Definitions of Commonly Used Terms

assessor's office - cartography

Bargain and Sale deed

an instrument that conveys the entire interest in the described property at the date of the deed, which the deed purports to convey. Reads almost the same as warranty deed but doesn’t usually contain warranties against encumbrances, or of any kind.

Breakout maps

When maps get too congested for the scale they’re on, breakout maps are made at a larger scale. Example: 11-10-04-CC is made from 11-10-04 in ArcPro, to separate out an area of the map with too many small details.

Code number

Number assigned to each county code area to identify the various taxing districts in the code area.

Common area

Land designated as common property to all of the condominium unit owners, comprising of the land and improvements of the common elements that are apart from the unit itself, such as swimming pools and lawns. Also called “general common elements.”

Condominium

UNIT: UNITS. A system of separate ownerships of individual units in a multi-unit building, or in a garden, or subdivision style development. In a typical condominium, the buyer purchases his or her own unit that may be attached to other units, may be in an apartment-style building, or may stand alone (like a house). However, the buyer is a joint owner in common with all other owners of the general common elements (such as the land, sidewalks, roadways, etc.), and may be a joint owner, with certain other owners, of limited common elements (such as a parking space or driveway).

Consideration

The inducement to a contract. Consideration includes the amount of cash paid for the conveyance of property, the amount of any lien, mortgage, contract, indebtedness, or other encumbrances existing against the property to which the property remains subject, or which the purchaser agrees to pay or assume. Considerations can also be other property given or promised, or may include services.

Consolidation

(1) The merger of two or more contiguous taxlots into a single taxlot, (2) the merger of two or more taxing districts into a single taxing district, (3) an annexation.

Conveyance

(1) Instrument in writing by which the title to any real estate may be effected;

(2) Deeds. A deed which passes or conveys land from the grantor to the grantee.

Deed

An instrument in writing whereby an interest in realty is transferred from the grantor to the grantee

•        In fee - A deed conveying the title to land in fee simple with the usual covenant.

•        Of gift - A deed executed and delivered without consideration. Often, a bargain and sale deed is used.

•        Of release - A deed that releases the property from the encumbrance of a mortgage or similar pledge upon payment or performance of the conditions.

•        Of trust - A security device in use in Oregon as an alternative to a mortgage.

Description

That part of a deed, usually following the words of conveyance, that defines the property to be conveyed. Primarily, a description of real property is in one or more of the three methods:

(1)   By lot and block number (of a subdivision);

(2)   By metes and bounds; or

(3)   By government survey, in Oregon, the Rectangular Survey.

Easement

A nonpossessory right to use and/or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it.

Types of Easements

•        Of access. The right of ingress and egress to and from one’s property to a public road.

•        By dedication. An easement acquired by the public when land is appropriated by the owner for the public’s use. Such easements can be created by a common law dedication (arising by operation of the law from the acts or conduct of the owners) or by statutory dedication (as provided in ORS Chapter 92).

•        By grant. An easement that contains all the formalities of a deed, as distinguished from an easement by prescription, statutory dedication or common-law dedication.

•        Implied. An easement based on the presumed intent of the parties based on surrounding circumstances rather than on the language of the deed.

•        By prescription. An easement created by the continued use of property for the statutory period (ten years) of adverse possession. To create an easement by prescription, the use must have been open, continuous, exclusive and under a claim of right for the prescriptive period.

•        Private easement. A privileged service or convenience which one neighbor has of another by prescription, grant, or necessary implication, without profit.

•        By reservation. Generally, an easement reserved by the grantor in a deed.

Egress

The act or right of going to, or coming from, one’s property.

Escrow

A deed, bond, money, or piece of property delivered by a grantor, promisor, or obligor, to a third person to be held by the latter until fulfillment of a prescribed condition, or happening of a specified event.

Estate

The degree, quality, nature and extent of one’s interest in, or ownership of, property, real, personal, and mixed.

Exception in a deed

A clause in a deed which withdraws from its operation some part of a thing granted which would otherwise have passed to the grantee under the general description. The word exception, in a deed, is used synonymously with the word reserving, However, a reservation in a deed creates some new right in the grantor issuing out of the thing granted.

Foreclosure

A legal proceeding by which the county acquires legal title to a property when taxes are not paid by a certain time.

General common elements

In general, the elements common to all owners. Specifically, the elements of a subdivision, condominium, planned community, etc., that are common to all owners of land, unit, or of land and improvements in the development.

General Land Office

aka GLO, created in 1812 to oversee the survey and sale of lands deemed as “public domain”. We have copies of old GLO plats in the plat area.

(1)   Some places were surveyed by different surveyors at different times, like around Alsea River, that make the map crazy style. In these areas, there are lots of Government lots and strange PLSS lines.

Government lots

aka US Lots. There are three main kinds:

(1)   Townships were created starting in the southeast corners. This means the errors collected on the north and west sides of each township. These funky leftovers became government lots.

(2)   Waterway meanders cut off the 40 AC that a quarter section is supposed to be. These became government lots only if they are navigable (owned by gov).

(3)   “Indian Allotments” to tribal members replaced native American reservations in some areas. For example, near Siletz and North of Lincoln City. These allotments are treated the same as government lots for our purposes.

Ingress

To go into, or to enter. Used to denote a right to go upon or enter one’s own property, or a right of others to go upon or enter the property, such as a “right of ingress.”

Instrument of conveyance

A written document by which property is transferred. A deed, contract, etc. To be effective in this state, an instrument of conveyance must have a grantor, some person or party capable of taking title to the real property (a grantee); right, title or interest to be conveyed, consideration stated as required by law, words of grant, signatures, and acknowledged or proved, delivered and accepted Recording suffices to transfer property, but isn’t actually required by law.

Metes and bounds

Lines of land with their terminal points and angles. In general, metes and bounds means the boundary line or limit of a tract, which boundary may be described by rivers and objects, either natural or artificial (which are permanent in character and erection) and so situated with reference to the tract to be described that they may be conveniently used for the purpose of indicating its extent.

Navigable waters

Waters that were navigable at the time Oregon was admitted to the Union as a State.

Parcel

(1)   A contiguous area of land capable of being described in a single description, by a closed traverse; or as one of a number of lots, blocks, sections, or tracts in a subdivision or township; separately owned and capable of being separately conveyed.

(2)   Subdivision and Partition. A single unit of land that is created by a partition of land. ORS 92.010(6).

(3)   Verb. To divide an estate. Synonymous with “segregate” and “partition.” As used in ORS Chapter 215, the terms defined in ORS 92.010 shall have the meanings given therein, except that “parcel”:

(A)   Includes a unit of land created:

(a)    By partitioning land as defined in ORS 92.010;

(b)   In compliance with all applicable planning, zoning and partitioning ordinances and regulations; or

(c)    By deed or land sales contract, if there were no applicable planning, zoning or partitioning ordinances or regulations.

(B)   Doesn’t include a unit of land created solely to establish a separate tax account.

Partition land

to divide land into two or three parcels of land within a calendar year, but does not include

1.      A division of land resulting from a lien foreclosure, foreclosure of a recorded contract for the sale of real property or the creation of cemetery lots;

2.      An adjustment of a property line by the relocation of a common boundary where an additional unit of land is not created and where the existing unit of land reduced in size by the adjustment complies with any applicable zoning ordinance;

3.      The division of land resulting from the recording of a subdivision or condominium plat;

4.      A sale or grant by a person to a public agency or public body for state highway, county road, city street or other right of way purposes provided that such road or right of way complies with the applicable comprehensive plan and ORS 215.213 (2)(p) to (r) and 215.283 (2)(q) to (s). However, any property divided by the sale or grant of property for state highway, county road, city street or other right of way purposes shall continue to be considered a single unit of land until such time as the property is further subdivided or partitioned;

5.      A sale or grant by a public agency or public body of excess property resulting from the acquisition of land by the state, a political subdivision or special district for highways, county roads, city streets or other right of way purposes when the sale or grant is part of a property line adjustment incorporating the excess right of way into adjacent property. The property line adjustment shall be approved or disapproved by the applicable local government. If the property line adjustment is approved, it shall be recorded in the deed records of the county where the property is located.

Partition plat

UNIT: PARCELS, includes a final map and other writing containing all the descriptions, locations, specifications, provisions and information concerning a partition.

Plat

When used in a deed and/or survey in reference to subdivision plats, replats, and unit ownership plats, it may mean any drawing, map, or plan; or, a plat (plot) of ground.

1.      includes a final subdivision plat, replat or partition plat

Point of beginning (POB)

The beginning point of a property description or survey. The POB is usually a permanent, easy to locate, well referenced corner. The POB in a subdivision is called the initial point of the subdivision boundary description.

Point-of-call

Monuments, landmarks, objects, boundaries or other elements of a description, in a deed, that define the limits of the boundaries of a parcel of land, such as, “the NW cor of Lot 4“, “the left bank of the river”, “the north line of the J.P. Smith property”, “the center of the county road”, etc.

Quarter quarter section corners

Corners placed on the section line midway between the quarter section corner and the section corner (except on the last half-mile of section lines closing on the west boundaries of the township, or on other times between fractional and irregular sections). Few quarter-quarter corners were set in the original surveys of the U.S. public lands.

Quitclaim deed

The simplest form of deed. A deed that states, in effect, that the grantor is transferring her or his rights, if any, in the property described to the grantee. When a quitclaim deed is used to convey property, there is no implication in the instrument that the grantor has good title, or any title at all. If the grantor has good title, then the grantee receives good title by means of a quitclaim deed.

Replat

the act of platting the lots, parcels and easements in a recorded subdivision or partition plat to achieve a reconfiguration of the existing subdivision or partition plat or to increase or decrease the number of lots in the subdivision

Right of ingress and egress

A right to go upon and cross the land of another.

Right of survivorship

In place of the common term “joint tenancy”, there is language for the legal creation of a survivorship estate between two or more persons who are not married. As with tenants by the entirety, a recorded death certificate is all that is necessary to vest title in the survivor(s).

Split code

When the boundary of a taxing district crosses a property, the owner may receive two or more tax statements. There will be two or more accounts (and R#s) in ATP, but the property is still only one tax lot. The split code only affects taxing purposes. A deed changing info for that tax lot will need to be changed in all accounts.

Subdivide land

to divide land into four or more lots within a calendar year.

Subdivision

UNIT: LOTS, either an act of subdividing land or an area or a tract of land subdivided.

Subdivision plat

includes a final map and other writing containing all the descriptions, locations, specifications, dedications, provisions and information concerning a subdivision

Tenancy by the entirety

A survivorship estate is automatically created by a conveyance to a husband and wife. Each spouse owns all of the property subject to the other’s survivorship estate. They take title as H&W or TBTE. Upon death, the deceased spouse's ownership interest in the property is automatically extinguished. Recording the death certificate is all that is necessary to clear the title as a matter of public record.

Tenancy in common

A joint estate in which there is unity of possession, but separate and distinct titles. It’s a relationship between persons and not an estate. ORS 93.180.

(1)   Each tenant in common shares an undivided separate percentage ownership interest in real property with the other tenant(s) in common

(2)   Upon death, the tenant in common’s interest becomes a part of their estate to be distributed accordingly

Trustee

A person, other than the beneficiary, to whom a trust deed conveys an interest in real property, or the person’s successor in interest, or an employee of the beneficiary, if the employee is qualified to be a trustee under ORS 86.173.

Unit, condominium

A building, room or rooms (on one or more floors) or parts thereof, intended for any type of independent ownership, with exit directly or via a common area to a public street or highway. By statute, can include temporary parking or storage area when part of the condominium, even if no building exists.

Warranty deed

One providing a full warranty. It actually conveys the estate, not just the right, title and interest in the estate. ORS 93.850 defines the effect of a warranty deed in Oregon Law.