Methods Of Land Description

1 township

36 sq miles=

1 acre

43,560 square feet=

1 Mile

5,280 feet=

Land Paracel

Each ____ is non-homogeneous, that it occupies a specific physical area, a location that is uniquely its own

Bearing method

It makes use of the degrees in a circle to calculate direction. A circle has 360 degrees. A degree can be broken down into 60 minutes, and a minute can be broken down into 60 seconds for more specific measurements. There are 90 degrees in a quarter circle. Example: Beginning at the intersection of the west side of Primrose Avenue with the south side of Angel Lane, thence running at an angle south 78 degrees west 318 feet, thence at an angle south 8 degrees east 510 feet, thence at an angle north 70 degrees east 580 feet to the west side of Primrose Avenue, thence at an angle north 40 degrees west along the west side of Primrose Avenue to the point of beginning.

T/F: Duplications, omissions, and other inconsistencies also reduce the descriptive value of street addresses. Street numbers change over the years. Sometimes street names change, as well.

True

T/F: From a legal point of view, street addresses are the least acceptable form of property description.

True

T/F: The monuments and markings method works fine as long as creeks aren't re-channeled, trees cut down, boulders removed, lands regraded, and cowpaths paved over with asphalt. Whatever its value in an earlier age, the monuments and markings method has today been supplanted by other, more sophisticated ways of describing land.

True

Lot, block, tract

Which method is most often used in subdivisions?

Townships

are formed by the intersection of range lines and township lines. It is the basic unit of subdivision in the rectangular survey system

the subdivision method

The Lot, Block and Tract Method is also sometimes called:

1 section

1 square mile=

640 acres

1 square mile=

1/4 section

160 acres=

1 acre

208.71ft x 208.71 ft=

Lot, block, and tract

A description that reads "Lot 5, Block B, Wildwood Heights" would be which type of description?

metes and bounds

A method of describing land which starts at one point on the property line and proceeds around the perimeter of the property is:

Metes

A term that refers to linear measurements is:

Government survey

Another name for Rectangular Survey is:

monuments and markings method

Before the development of the three modern systems of land descriptions, the ____ was used

Defining its location

Describing land is largely a matter of

0, 90

Directions in metes and bounds descriptions are given in conventional compass terms. Property boundaries are described as running so many degrees east or west of true north or south. North and south are __ degree references; east and west are __ degree references

correction line

Every fourth township line serves as a

Sections

Every township is subdivided into 36 square parcels called

section lines

In the Rectangular Survey System the smallest divisions of land are created by:

southeast quarter

In which quarter of section 28 would the tract of land described as the S½ of the SW ¼ of the NW ¼ of the SE ¼ lie?

uniqueness of place

One of the things that sets land apart from other types of real estate is its

NOTE

Range lines run at six-mile intervals on either side of and parallel to each principal meridian. The six-mile strips of land between the range lines are known as ranges. Ranges are used to determine how far east or west of the principal meridian a specific area of survey lies. Ranges are numbered outward from the principal meridian in the manner R1E, R2E, that is Range 1 East, Range 2 East, and so forth. Township lines run at six-mile intervals on north and south of, and parallel to baselines. The six-mile wide strips of land between the township lines are known as township rows or tiers. Rows are numbered outward from the baseline in the manner of T1N, T2N, that is, Township 1 North, Township 2 North, and so forth.,

Government survey

Rectangular Survey is also sometimes called

1 square mile, or 640 acres

Sections measure a mile on each side and therefore have an area of ________The sections in any given township are numbered consecutively to 36, always starting at the township's far northeast corner and counting west across the top row, and so on until the section in the far southeast, which is always the last to be numbered, has been reached.

sectional acres

Sections that are not full sections containing 640 acres are called:

True

T/F: Sections can also be divided into half or quarter sections. To quarter a section, horizontal and vertical bisection is used. Each quarter section is identified directionally: northwest quarter (NW ¼ ); southwest quarter (SW ¼ ); southeast quarter (SE ¼ ); and northeast quarter (NE ¼ ).

True

T/F: While legal descriptions proceed from smaller to larger units of subdivision, it is usually easier to find a specific parcel by reversing the order of reading, that is, by working from larger to smaller units. By working backwards, step by step, one will eventually locate the parcel or parcels described.

True

T/F: in any given area, one principal meridian and one baseline will provide the necessary reference points for all survey measurements

True

T/F:Plat books are open to public inspection. For example, the following illustration of Lot 5, Block B, Wildwood Heights Subdivision, Section 1, recorded in Book 8, Page 42, of Maps, June 18, 1948, Parish of East Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

True

T/F:Since every section contains 640 acres, every quarter section has an area one-fourth as large, or 160 acres. The progressive subdivision of sections is an essential feature of the rectangular survey system. The quarter sections can be further quartered to an area of 40 acres each.

6 miles

The distance between township lines is

Street Address

The most common, as well as the least formal way of describing land, is by

Rectangular survey

The symbol "T3SR2E" would be found in which method of land description?

6 miles, 36 square miles

Theoretically each township measures ____ on each side and has an area of _____ However, this does not always hold true, for example, along coastlines the boundaries of the township will necessarily be irregular.

1.Metes and Bounds 2.Rectangular Survey 3.Lot, Block, and Tract

There are three more formal, precise ways of describing land which are used in the United States today. Each will be discussed in detail in this chapter. They are

Plat of survey

This is a specialized map that accurately delineates the boundaries of individual land parcels within a given area of subdivision. The plat results from a precise initial survey in which all land in a subdivision tract is divided into streets and blocks, and the blocks themselves into smaller lots - thus the name lot, block, and tract. Lots are numbered and the blocks lettered for identification.

T/F: Townships are identified according to their location in a specific range and a specific township row or tier. Thus, every township has a two-part identity. For example, the township lying in the third tier south of any baseline and in the second range west of any principal meridian would be known as T3S, R2W, that is, township 3 south, range 2 west. The tier location always precedes the range location.

True

Metes & Bounds

description is the earliest form of legal descriptions used in the United States, directly descended from the monuments and markings method. This method makes use of the boundaries and measurements of the land in question. Fixed objects, called monuments, are often used to establish real estate boundaries.

Set back instructions

determine how far back from the boundaries of a lot houses or other improvements must be placed in order to conform with local building ordinances. Locations of easements, both public and private, are also recorded in many plats, as well as various types of deed restriction.

Street address

gives minimal descriptive information. A number designation on a street may direct you to a given lot, but it cannot tell you anything about the lot's size, shape or relation to other lots, or to a general point of reference.

The Louisiana, and the St. Helena

in Louisiana we have two principal meridians, the ___ and the ___ and one baseline.

Lot, Block, Tract

is designed to do what rectangular survey cannot - provide efficient, easily read and understood descriptions for small urban and suburban properties.

Reading and interpreting legal descriptions

is part of the everyday business of the real estate professional.

monuments and markings method

it is still used occasionally today, primarily in inaccessible or undeveloped rural areas. it uses natural and artificial landmarks and features as points of reference for property descriptions. The results are often more colorful than precise Example: Beginning at the old oak tree at the south end of Farmer Brown's farm, the property line proceeds to the sharp bend in Squash Creek, thence to the well twenty rods southeast, thence along the cowpath till it comes to the large boulder that looks like a turtle shell, thence returning to the old tree at the south end of Farmer Brown's farm.

Metes

refers to the units of linear measure used to determine distances. Such a legal descriptions usually begins, and finally ends, at a definite designated place called the point of beginning, or POB.

to find out how many acres are in the land being described

start with 640 and divide by each of the denominators in the fractions. For example, there are 3 fractions in the description and each of them is ¼, so you will divide by 4, three times. 640 divided by 4 = 160. 160 divided by 4 = 40. 40 divided by 4 = 10. You have 10 acres.

Plat of survey

the characteristic feature of lot, block, and tract is the

Plat book

the dimensions, and often boundary angles, of individual lots are recorded 'metes and bounds' style in the survey plat. The plat is then filed in a public government office, usually the county recorder's office, where it is kept in what is called a

principal merdians, baselines

the vertical lines are called ____ and they run north and south. The horizontal lines run east and west and are called ____. There are 36 principal meridians and 32 baselines in all.

arpent

~192ft x 192 ft or 5/6 acre =