unit Property Act of Pennsylvania, Act of July 3, 1963, P.L. 196 (68 P.S. ß700.101 et seq.), by recording in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, of a Declaration dated May 20, 1975, recorded in Miscellaneous Book 215, Page 836, and a Declaration Plan dated May 21, 1975, recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of Cumberland County in Plan Book 26, Page 70 and a Code of Regulations, being Exhibit "B" of said Declaration, described as follows: BEING and designated on the Declaration Plan as Unit A3, detached garage, said garage designated on the Declaration Plan as Unit A3G, together with an undivided interest appurtenant to the Unit in all Common Elements (as defined in the Declaration) of 5.26%. THE Unit is municipally known and numbered as Three King's Arms, Village of Westover, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. BEING the same premises which Pennsboro Homes, Inc., by Deed dated August 1, 1975, recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of Cumberland County in Deed Book E, Volume 26, Page 359, granted and conveyed unto Thomas D. Smith, Seller herein. Subsurface rights can be legally described in the same manner as air rights. However, they are measured below the datum rather than above it. Subsurface descriptions are used not only for coal mining, petroleum drilling, and utility line location but also for multistory condominiums—both residential and commercial—that have several floors below ground level.

Preparing a Survey

Legal descriptions should not be altered or combined without adequate information from a surveyor or title attorney. In Pennsylvania, a land surveyor is a licensed professional who is trained and authorized to locate and determine the legal description of any parcel of land. The surveyor does this by preparing two documents: a survey and a survey sketch. The survey states the property's legal description. The survey sketch shows the location and dimensions of the parcel. When a survey also shows the location, size, and shape of buildings on the lot, it is referred to as a spot survey (see Spot Survey).

Which lot has the MOST frontage on Jasmine Lane

The answer is lot 1, Block A. Lot 10, Block B has 70 feet frontage; Lot 11, Block B has 120 feet frontage; Lot 1, Block A has 145 feet frontage and Lot 2, Block A has 120 feet frontage. Therefore, Lot 1, Block A has the most frontage.

Returning to the POB

The description must close by returning to the POB. Metes-and-bounds descriptions are complicated. They can be difficult to understand when they include detailed compass directions or concave and convex lines. Sometimes the lines are curved on an arc or radius that becomes part of the description. Natural deterioration or destruction of the monuments in a description can make boundaries difficult to identify. Technological advances, such as the use of computers, lasers, satellites, and global positioning systems have meant a resurgence in property descriptions using points of reference or metes-and-bounds descriptions.

Base Line

The 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.

Principal Meridian

The main imaginary line running north and south and crossing a base line at a definite point, used by surveyors for reference in locating and describing land under the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.

Township

The principal unit of the rectangular (government) survey system. A township is a square with six-mile sides and an area of 36 square miles.

Survey

The process by which boundaries are measured and land areas are determined; the onsite measurement of lot lines, dimensions, and position of a house on a lot, including the determination of any existing encroachments or easements.

Rectangular (government) survey system

The rectangular survey system, sometimes called the government survey method, was established in 1785 to standardize the description of land acquired by the newly formed federal government. By dividing the land into rectangles, the survey provided land descriptions by describing the rectangle(s) in which the land was located. The system is based on sets of two intersecting lines: principal meridians and base lines. The principal meridians run north and south, and the base lines run east and west. Both are located by reference to degrees of longitude and latitude. Each principal meridian has a name or number and is crossed by a base line. Each principal meridian and its corresponding base line are used to survey a definite area of land indicated on the map by boundary lines. There are 37 principal meridians in the United States. Land parallel to meridians and base lines is divided into ranges and townships, respectively, forming imaginary squares, known as townships. Townships are further divided into sections, then into fractions of sections. Each township contains 36 sections; each section is one mile square or 640 acres. These descriptions frequently combine with metes-and-bounds or lot-and-block descriptions to define smaller or irregularly shaped parcels of land. Again, Pennsylvania does not describe land using the rectangular survey system.

A metes-and-bounds

description 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 block The 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 number Name or number of the subdivision plat Name of the county and state

Legal descriptions

should be copied with extreme care. An incorrectly worded legal description in a sales contract may result in a conveyance of more or less land than the parties intended. For example, damages suffered from an incorrect description could be extensive if buildings and improvements need to be moved because the land upon which the improvements were made is not owned. Often, even punctuation is extremely critical. Title problems can arise for the buyer who seeks to convey the property at a future date. Even if the contract can be corrected before the sale is closed, the licensee risks losing a commission and may be held liable for damages suffered by an injured party because of an improperly worded legal description. It is very important for licensees to be aware of various surveys and their uses. Not all surveys include surveyor liability and warranties of accuracy. Some surveys, such as an Improvement Location Certificate (ILC), are not full surveys. An ILC is prepared in a shorter time frame and at less cost. It provides only the location of the structures and improvements as related to property boundaries. It is important to know and understand land units and measurements because they are an integral part of legal descriptions. Some commonly used measurements are listed in Units of Land Measurement. The acre, mile, and foot are most useful in the metes and bounds descriptions while the rectangular survey system references sections and townships.

Although surveys are not legally required

to transfer title to real estate, surveys are used in a variety of situations. They are required when a portion of a tract of land is conveyed. Lenders require surveys to identify with certainty the real estate to be used as security for a mortgage loan.