1.3 Legal Descriptions and Surveys

Why a Legal Description, Not an Address

A street address can change and is not precise enough to convey title. Every valid deed must carry a legal description, a permanent, unambiguous identification of the parcel that ties to public records. Three systems dominate the national exam.

1) Metes and Bounds

The oldest method, common for irregular or historic parcels. It starts at a fixed point of beginning (POB), then traces the perimeter using metes (distances) and bounds (directions or monuments). A reading might run: "Beginning at the iron pin at the NE corner, thence S 90 ft, thence W 120 ft..." The description must close, meaning it must return to the POB. A description that does not return to its POB is fatally defective.

2) Lot and Block (Recorded Plat)

Used in subdivisions. A surveyor records a plat map with the county, dividing the tract into numbered lots and blocks. The legal description then reads simply, for example, "Lot 7, Block 3, Sunset Ridge Subdivision, as recorded in Plat Book 12, Page 45." It is the easiest to read and verify.

3) Rectangular (Government) Survey

Also called the Public Land Survey System, used across most of the central and western states. It overlays the country with a grid of principal meridians (north-south lines) and base lines (east-west lines), then subdivides into townships and sections.

Rectangular Survey Math

This is the most heavily calculated topic in the chapter, so memorize the base units:

• A township is 6 miles by 6 miles = 36 square miles, divided into 36 sections.
• A section is 1 mile by 1 mile = 640 acres.
• A half section = 320 acres; a quarter section = 160 acres; a quarter of a quarter = 40 acres.

Worked Calculation

Size the parcel described as "the SE 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of Section 12."

Read the description right to left and multiply the fractions by 640:

1. Start with the full section: 640 acres.
2. NW 1/4 of the section: 640 x 1/4 = 160 acres.
3. SE 1/4 of that quarter: 160 x 1/4 = 40 acres.

The parcel is 40 acres. A faster shortcut is to multiply all denominators: 4 x 4 = 16, then divide 640 by 16 = 40 acres. Either route lands on the same answer, and the multiply-the-denominators shortcut is the quickest under time pressure.

Surveys, Monuments, and Setbacks

A survey physically locates boundaries on the ground and reports dimensions, improvements, easements, and setbacks. Key vocabulary:

• Monuments are physical boundary markers (iron pins, stones), either natural or artificial.
• Benchmarks are permanent reference points used to measure elevation, not horizontal boundaries.
• Setbacks are the minimum distances a structure must sit from the property line under zoning.

Lenders commonly require a survey before funding a mortgage so the collateral's boundaries are certain. Survey types range from a basic mortgage location survey to a detailed ALTA survey that maps easements and encroachments.

Encroachments and Boundary Problems

An encroachment is an unauthorized physical intrusion of one owner's improvement onto a neighbor's land, such as a fence, eave, or driveway crossing the line. Even a two-foot encroachment can cloud title and stall financing. When a survey reveals one, the parties typically resolve it before closing through one of three remedies:

1. Removal of the encroaching structure,
2. An easement granting the right to remain, or
3. A recorded boundary line agreement adjusting the line.

Exam tip: If the description uses township and range, it is the rectangular survey. If it uses a POB with compass bearings, it is metes and bounds. If it cites a recorded subdivision plat, it is lot and block.

Rectangular Survey Units to Memorize

The government survey system stacks predictable units, and the exam tests every conversion:

To size any fractional description, multiply the fractions and apply them to 640 acres. For "the SW 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of a section," compute 1/4 x 1/4 = 1/16, then 640 / 16 = 40 acres. Each time you read "of the," you are multiplying another fraction. Reading the description from the back forward (smallest parcel first) helps you visualize the nesting.

Vertical Descriptions and Datum

Legal descriptions are not only horizontal. A datum is an established reference point of elevation (the most common is the U.S. Geological Survey datum, mean sea level at New York Harbor) used to describe the height of a structure or the depth of a basement. A benchmark is a permanent marker showing elevation relative to the datum. These matter for air rights (the right to use space above the land, sold for high-rise condominiums or to protect a view) and subsurface rights (mineral, oil, and gas rights below the surface).

A condominium unit on the twelfth floor is legally described by reference to the recorded condominium plat plus its elevation, not by metes and bounds on the ground.