Level 10: Legal Descriptions
A legal description of a property is important because:
Sales contracts must contain a legal property description. It can be used by courts to clarify any disputes about the property that may arise. It identifies the property in a manner so specific that it cannot be mistaken for another.
What are halves and quarters of sections?
Section = 1 sq. mile 1 sq. mile = 640 acres half section = 320 acres quarter section = 160 acres
On a sales contract, broker Tina sees the property's legal description listed as "24028 E. Monroe St." What should Tina do?
She should replace the street address with a proper legal description so that the property can be distinguished from all other property.
What is the Metes and Bounds Survey process?
Starts at Point of Begining > Terminus > Clockwise direction back to end at the Point of Beginning
What is the process and physical product of finding and measuring the boundaries of a piece of real estate, including the location of improvements, encroachments, and easements)?
Survey
What's the area of land that township lines create and are 6 miles wide?
Tiers
depends on longitude and latitude mapping
government survey system
divides land into 36-square mile townships
government survey system
What does the government survey system involve?
surveyed grid of meridians, base lines, townships, and ranges to describe a piece of land
What are patios, porches, decks, and garages considered?
unfinished area
Choose the statement about metes and bounds that is accurate.
A metes and bounds description ends at the point of beginning.
Township lines intersect with range lines to create townships, which are how many square miles?
36 square miles
The SE 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of a section would measure how many acres?
40
How many square feet are in an acre?
43,560 square feet in an acre11
Assuming that the dimensions of 50' + 30' + 30' + 20' + 20' + 50' are written correctly, what is the front footage of Perry's property?
50 front feet
Township lines run west and east, parallel to the baseline. How many miles apart from each other are they?
6 miles
What is used to divide units of land area aka townships?
Principal meridians and baselines
Who places the benchmark markers?
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Predict which survey method would most likely be used in the legal description of a house in a suburban community.
lot and block
describes land in terms of sections, blocks, and lots
lot and block
pinpoints properties in reference to a plat map
lot and block
A surveyor references an object when reporting the elevation of a property. If you wanted to go see that object for yourself, what would you look for?
a permanent, metal benchmark
If a rectangular lot has an area of 14,400 square feet and a depth of 120 feet, what is the frontage of the lot?
120 front feet
How many acres are there in each square mile (section) in a township?
640 acres
Who legally describes land?
A licensed surveyor
Complete this list of information about a property that can be found using tax maps: Location Dimensions Parcel ID number ___________
Assessed value
What are the permanent markers of known location and elevation established by a government survey team?
Benchmarks
What area is created when guide meridians and correction lines intersect?
Check
What are used to account for the curvature of the planet and adjust to the grid pattern of squares?
Correction lines
What is uses to describe the height of a property? It is also the designated base reference point from which elevation is measured.
Datum
What is the livable area of a home called? Includes rooms within the house that are typically heated and/or air-conditioned.
Finished area
What's the purpose of tax maps?
For each parcel of land, they get their own parcel identification number (PID) or assessor's parcel number from the county property appraiser's office.
What is the unit used to measure a property that borders a street?
Front foot
What is the portion of the boundary of a lot that borders the street and is measured in front feet?
Frontage
What did the federal government develop to improve, simplify, and standardize surveying?
Government survey system Aka rectangular survey system
What is the depth of your lot?
How far the lot goes back to
What is the description of property that is distinct and precise enough to distinguish it from all other properties?
Legal Description
Important measurements to know
1 township = 36 sections 1 section = 640 acres (a square mile) 1 acre = 43,560 square feet 1 mile = 5,280 linear feet 1 check = 16 townships
How to find the area of a triangle?
1/2 x base x height = area of triangle
A developer buys 3 entire sections of land in a township. How many acres did the developer buy? 2,460 acres 6,400 acres 1,920 acres 1,280 acres
1920 acres
A developer is hoping to build an apartment building on a lot. The lot is 435,000 square feet. City regulations dictate that there can be density no greater than 25 occupants per acre. Approximately how many occupants can this lot house?
250
A lot is in the shape of right triangle. The base of the triangle is 62' and the height is 90'. What is the area of the lot?
2790 sq. ft.
Ben wants to carpet his bedroom. He measures it as 270 square feet. When he gets to the Carpet Store, he finds that they sell carpet by the square yard. How many square yards is Ben's room?
30
A room is 20 feet long by 15 feet wide and 10 feet high. What is the volume of this room?
3000 cubic feet
What are longitude lines that run north to south and segments the globe along Earth's poles called?
Meridians
What happens if a real estate license holder incorrectly calculates the square footage of a house?
May be liable for misrepresentation. License holders must cite source.
What are the different methods of surveying that yield valid legal descriptions?
Metes and bounds Lot and block Government survey system
What were used as points of beginning or markers for the metes and bounds system?
Monuments
What are latitude lines that run east to west and is parallel to the equator?
Parallels
What runs parallel to the principal meridian, running north and south and are spaced 6 miles apart from one another?
Range line/range columns
Where does the one baseline and one principal meridian lie in Florida?
Runs through Tallahassee
How are townships numbered?
Section 1 is top right corner (aka furthest north east) and waterfalls right to left
What is the totality of the property represented on a plat?
Tract
True or False: Range lines run parallel to the meridian, running north to south.
True
Which description can help when determining air rights, water rights, and subsurface rights? such as condominium ownership boundaries.
Vertical land description
What happens when a six-mile range intersects with a six-mile tier?
You get a 36-square-mile area called a township
What is a check?
a square measuring 24 miles on each side
What does this township read: "T1N, R1E"
corresponds to a township located on the first tier north of the baseline and one range column east of the principal meridian
A plat map is a(n):
drawing of a development
also called the rectangular survey system
government survey system
The government survey system primarily relies on which of the following to describe land?
meridians, base lines, townships, and ranges
What is the purpose of a survey?
to find and measure the boundaries of a piece of real estate
What does each check break down further into?
16 townships
The SE 1/4 of a section would measure how many acres?
160 acres
A home measures 80 feet by 40 feet. The garage is 15 feet by 15 feet. What is the total livable area of the home?
2,975 sq. feet
There are 2 lots side by side on Birdman Avenue. They have the same depth of 200 feet, but each has different frontages. Lot A has an area of 40,000 square feet, while Lot B is 25,000 square feet. What is the total frontage of both Lots A and B?
325 feet
You are helping a friend list her home, but she is unsure of her acreage. She knows her property is 770' x 524'. Using this information, how many acres is the lot? 10.4 acres 11.23 acres 9.34 acres 9.26 acres
9.26 acres
What is the most reliable reference point used by surveyors due to the permanence and precision?
Benchmarks
What is the collection of lots?
Block
True or False: Longitude lines, or meridians, run east to west, parallel to the equator.
False
What are examples of monuments?
Fixed landmarks (natural/man-made), streams, boulders, trees, etc.
Which of these best summarizes the contents of the assessment roll?
It's a public record that contains the parcel number, owner's name, and assessed value of every parcel in the county.
What is the individual piece of land measured and defined by the metes and bounds system?
Lot
Which of the following is an example of a legal property description created using the lot and block method of surveying?
Lot C, Block 8 of Cliff Estate Subdivision, Sparrow County, Georgia
What legal description identifies a piece of platted property by referring to the section, lot, and block numbers in a subdivision? Best suited for cities and suburban communities. AKA recorded plat method.
Lot and block
What's included in the subdivision plat map?
Lot number for each parcel, block number for each block, and a name or number for the tract
What are metes? What are bounds?
Metes = distance measurements Bounds = compass direction
What is the land survey process in which a licensed land surveyor starts at a readily identifiable point of beginning and defines the boundaries of a property in terms of distances and compass directions, finally returning to the point of beginning?
Metes and bounds
What is part or portion of land called? Often used to identify a specific lot within a larger tract of property.
Parcel
What is the recorded survey of a development used in the lot and block method?
Plat map
What do tax maps include?
Property's location, dimensions, Parcel ID number, and amount of assessed value
What is the description on a deed that includes the property's location on a plat map?
Reference to a plat
What is the front footage of the property?
The first number stated in the dimensions
What runs west to east, parallel to the baseline and, like range lines, are six miles apart from one other?
Township lines
What creates an initial point? And beings a township's survey?
When a baseline and principal meridian intersect
What is the legal description of a property?
a detailed description of a property that is distinct and precise enough to distinguish it from all other properties
An example might be: Lot A, Block 2 of Sunny Brook, Happy County, Michigan
lot and blcok
also called the recorded plat method
lot and block
An example would include the phrase: "Beginning at the intersection of the north boundary of Red St. and the east boundary of Blue Rd."
metes and bounds
Choose the survey method that could result in this legal description: "Beginning at the intersection of the north boundary of Ace Dr. and the east boundary of Robot Rd.; then proceed due north along the east line of Robot Rd. 120 ft. to its intersection with the center line of Blue Creek; then proceeding northeasterly 72 degrees along the center line of Blue Creek 408 ft. to the oak tree; then due south 200 ft. to the benchmark; then proceeding due west along the northern boundary of Ace Dr. 400 feet, returning to the point of beginning."
metes and bounds
moves in a clockwise direction, describing land in feet, degrees, minutes, and seconds
metes and bounds
uses a point of beginning and markers or landmarks to describe a property
metes and bounds
What is a benchmark?
permanent reference marker for both locational and elevation points
The lot and block survey system is also known as the:
recorded plat method
What does the government survey system depend on?
refined version of the longitude and latitude system of mapping
