Unit 5 - Land Description
What are the 3 descriptions of townships?
A single townships descriptions includes: designation of the tier in which the township is located designation of the range name or number of the principal meridian for that area
How old is The Metes-and-bounds method?
It is the oldest way to measure real estate...
What are tiers?
Lines running east and west, parallel to the base line and six miles apart, are called township lines. They form strips of land called tiers. Think of these tiers as being like the tiers of a wedding cake.
How can you measure elevation and what are air lots?
Air lots are composed of the airspace within specific boundaries located over a parcel of land
What is a plat map and where is the lot and block method used mostly?
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 method is used mostly in subdivisions and urban areas.
What is a legal description?
a detailed way of describing a parcel of land in a document that will be accepted in a court of law
What is some of the numerical data behind sections?
- Each section is one square mile or 640 acres - 43,560 square feet in each acre - Sections are numbered 1 through 36 - Sections are divided into halves (320 acres) and quarters (160 acres
What is the Metes-and-bounds method?
1) The oldest found in the United States 2) Metes means to measure, and bounds means linear directions 3) Relies on a property's physical features to determine the boundaries and measurements of the parcel
Steps to calculate Land Acquisition Costs
1) To calculate the cost of purchasing land, use the same unit in which the cost is given 2) Costs quoted per square foot must be multiplied by the proper number of square feet; costs quoted per acre must be multiplied by the proper number of acres; and so on -------------------------------------------------------------- To calculate the cost of a parcel of land of three acres at $1.10 per square foot, convert the acreage to square feet before multiplying: - 43,560 square feet per acre × 3 acres = 130,680 square feet - 130,680 square feet × $1.10 per square foot = $143,748 -------------------------------------------------------------- To calculate the cost of a parcel of land of 17,500 square feet at $60,000 per acre, convert the cost per acre into the cost per square foot before multiplying by the number of square feet in the parcel: - $60,000 per acre ÷ 43,560 square feet per acre = $1.38 (rounded) per square foot - 17,500 square feet × $1.38 per square foot = $24,150
What is a datum?
A datum is a point, line, or surface from which elevations are measured or indicated
How does a Metes-and-bounds method start and work?
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 at which the description ends. (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.)
What are benchmarks?
Benchmarks are monuments that have been established as permanent reference points throughout the United States
How do the United States Geological Survey define a datum?
For example: a datum is defined as the mean sea level at New York Harbor
When would a surveyor use a datum?
In determining the height of a structure or establishing the grade of the street
There are three basic methods currently used to describe real estate:
Metes and bounds Rectangular (or government) survey Lot and block (recorded plat)
What are monuments?
Monuments are fixed objects used to identify the POB, all corners of the parcel or ends of boundary segments, and the location of intersecting boundaries
What is another name for the Lot-and-block method?
Recorded plat method
What is the Rectangular (government) survey system?
Sometimes called the government survey system, established by Congress in 1785 to standardize the description of land acquired by the newly formed federal government
What are ranges?
The land on either side of a principal meridian is divided into six-mile-wide strips by lines that run north and south, parallel to the meridian. These north-south strips of land are called ranges
What is 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
How is the Rectangular survey system measured?
The system is based on two sets of 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
What is the Lot-and-block method?
This system uses lot and block numbers referred to in a plat map filed in the public records of the county where the land is located.
What are Metes-and-bounds descriptions within the rectangular survey system?
This usually occurs in one of three situations: (1) when describing an irregular tract; (2) when a tract is too small to be described by quarter-sections; or (3) when a tract does not follow the lot or block lines of a recorded subdivision or section, quarter-section lines, or other fractional section lines.
What is the subdivided township called?
Townships are subdivided into sections and subsections called halves and quarters, which can be further divided. Each township contains 36 sections.
When is a survey also a spot survey?
When a survey also shows the location, size, and shape of buildings on the lot
What are townships?
When the horizontal township lines and the vertical range lines intersect, they form squares, or townships, that are the basic units of the rectangular survey system.