Real estate express ch 3

Interpreting Metes and Bounds Descriptions

It may be difficult to interpret a metes and bounds description. For example, a landmark, such as the large oak tree, may have died or been cut down. Creeks and streams may have dried up or changed course. Roads, walls, fences, posts, markers, or stakes may have been used to determine the real boundaries, but these features sometimes move, change, or disappear over time. Canals and drainage ditches may be filled in, and streets may be closed, widened, or have their names changed. When the time comes to survey the land again, for instance when property is sold, subdivided, or built on, it may be difficult or nearly impossible to identify the exact location of its boundaries, based on the original land description. With tracts of land that have been in the same family for generations, tradition and actual use can help to determine boundaries that have lost certain identifiable landmarks.

Survey: Location of Physical Improvements

An improvement description and survey deals with the relationship of all physical improvements on the parcel to the boundary lines of the parcel, not just those improvements near the exterior limits of the parcel. Features that surveyors are often requested to locate include fences, walls, driveways, pavements, buildings, structures, utilities, wells, and natural features such as streams and ponds. This information is necessary to determine the presence of features that may limit the value or use of the property and to determine conformity with local ordinances regarding minimum building setbacks. When most people think of a survey, this is the type of information they expect to see on the surveyor's final survey map.

Why Obtain an Improvement Description & Survey?

An improvement description and survey shows the location, size, and dimensions of buildings on a tract of land. It is made to lay out, locate, and monitor public and private improvements. The main reasons for requiring a description and survey of the improvements is to locate the physical improvements and to determine any unrecorded easements and other facts not recorded.

Metes and Bounds Survey System

Boundary of the survey must produce a closed area Bearing of the courses must be continuous from the POB around the area of the tract of land until the final course ends at the terminus Bearings must be given the same basis of true direction

distances

are linear measurements,

Bearings

are compass directions of a survey line,

courses

are directions of a line as it varies from north or south.

Public Land Survey System

By the late 18th century, the U.S. government had established a system of land description for new territories, states, and other public lands. The Land Ordinance of 1785 provided for the systematic survey and monumentation of public domain lands, and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 establishing a rectangular survey system, were the beginning of the Public Land Survey System (PLSS). The PLSS is used in some capacity by most states (30 southern and western States) to describe land. However, it is not used in the territory that comprised the original thirteen colonies. This territory is now Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Methods of Description

Ever since individuals and states took possession of land, there have been inventive ways of describing it in order to claim the rights of ownership. The three common ways to describe property are the metes and bounds system, the Public Land Survey System, and the recorded plat system. The Public Land Survey System describes more land (in surface area) in the United States than any other method. However, when based on the number of properties, the recorded plat method is the most frequently used method to describe land. As a real estate sales associate, you will not be required to be an expert in the three legal description methods. However, you will find it helpful to be adequately informed about which method is used for the type of property you most frequently sell.

After the subdivision map has been filed or recorded, it is public knowledge and is available to anyone. When a parcel of land lies within an existing platted subdivision, the legal description is usually short and straightforward. This is because the dimensions and boundaries of the parcel have already been described in detail in the subdivision plat at the time it was recorded in the public records of the county. Therefore, the legal description of a parcel is written in simple terms.

Example. Lots 3 and 4, Block 3, Riverside Acres, Any County, Any State, The subject parcels of land are depicted on the subdivision plat as two particular lots lying within a particular block of the subdivision plat. This short description is sufficient because the legal description of this parcel has already been described in detail in the subdivision plat recorded under the name of Riverside Acres in Any County, Any State.

Verify Occupied Lines to Recorded Lines

Frequently, the boundary lines of a parcel as physically occupied or possessed by its owner differ from the distances and direction in the deed or differ from the monuments in the deed. Discrepancies between possession and the called for deed lines may range from minor variations in fence line locations to substantial encroachments of multi-story buildings. A land survey should always show the occupied lines, the deed record lines, and the extent of any mismatch. To stop any potential rights of another to a claim of adverse possession, the property owner may want to record an appropriate document confirming his or her claim of ownership or seek a change, in possession to match the record lines

Township Lines

Imaginary township lines were drawn every six miles north and south of the baseline to form a horizontal row or tier of townships. These rows were numbered according to their distance from the baseline. For example, the first row of townships north of the baseline was called Township 1 North (T1N) and the first row of townships south of the baseline was called Township 1 South (T1S).

Baseline and Meridians

Meridians run north and south Baselines run east and wes

Priorities in Metes and Bounds Descriptions

Natural or permanent monuments are used over less permanent ones. Lot and block descriptions are more widely accepted than metes and bounds descriptions. Map references generally control a metes and bounds description. If the call (description) for a monument refers to one having width, the boundary line generally extends to the center of such monument. For example, land adjoining highways and streets vests title to the center of the street.

Legal Descriptions

Purchase agreements, deeds, and deeds of trust require a legal description of the real property that is legally sufficient to be binding, which means that the description would allow a surveyor to locate the exact boundaries of the property. A legal description is a written description of property that identifies the subject piece of property as precisely as possible. The intent of the parties to the transaction cannot be honored with certainty unless the legal description precisely locates the land that is the subject of the agreement. A street address is an informal reference that is adequate for social contacts and for delivering mail but is not sufficient for a legal description. It only tells you how to find a property, but does not tell you the boundaries of the property. A legal description should be written in such a way that any person in the future would be able to understand the description and determine the property location, with reasonable certainty.

Facts about Townships and Sections

Range Lines run north and south, parallel to the principal meridian, every six miles Township Lines run east and west, parallel to the baseline, every six miles Townships are six miles by six miles, 36 square miles Sections are one mile by one mile, 36 in each township and contain 640 acres 5,280 feet = one mile 43,560 square feet = one acre 640 acres = one square mile 5 feet = one rod Four miles = distance around a section/square mile

There are three (3) Meridian Lines used in the PLSS for Illinois:

The Third Principal Meridian, is a major location which divides the state down the center. It was established as a line running true north from the point of confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. The Fourth Principal Meridian was established for surveying lands located between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. It begins near Beardstown cuts a straight line north from the beginning of the Illinois River near Grafton. The Second Principal Meridian is used in descriptions of some land in Illinois, although it is located in Indiana.

Metes and Bounds

The metes and bounds description is the oldest method used to describe real property. Metes mean measurements in length (measured in feet) from one monument to another. Bounds refer to the direction. The directions of the boundary lines are given in degrees (o), minutes ('), and seconds ("). A metes and bounds description is often lengthy, as it may contain bearings and distances for each line and references to other adjacent or nearby parcels of land. A metes and bounds description measures the dimensions of the property using direction and distance between landmarks and monuments. A survey landmark is a geographic feature, such as a large rock, an old tree, a fork in a creek, or the intersection of two roads. A landmark may also refer to a monument (Washington Monument), prominent building (the White House), or structure (Statue of Liberty).

Recorded Plat

The recorded plat system describes property by identifying the registered lot and then block on a recorded subdivision plat or survey. The recorded plat system is also called the lot and block system or subdivision map system. It is one of the easiest and most widely used methods of describing land. A plat is a subdivision map filed with the county recorder's office that shows the location and boundaries (lot and block number) of individual parcels of land (lots), street right-of-way, subdivision name, and easements. Lots and blocks are assigned numbers or letters. A lot is a single parcel of land that will be sold within a subdivision to a buyer. A block is a contiguous group of lots, which are generally bounded by man-made features, such as streets or natural features, such as creeks.

Range Lines

There is at least one base line for each meridian. The base line for the Second and Third Principal Meridians in Illinois is the same. It intersects the Third Principal Meridian at a point near Centralia, Illinois and is referred to as the Centralia baseline. The base line for the Fourth Principal Meridian runs straight west from the beginning of that Meridian near Beardstown, Illinois. The Fourth Principal Meridian has a second base line used for describing land in Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota. This base line runs along the Illinois-Wisconsin border.

Townships

Thus, a grid of squares, called townships (each six miles by six miles or 36 square miles), appears. Townships run east and west in ranges and north and south in tiers. Each township is described by its location, relative to the intersection of the baseline and meridian we have just discussed. A particular township in the second tier south of the baseline and in the second range west of the meridian—with "T" for township and "R" for range—would be described as follows:

Survey: Unrecorded Easements and Other Unrecorded Facts

Unrecorded rights that can affect title to land may not show up in a title search but will become obvious upon an inspection of the property. The right of a neighbor to use utility lines, drainage ditches, sewer lines, and unrecorded travel easements across the property may have been acquired by prescription or other methods of land transfer by un-written means. A visual inspection of the property will usually give some physical indication as to whether such adverse rights may exist (e.g., the presence of manholes or vent pipes suggests underground sewers or utilities). Only a survey in which unrecorded physical features are referenced to the property line will induce a typical title insurance company to remove its exception of the title policy about "any state of facts an accurate survey might show."

Principal Meridians

When a survey is done using the PLSS, all its distances and bearings are measured from two imaginary lines that are at right angles to each other. These two lines, from which the measurements are made, are the principal meridians, which run north and south (or longitudinally), and the baselines that run east and west (or latitudinally). Both are located by reference to degrees of longitude and latitude. The intersection of principal meridian and baselines creates grids, which form the basis for surveying and measuring all the lands within the territory that they control. The system created 37 principal meridians and either numbered or named them, and each has a baseline that intercepts it.

A datum

is a point, line, or surface against which measurements are made. Horizontal datums use longitude and latitude. Vertical datums are used to measure height as in a condominium unit or depth, such as subsurface mineral rights. The most common datum used in the United States is mean sea level. Starting at a datum, government survey teams establish benchmarks to act as reference points for surveying. A benchmark is a survey reference mark made on a monument indicating a known location and elevation.

A survey

is the professional measurement of a tract of land with its boundaries, contents, and location relative to other property. A survey includes the total area of the land with its mapped boundaries and elevation. Surveyors complete surveys by measuring angles and distances in accordance with specific procedures

Monuments

used by surveyors are man-made objects, such as stakes or iron posts. Both landmarks and monuments are used as a point of reference to establish the boundaries of the property, locate its corners, or identify the point at which the boundary changes direction. Land that is irregular in shape or cannot be described using other methods may have a metes and bounds description. In a metes and bounds description, almost every tract of land has a different shape and size. Some are simply box or rectangle-shaped. Other lots are called chair lots because they resemble the shape of a chair. Because of the irregular shapes, surveyors must be able to draw a tract with extreme accuracy. A metes and bounds description is often lengthy because it must identify each line and angle.