Chapter 2 Characteristics of Real Property
What is an example of a metes and bounds system?
"Beginning at an iron pipe marked A, common to the southwest corner of Section 14 and the northeast corner of Section 15, and thence running South 8 degrees 15 minutes East 75 feet to a pipe marked B, thence North 78 degrees 27 minutes East 34 3/10 feet to a pipe marked C, thence North 11 degrees 28 minutes West 74 9/10 feet to a pipe marked D, thence South 78 degrees 27 minutes West 30 2/10 feet to the place of beginning containing 2410.7 square feet, more or less."
What are the 3 accepted methods of legally describing parcels of real estate?
1. Metes and bounds - a system which uses physical features of the local geography, along with directions and distances, to define and describe the boundaries of a parcel of land 2. Rectangular survey system, or government survey method - a system of describing land by referring to meridians and baselines 3. Lot and block method, or recorded plat method - a system used to locate and identify land, particularly for lots in densely populated metropolitan areas, suburban areas, and areas beyond the suburbs
What is a quick method of calculating the acreage of a parcel from its legal description?
1. Multiply the denominators of the fractional descriptions together. 2. Divide 640 by the resulting number.
Other private parties can exert their rights and interests on one's real property. What is an example of this?
A bank, for example, can take a property if the owner fails to pay a mortgage. A neighbor can claim the right to walk across one's property whether the owner likes it or not, provided he or she has done so for a certain number of years.
What is a location survey?
A boundary survey with the additional location of all the interior improvements. Missing corner markers are replaced. The surveyor will prepare a map showing the boundaries and improvements. This type of survey may be required for obtaining a loan.
What is the size in acres of a subsection of a township?
A fraction of 640 acres, since there are 640 acres in a section. EX. For example, the NE 1/4 of Section 8 is one quarter section. Thus, its acreage is one quarter of 640, or 160 acres. Going further, the S 1/2 of the NE 1/4 is one half of that one quarter, or 80 acres.
What are the 2 basic residential surveys?
A house location survey, which is also sometimes called a drive-by survey, is designed to show the location of the house and other large structures on the property, as well as the orientation of those structures in relation to each other Often called cadastral land surveys, typically contain much more information. While house location maps give property owners a sense of what is present and where, a cadastral document shows exactly where boundaries, easements, and property lines are located. Surveyors typically go to the property and make real-time measurements, which are compared with archived land records to create a more complete picture of what is located where.
Solid minerals, such as gold and silver, can easily be extracted by the property owner. These minerals are deemed real property until they are removed from the earth and become personal property. As we said earlier, the owner could also choose to sell off the mineral rights separately. It's important to remember that the purchaser of any mineral rights automatically gets an implied easement to come onto the property to remove the minerals.
A landowner might sell off his or her rights to any specific mineral found in the land, but keep the rights to all other minerals. That would provide two different ownerships in one piece of real estate. If another resource is found on the property, the landowner may sell the rights to that as well, creating a third party interest in the real estate.
Why is land immobile?
A parcel of land cannot be moved from one site to another. In other words, the geographical location of a tract of land is fixed and cannot be changed. One can transport portions of the land such as mined coal, dirt, or cut plants. However, as soon as such elements are detached from the land they are no longer considered land.
What is a parcel or tract?
A portion of land delineated by boundaries is considered a parcel or tract.
What are not good ways to describe property?
A street address is normally not considered an accurate description of property Tax lot numbers can be repeated on many quarter section maps, and the lot numbers can and do change without notice. Consequently, it is not a good idea to use the property description found on a property tax bill. The best course of action is to use the correct legal description whenever possible
What are townships in rectangular survey system?
A township is the area enclosed by the intersection of two consecutive meridians and two consecutive parallels. Since the parallels and meridians are six miles apart, a township is a square with six miles on each side. Its area is therefore 36 square miles.
What is a simple definition of real estate?
Air, water, land, and everything affixed to the land. Real estate in the United States may be owned privately by individuals and private entities, or publicly by government entities.
What lot and block system?
Also called the recorded plat method, is used to describe properties in residential, commercial, and industrial subdivisions. This is the method most frequently used in metropolitan areas.
Appurtenant rights can be sold separately. What does this mean?
An owner can, for example, transfer subsurface rights without transferring air rights. Similarly, an owner can rent air space without encumbering surface or subsurface rights. This might occur in a city where adjoining building owners want to construct a walkway over a third owner's lot. Such owners would have to acquire the air rights for the walkway. If the city wants to construct a subway through the owner's subsurface, the city has to obtain the subsurface rights to do so.
What do surface rights include?
Apply to the real estate contained within the surface boundaries of the parcel. This includes the ground, all natural things affixed to the ground, and all improvements. Surface rights also include water rights. It basically pertains to the surface of the earth. Surface rights do not necessarily give a landowner right to the subsurface or the air.
How was CA surveyed?
Before it became a state in 1850, CA was surveyed with the boundaries of Spanish and Mexican land grants (ranchos) described only approximately. However, since statehood the PLSS system has been used mostly throughout.
What does the metes and bounds system describe?
Begins with an identification of the city, county, and state where the property is located. Next, it identifies the POB and describes the distance and direction from the POB to the first monument, and then to subsequent monuments that define the property's enclosed perimeter.
What are land surveys used to assess?
Boundaries for properties Topography for engineering designs Outline elevations for flood insurance for home sites Title for real estate transactions, subdivisions and other construction projects
Federal flood insurance legislation require?
Certain homeowners to obtain flood insurance policies. Federal laws, such as the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, prohibit discrimination in housing based on race, religion, color, or national origin. Such laws as the Americans with Disabilities Act, prescribe design and accessibility standards.
What is a trade fixture and what is it also called?
Chattel fixtures Items of a tenant's personal property that the tenant has temporarily affixed to a landlord's real property in order to conduct business. Trade fixtures may be detached and removed before, or upon surrender, of the leased premises. Should the tenant fail to remove a trade fixture, it may become the property of the landlord through accession. Thereafter, the fixture is considered real property. Ex. Grocer's food freezers, a merchant's clothes racks, a tavern owner's bar, a dairy's milking machines, and a printer's printing press.
What is conversion?
Conversion is the act of transforming real to personal property through severance, or personal to real property through affixing.
How was the original datum described?
Defined by the U.S. Geological Survey as mean sea level at New York harbor.
What are emblements?
Emblements are plants or crops considered personal property since human intervention is necessary for planting and harvesting.
What do state governments establish with real estate?
Establish real estate license laws and qualifications. In addition, state governments have established real estate commissions to administer license laws and oversee activities of licensees. They also exert regional influence in the usage and environmental control of real estate within the state. Relevant state laws might include laws relating to flood zones, waste disposal, drainage control, shore preservation, and pollution standards. States also play a role in defining how real property may be owned, transferred, encumbered, and inherited Ex. in some states a mortgaged property becomes the legal property of the lender until the mortgage loan is paid. States have the power to levy real estate taxes, but generally pass this power to local government.
What does the Environmental Protection Agency establish?
Establishes protective usage restrictions and guidelines for dealing with hazardous materials and other environmental concerns.
After a manufactured or mobile home has been fastened to a permanent foundation, no one may remove it from the foundation unless what?
Everyone with an interest in the property gives consent to removing it. The California Department of Housing and Community Development receives notice of the intent to remove it at least 30 days before it is removed.
True or false: County and local governments, along with school districts and other local jurisdictions, do not have the power to levy real estate taxes.
False, they do have the power
What does the description of a recorded plat property include?
First presents the property's lot number or letter, then the block identifier and the subdivision name. After the map is recorded, making reference to the lot and block number on the particular map is an acceptable legal description for the lot. For example: "Lot 7, Block 8 of the Grand Oaks Subdivision in the city of Anaheim, county of Orange, state of California, as shown on the map recorded in Book 8, Pages 40-42 of Maps, in the office of the County Recorder of Orange County."
What are fixtures?
Fixtures are real property converted from personal property by attachment to real estate.
What is Geographic Positioning System?
GPS surveys use portable receiving antennas to gather data transmitted from satellites which are used to calculate the position of the object being located on the surface of the earth. The receiving antennas can be miles apart and still obtain very accurate data. GPS surveys are used to establish coordinate control points for the State Plane Coordinate Systems, large boundary surveys, and subdivision surveys. It can also be used to collect data for Geographic Information Systems / Land Information Systems (GIS/LIS), such as the location of streets, homes, businesses, electric, phone & gas utilities, water & sewer systems, property lines' soil & vegetation types, water; courses, etc. This data can be used in future planning, preservation and development.
What does the right to exclude from a property mean?
Gives the property owner the legal right to keep others off the property and to prosecute trespassers.
What is a legal description that identifies property?
Identifies the property as unique and distinct from all other properties.
Permanently-affixed manufactured and mobile homes require a licensed real estate person to list and sell, unless the owner plans to sell on his or her own. Manufactured and mobile homes that are not permanently affixed are, as we said, personal property can be sold without a license and are subject to sales tax.
If a licensee wants to list and sell a manufactured or mobile home that is considered personal property, that licensee may do so only if the home has been registered with the Department of Housing and Community Development. A California licensee may not list and sell a new unregistered manufactured or mobile home.
What is adaptation in real estate?
If an item is uniquely adapted to the property, or the property is custom-designed to accommodate the item, it may be deemed real property whether the item is easily removable or not. Ex. House keys, a garbage compactor, and a removable door screen
What is functionality in real estate?
If an item is vital to the operation of the building, it may be deemed a fixture, even though perhaps easily removable. Ex. Window-unit air conditioners and detachable solar panels
Original intention can override the test of movability in determining whether an item is a fixture or not. What does this mean?
If someone attached an item to real property, yet intended to remove it after a period of time, the article may be deemed personal property. If a person intended an article to be a fixture, even though the item is easily removable, the article may be deemed a fixture. Ex.An apartment renter installs an alarm system, fully intending to remove the system upon lease expiration. Here, the alarm system would be considered personal property.
What are the 3 characteristics of land?
Immobility, indestructibility, and heterogeneity
What are man-made structures attached to the land called?
Improvements
What are the man-made structures attached to the land are called?
Improvements Ex. fences, streets, buildings, wells, sewers, sidewalks and piers.
What is property?
In common understanding, property is something that is owned by someone. From a more technical standpoint, property is not only the item that is owned but also a set of rights to the item enjoyed by the owner.
What does land include?
Includes minerals beneath the earth's surface, water on or below the earth's surface, and the air above the surface. In addition, land includes all plants attached to the ground, or in the ground, such as trees and grass. A parcel, or tract, of land is a portion of land delineated by boundaries.
The rectangular survey system works well for describing large properties that are square or rectangular in shape, since these can be described as fractional sections. What is it not good for describing?
Irregular shaped property, such as one that has many directional sides, or abuts water, the rectangular system is inadequate as a method of full legal description. When describing such a property, the full description would then include a metes and bounds or lot and block description, along with the actual township or section location.
What were some difficulties with the metes and bounds systems?
Irregular shapes for properties make for much more complex descriptions. Eventually, the descriptions become challenging as the landscape changes trees die or streams move by erosion. It wasn't useful for the large, newly surveyed tracts of land being opened in the west, which were being sold sight unseen to investors.
What is a legal description of real property?
Is one which accurately locates and identifies the boundaries of the subject parcel to a degree acceptable by courts of law in the state where the property is located.
What are the characteristics of personal property?
It is moveable, destructible, and homogenous - meaning there can be many pieces of personal property that are exactly the same.
What are the bundle of rights?
It is not only the item that is owned but also a set of rights to the item enjoyed by the owner.
What is the Land Ordinance of 1785?
It was the beginning of the Public Land Survey System. Congress was severely in debt after the Declaration of Independence and had very little power to tax, so the federal government decided to use the sale of the Western Territories to pay off the war debt. It has been expanded and slightly modified by documents that were issued by the General Land Office and the Bureau of Land Management and is still used in most of the states west of Pennsylvania, south to Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, west to the Pacific Ocean, and north into Alaska.
The legal concept of real estate encompasses what?
Land all man-made structures that are "permanently" attached to the land
What is the boundary survey and what is it also referred as?
Land Survey Plat A boundary survey locates and verifies all property corners and boundaries, shows the location of all improvements in relation to the property lines, includes an area of the overall property and shows any existing encroachments. The survey will also note any error between the found monumentation and the platted location of monuments. (Monumentation is the establishment of permanent on-the-ground objects that mark exact locations of surveyed points and lines.) All easements as platted or of record are shown in detail as well. Interior improvements such as buildings, drives, etc., are not located on this survey. Along with the location and description of all existing monuments, any missing property corners are also re-set as part of this process.
What do subsurface rights apply to?
Land beneath the surface of the real estate parcel extending from its surface boundaries downward to the center of the earth. Notable subsurface rights are the rights to extract mineral, oil and gas deposits, and subsurface water from the water table.
What are the physical characteristics of land?
Land has three unique physical characteristics: immobility, indestructibility, and heterogeneity.
County and local government regulation focuses on what and has the power to do what?
Land use control, control of improvements, and taxation. Land use regulations and ordinances control how all property within the jurisdiction may be developed, improved, demolished, and managed. County and local governments have the power to zone land, take over land for the public good, issue building permits, and establish the rules for all development projects.
What is the rule of capture?
Landowner is entitled to all the oil & gas he may bring to the surface even if he causes migration or drainage from another's land If the neighbor wants to protect his or her own interests in the oil or gas, that neighbor must drill an offset well to prevent all of the gas or oil from traveling to just one well.
Each piece of land is supported by all the land around it. Landowners have the right to the natural support that is provided by any land next to or under his or her property. What are the 2 kinds of support?
Lateral support and subjacent support.
To institute the rectangular survey system, what was used?
Latitudinal (east-west) and longitudinal (north-south) lines. The objective was to create uniform grids of squares, called townships, which would have equal size and be given a numerical reference for identification.
An up-to-date property survey will reflect any recent changes to the property. This includes what?
Like the addition of a fence, garage, driveway, or additional buildings. It will also report use changes, like the transition from a hotel to a restaurant. The report gives everyone involved in a land transfer a clear picture of exactly what is being purchased, as well as an up-to-date sense of the land's real-time value, taking inflation and current land prices into account.
What is the legality of littoral rights?
Littoral rights concern properties abutting bodies of water that are not moving, such as lakes and seas. Owners of properties abutting a navigable, non-moving body of water enjoy the littoral right of use, but do not own the water or the land beneath the water. Ownership extends to the high-water mark of the body of water. The legal premise underlying the definition of littoral rights is that a lake or sea is a navigable body of water, therefore, public property owned by the state. By contrast, a body of water entirely contained within the boundaries of an owner's property is not navigable. In such a case, the owner would own the water, as well as, unrestricted rights of usage. Littoral rights attach to the property. When the property is sold, the littoral rights transfer with the property to the new owner.
Buyers and sellers both usually want a comprehensible picture of where borders and easements are, and setting precise boundaries can also help when it comes to setting a reasonable price.
Many local laws and ordinances actually require sellers to include official surveys in their sale documents, too. This creates a permanent, official record, and it can also help avoid mistakes or fraud.
What does the right to encumber a property mean?
Means the right to mortgage the property as collateral for debt. There may be restrictions to this right, such as a spouse's right to limit the degree to which a homestead may be mortgaged.
What does the term metes refer to? Bounds?
Metes: distance and direction Bounds: fixed reference points, or monuments and landmarks, which may be natural and artificial. Natural landmarks include trees, rocks, rivers, and lakes. Artificial landmarks are typically surveyor stakes.
Since most property owners do not have the expertise to extract oil or gas from under their property, they typically enter into lease agreements with professional companies to remove the gas or oil.
Most leases generally provide for an upfront cash payment to the landowner along with royalties paid based on the amount of gas or oil that is extracted. The lease is granted for a specific period of time, but cannot last longer than 99 years.
What is the General Land Office (GLO)?
Much of the actual surveying was done in the nineteenth century under a contract system managed by the GLO
In CA a manufactured home will be considered real property only if the owner does all of what?
Obtains a building permit Acquires a certificate of occupancy Records a document specifying that the home has been attached to a permanent foundation
What are the Ohio Lands?
Ohio was surveyed in several major subdivisions each with its own meridian and baseline.
What are some non-solid minerals?
Oil and gas
What is the definition of personal property?
Ownership of anything that is not real estate, and the rights associated with owning the personal property item. Personal property can be divided into two major categories: Corporeal personal property,including such items as animals, merchandise,and jewelry Incorporeal personal property,comprised of such rights as stocks,bonds, patents, and copyrights Items of personal property are also called chattels or personalty.
What is the definition of real property?
Ownership of real estate and the bundle of rights associated with owning the real estate. Real property can be rental or residential. The California Civil Code defines real property as land, fixtures to land, anything incidental or appurtenant to land, and anything immovable by law.
What does the State Water Resources Control Board administer?
Permits and licenses for California's surface water.
Are manufactured homes and mobile homes considered personal or real property?
Personal because they are moveable
What is personal property?
Personal property is anything which is not real estate, and the rights associated with owning the personal property item. Items of personal property are also called chattels or personalty.
What does emblements mean?
Plants and crops requiring human intervention and labor and is considered personal property
What kind of plants and crops are considered real property?
Plants and crops that grow naturally, without requiring anyone's labor or machinery
The description of metes and bounds always identifies an enclosed area by starting at an origination point which is called what?
Point of beginning or POB
What does the Federal Housing Administration promote?
Promote and regulate home ownership.
What is a legal description required for?
Public recording Creating a valid deed of conveyance or lease Completing mortgage documents Executing and recording other legal documents Provides a basis for court rulings on encroachments and easements.
Permanently-affixed manufactured and mobile homes are taxed as real or personal property?
Real property but, new manufactured and mobile homes sold after July 1, 1980 that are not affixed to a permanent foundation are taxed as personal property.
What is real property?
Real property is real estate and the bundle of rights associated with owning the real estate.
What are other property descriptions that can legally be used?
References to records of survey or tax assessor's maps could be used provided those records or maps have been recorded in the county where the property is located. Some kinds of generalized descriptions, such as "all my lands," or popular names, such as "Sunset Horse Farm," may be acceptable as long as the use of those names or descriptions make it possible to establish exactly what property is being described.
What is lateral support?
Refers to support provided by the adjacent property. A landowner has the right to demand that a neighboring property owner does nothing to cause the land to collapse, which could result from some types of excavations. A statute in place regarding this issue has among its provisions the requirement that any landowner planning excavations must notify all neighboring property owners. Such notification allows the neighbors to take steps to protect their property. Unless the excavations are extraordinarily deep, an excavating property owner can be held liable to damage to neighboring properties only if he or she did not follow the procedures outlined in the statute.
What is subjacent support?
Refers to the right to have one's property supported from beneath the surface. Subjacent support issues can arise when a landowner has transferred rights to remove minerals to someone else. The owner of the mineral rights could be held liable for damage to the property due to underground excavation, even if such excavation was performed with care.
Regulation takes the form of what while and court decisions what?
Regulation takes the form of federal and state laws and regulations; county and local ordinances and codes; and court decisions in the judicial system.
What kind of properties can property surveys be done for?
Residential, commercial, and undeveloped land, and they tend to follow slightly different rules in each category.
What is the legality of riparian rights?
Riparian rights concern properties abutting moving water, such as streams and rivers. If a property abuts a stream or river, the owner's riparian rights are determined by whether the water is navigable or not navigable. If the property abuts a non-navigable stream, the owner enjoys unrestricted use of the water and owns the land beneath the stream to the stream's midpoint. If the waterway in question is navigable, the waterway is considered to be a public easement. In such a case, the owner's property extends to the water's edge, as opposed to the midpoint of the waterway. The state owns the land beneath the water. However, the landowner has right to all accretions, which is the land resulting from the soil build-up caused by the natural action of the river or stream. Navigable and non-navigable waterways must be determined by an official source. It is important to know the distinction, since mineral rights and royalties and boundary lines come into play. The state owns these interests in navigable streams. In certain rare conditions, it is possible to obtain private ownership of navigable waters.
What is a list of the most common land and unit measurements?
Rod: 16.5 feet; 5.5 yards Chain: 66 feet; 4 rods; 100 links Mile: 5,280 feet; 1760 yards; 320 rods Sq. Mile: 640 acres Acre: 43,560 sq. feet; 160 sq. rods Section: 640 acres Sq. Foot: 144 sq. inches Sq. Yard: 9 sq. feet Cu. Yard: 27 cu. feet
What are parallels?
Run east and west. The base parallel or base line is the designated line for identifying townships. There is a base parallel for each principal meridian.
What are meridians?
Run north and south. The principal meridian is the single designated meridian for identifying townships in the principal meridian's geographical "jurisdiction." There are 36 principal meridians in the national survey.
The rectangular survey system divides a township into thirty-six squares. These are called what?
Sections Each side of a section is one mile in length. Thus the area of a section is one square mile, or 640 acres. The sections in a township are numbered sequentially starting with Section 1 in the northeast corner, proceeding east to west across the top row, continuing from west to east across the next lower row, and so on, alternately, ending with Section 36 in the southeast corner.
The classification of an item of property as real or personal is not necessarily fixed. The classification may be changed by the process of conversion. Wht are the 2 steps of that?
Severance is the conversion of real property to personal property by detaching it from the real estate, such as by cutting down a tree, detaching a door from a shed, or removing an antenna from a roof. Affixing, or attachment, is the act of converting personal property to real property by attaching it to the real estate, such as by assembling a pile of bricks into a barbecue pit, or constructing a boat dock from wood planks.
When did the PLSS begin?
Shortly after the american revolution when the federal government became responsible for large areas of land west of the original thirteen states.
How is land non-homogeneous?
Since no two parcels of land are exactly the same. Admittedly, two adjacent parcels may be very similar and have the same economic value. However, they are inherently different because each parcel has a unique location.
What does the term property mean?
Something that is owned by someone
What is a datum and how does a surveyor use it?
Standard elevation reference points A surveyor uses a datum as an official elevation point to describe the height or depth of a property. If, for example, the datum for an area is a point 100 feet above sea level, all surveys in the area will indicate elevation as a distance above or below 100 feet above sea level.
What is the primary regulatory entities of the real estate business?
State governments
What are benchmarks?
Surveyors have identified local elevation markers to provide reference elevations for nearby properties. Once a benchmark is registered, it provides a valid reference point for surveying other elevations in the immediate area.
Real and personal property can be categorized as tangible or intangible property. What is tangible and intangible?
Tangible property is physical, visible, and material. Intangible property is abstract, having no physical existence in itself, other than as evidence of one's ownership interest.
What is tangible or intangible property?
Tangible property is physical, visible, and material. Intangible property is abstract, having no physical existence in itself, other than as evidence of one's ownership interest.
What are some examples of tangible and intangible property?
Tangible: Boats, jewelry, coins, appliances, computers, and art work Intangible: Stocks, copyrights, bonds, trademarks, patents, franchises, and listing agreements
Hawaii adopted a system based on the Kingdom of Hawaii native system in place at the time of annexation. Louisiana recognizes early French and Spanish descriptions as well as PLSS descriptions. New Mexico uses the PLSS, but has several areas that maintain original metes and bounds left over from Spanish and Mexican rule. These take the form of land grants similar to areas of Texas and California.
Texas has a hybrid of its own early system, based on Spanish land grants, and a variation of the PLSS. Wisconsin had French settlement prior to the PLSS in the areas of Green Bay and Prairie du Chien. Both have small amounts of the long, narrow French lots along some water frontage. Michigan had French settlement prior to the PLSS along the Detroit and St. Clair rivers, and near Sault Ste. Marie, Marquette, and Ypsilanti. These were all examples of the French "long lots".
What is the general criteria for a legal description?
That it alone provides sufficient data for a surveyor to locate the parcel.
How is land indestructible?
That one would have to remove a segment of the planet all the way to the core in order to destroy it. Even then, the portion extending upward to infinity would remain. For the same reason, land is considered to be permanent.
What are the 3 principal meridians and baselines in CA?
The Humboldt Meridian and Baseline, Mt. Diablo Meridian and Baseline, and the San Bernardino Meridian and Baseline.
What is a tier in a rectangular survey system?
The east-west area between two parallels is called a tier, or a township strip. A tier is identified by its relationship to the base parallel. All tiers are six miles wide.
Private ownership rights in this country are not absolute. What does this mean?
The government can impose taxes and restrictions on private ownership rights, and it can take private property away altogether.
What is land?
The legal concept of land encompasses: the surface area of the earth, everything beneath the surface of the earth extending downward to its center, all natural things permanently attached to the earth, the air above the surface of the earth extending outward to infinity.
What does the term real estate mean?
The legal concept of real estate encompasses: land all man-made structures that are "permanently" attached to the land
What is the Public Land Survey System (PLSS)?
The method traditionally used over the largest part of the United States to survey and classify land parcels before naming an owner, particularly in rural or undeveloped land. It is occasionally referred to as the rectangular survey.
What is a range in a rectangular survey system?
The north-south area between consecutive meridians is called a range. A range is identified by its relationship to the principal meridian. All ranges are six miles wide.
In owning property, one has the right to possess and use it as the law allows. What does this include?
The owner has the right to transfer ownership of the item (sell, rent, donate, assign, or bequeath). The owner may also encumber the item by mortgaging it as collateral for debt. Finally, the owner has the right to exclude others from use of the item.
To describe property located above or below the earth's surface, such as the air rights of a condominium, what must a surveyor must know?
The property's elevation.
What does the right to transfer interests in the property include?
The right to sell, bequeath, lease, donate, or assign ownership interests. An owner may transfer certain individual rights to the property without transferring total ownership. Also, one may transfer ownership while retaining individual interests. For example, a person may sell mineral rights without selling the right of possession. On the other hand, the owner may convey all rights to the property except the mineral rights.
Real property rights consist of the bundle of rights associated with owning a parcel of real estate. Foremost of these rights is the right of possession. The right to use a property consists of what?
The right to use it in certain ways, such as mining, cultivating, landscaping, razing, and building on the property. The right is subject to the limitations of local zoning and the legality of the use. One's right to use may not infringe on the rights of others to use and enjoy their property. For example, an owner may be restricted from constructing a large pond on her property if in fact the pond would pose flooding and drainage hazards to the next door neighbor.
The legal concept of land encompasses what?
The surface area of the earth everything beneath the surface of the earth extending downward to its center all natural things permanently attached to the earth the air above the surface of the earth extending outward to infinity
Licensed surveyors are trained in the use of those techniques which will allow them to determine the legal description of a parcel of property.
The surveyor will then write a report that includes the detailed legal description along with a drawing that shows the dimensions of the parcel of land. The drawing could also include the improvements that have been made to the property.
What are real property rights?
These consist of the bundle of rights associated with owning a parcel of real estate. Foremost of these rights is the right of possession.
What are littoral rights?
These rights concern properties abutting bodies of water that are not moving, such as lakes and seas.
What are riparian rights?
These rights concern properties abutting moving water such as streams and rivers. If a property abuts a stream or river, the owner's riparian rights are determined by whether the water is navigable or not navigable.
Mortgage lenders often want what before they loan money?
They want a survey to either residential or commercial investors, and many title insurers require this as well
Water rights within the state of California are based the "California Doctrine." What does this doctrine define?
This doctrine defines a dual rights system which combines riparian and appropriative rights. The majority of water rights in California are based on the Doctrine of Prior Appropriation.
What is the ALTA/ACSM Survey?
This is a very detailed survey often required by lending institutions and is strictly geared towards companies purchasing commercial property. Standards created by the American Land Title Association (ALTA) and the American Congress of Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) are used to create this type of survey. The location of all improvements in relation to property lines as well as any easements and setback requirements are shown on this survey as well as any encroachments that exist.
What is a subdivision survey?
This often includes a topographic survey of a parcel of land which will be divided into two or more smaller tracts, lots or estate division. This can also be used for site design of lots, streets and drainage. It is for construction and recording.
What is the Doctrine of Prior Appropriation?
This position requires that property owners obtain permits for use of water. If a proposed usage is reasonable and beneficial, the state will grant a permit, which over time, can attach to the property of the permit holder.
What is a topographic survey?
This survey locates improvements and topographic features such as elevations of the land, embankments, contours, water courses, roads, ditches, utilities, etc. This survey is often used in conjunction with a Location Survey in order to prepare a Site Design Map, a Subdivision Map, or an Erosion Control Plan.
What is site planning survey?
This survey uses a boundary and topographic survey as a base to design future improvements. It can be a design for a house, a residential subdivision, a store, a shopping center, a new street or highway, a playground, or anything else.
What is construction survey?
This survey uses surveying techniques to stake out buildings, roads, walls, utilities, etc. This includes horizontal and vertical grading, slope staking, and final as-built surveys.
What is the metes and bounds system?
This system describes property lines based on local markers and bounds that were drawn by people and usually based on the topography. It was used to describe a town that was approximately 4-6 miles and was generally rectangular in shape and the map showed all the individual lots or properties.
What are appurtenances?
Those things that can be transferred along with the land upon its sale, such as air rights, surface rights, and subsurface rights.
How does the judicial system exert an influence on real estate ownership?
Through decisions based on case law and common law, as distinguished from statutory law. Case law consists of decisions based on judicial precedent. Common law is the collective body of law deriving from custom and generally accepted practice in society.
Why did the Continental Congress pass the Land Ordinance of 1785 and then the Northwest Ordinance in 1787?
To control the survey, sale, and settling of the new lands. The first surveys under the new rectangular system were in eastern Ohio in an area called the Seven Ranges.
How does the rectangular survey system, or government survey method describe land?
To simplify and standardize property descriptions as a replacement for the cumbersome and often inaccurate metes and bounds method. The system was further modified to facilitate the transfer of large quantities of government-owned western lands to private parties after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
What are trade fixtures?
Trade fixtures are personal property items temporarily attached to real estate in order to conduct business. These items are designed to be removed at some point.
True or False: The federal government does not levy real estate taxes.
True
Under the lot and block system what is done?
Under this system, tracts of land are subdivided into lots. The entire group of lots comprises the subdivision. In a large subdivision, lots may be grouped together into blocks for ease of reference. The entire subdivision is surveyed to specify the size and location of each lot and block. The surveyor then incorporates the survey data into a plat of survey, or subdivision plat map, which must comply with local surveying standards and ordinances.
What is ground water?
Water beneath the surface that runs in recognizable underground streams or collects in porous ground layers called aquifers
What are ground water rights?
Water beneath the surface that runs in recognizable underground streams or collects in porous ground layers called aquifers is known as ground water. Landowners have overlying rights to the ground water in aquifers below their property. In most areas of California, overlying land owners may remove percolating ground water and put it to beneficial, reasonable use without approval from the State Board or a court. However, the landowner may not transport that water for use on land outside the ground water basin from which it is taken.
Under the Doctrine of Prior Appropriation, how are water rights granted?
Water rights are granted according to the date of first use. The type of water source is determined by date of first use and not the physical location or type of water source. In a dry year, the water supply could be inadequate to fill the needs of all water right holders. The oldest right holder receives service first, then the next - and so it continues until all water has been used. This system is the most common system in California. However, the state also recognizes a limited form of riparian rights.
What are water rights?
Water rights basically concern the rights to own and use water found in lakes, streams, rivers, and the ocean. In addition, they determine where parcel boundaries can be fixed with respect to adjoining bodies of water.
In attempting to define real estate, it is essential to understand what?
What rights and interests the parties have in a parcel of real estate. And to understand real estate rights and interests, one must first recognize the distinctions between: land and real estate real estate and property real property and personal property
While all rights are transferable, the owner can only transfer what?
What the owner in fact possesses. A property seller, for example, cannot sell water rights if there are no water rights attached to the property.
When do surveyors conduct property surveys most frequently?
When a land is being sold
What is the primary criterion for distinguishing real from personal property?
Whether the item is permanently attached to the land, or to structures attached to the land. For example, a tree growing in one's yard is an item of real property. However, when the owner cuts the tree down, it becomes personal property. Similarly, a swimming pool pump on a shelf in the owner's garage is personal property. When it is installed with the rest of the pool, it becomes real property.
What is the metes and bounds system definition?
Which is the oldest description, was used in the original 13 states, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Texas, and parts of southwestern Ohio. It identifies the boundaries of a parcel of real estate using: Monuments Directions or courses in the form of compass readings Distances measured in any convenient unit of length
In regulating real property rights, the federal government is primarily concerned with what?
With broad standards of real property usage, natural disaster, land description, and discrimination.
Although the Constitution guarantees private ownership of real estate, laws and regulations at every level of government qualify and limit individual real property ownership, and the bundle of rights associated with it. Government entities regulates of real property interest which includes what?
the bundle of rights: possession, usage, transfer, encumbering and exclusion legal descriptions financing insurance inheritance taxation
What water rights does an owner of a property that contains, or adjoins, a body of water enjoy? The answer depends on three variables:
whether the state controls the water whether the water is moving whether the water is navigable
