Real Estate Legal Descriptions and Measurements

Flashcards covering key real estate concepts, property description methods, and measurement techniques discussed in the lecture notes.

Legal Description

A detailed way of describing a parcel of land in a document that will be accepted in a court of law, based on information collected through a survey.

Survey

The process by which boundaries are measured, calculating dimensions and area to determine the exact location of a piece of land.

Meets and Bounds Method

The oldest method of land description in the United States, relying on a property's physical features to determine the boundaries and measurements of a parcel.

Point of Beginning

A designated place on the parcel where the meets and bounds description starts and ends.

Monuments

Fixed objects used to identify the points of beginnings, corners of parcels, or ends of boundary sections.

Rectangular Government Survey System

Established by Congress in 1785 to standardize land description by dividing land into rectangles, based on principal meridians and baselines.

Principal Meridian

Lines running north and south, used as reference points in the rectangular survey system.

Baseline

Lines running east and west, used as reference points in the rectangular survey system.

Township Lines

Lines running east and west parallel to the baseline, six miles apart, forming strips of land.

Tiers

Strips of land formed by township lines, designated by consecutive numbers north or south of the baseline.

Ranges

Six-mile wide strips divided by lines running north and south parallel to the principal meridian, designated by consecutive numbers east or west of the principal meridian.

Township

Squares formed by the intersection of township lines and range lines, six miles square and containing 36 square miles.

Section

Each township has 36 of these square-mile areas.

Square mile

Equals 640 acres or one square mile

Lot and Block Method

A system using lot and block numbers referring to a plat map in the public records of the county where the land is located.

Plat Map

A map of a town, section, or subdivision indicating the location and boundaries of individual properties.

Air Lots

The owner may subdivide the airspace above the land.

Datum

A point, line, or surface from which elevations are measured.

Spot survey

A survey that shows the location, size, and shape of buildings on a lot.

Benchmarks

Monuments established as permanent reference points throughout the US, usually embossed brass markers set into solid concrete or asphalt bases.

Acre

43,560 suare feet

mile

5,280 feet