Real Estate Exam: Land Description Methods, Metes and Bounds, Rectangular Survey

The three legal methods of describing real property are metes and bounds, the rectangular or government survey system, and the lot and block or recorded plat method. Metes and bounds uses compass directions and distances from a point of beginning. The rectangular survey divides land into townships, sections, and fractions using principal meridians and base lines. Lot and block references a recorded subdivision map with numbered lots. A valid legal description must identify one specific parcel and no other, and informal descriptions like street addresses are not legally sufficient for deeds.

Metes and bounds describes property by starting at a fixed point of beginning and tracing the boundary using compass directions and distances until returning to the starting point. Metes are measurements of distance, and bounds are directions or boundary markers like roads and rivers. A typical description might read "beginning at the iron pin on the north side of Oak Street, thence north 45 degrees east 200 feet." The description must close, meaning the final line must return exactly to the point of beginning.

The rectangular survey system, also called the government survey system, divides land using a grid of principal meridians running north-south and base lines running east-west. The grid creates six-mile-square townships, each containing 36 one-mile-square sections of 640 acres. Townships are identified by their row and column position relative to the meridian and base line using township and range numbers. Sections are numbered one through 36 in a serpentine pattern starting from the northeast corner.

A section is a one-mile-square parcel of land containing 640 acres within the rectangular survey system. Each township contains 36 sections numbered in a serpentine pattern starting with section one in the northeast corner and ending with section 36 in the southeast corner. Sections can be subdivided into halves of 320 acres, quarters of 160 acres, and smaller fractions. Section 16 was historically reserved for school funding in many states.

The lot and block system, also called the recorded plat method, describes property by referencing a numbered lot within a numbered block on a subdivision plat map that has been filed with the county recorder. A typical description reads "Lot 7, Block 3, of Sunset Hills Subdivision, as recorded in Plat Book 12, Page 45." This method is the most common for residential properties in subdivisions because the plat map contains the precise metes and bounds descriptions, lot dimensions, easements, and setbacks. Any buyer can examine the recorded plat at the county office to verify boundaries.

The point of beginning is the fixed, identifiable starting point from which a metes and bounds property description begins and to which it must return to create a closed boundary. It must be a permanent, identifiable landmark or monument such as an iron pin, a concrete marker, or the intersection of two roads. If the point of beginning is vague or impermanent, the entire legal description may be challenged as invalid. The point is typically described by its relationship to a known reference like a section corner, a road intersection, or a recorded monument from a prior survey.

A township is a horizontal row of land measured north or south from a base line, identified by its distance in six-mile increments such as Township 3 North. A range is a vertical column of land measured east or west from a principal meridian, identified similarly as Range 2 West. Together they create a grid where each six-by-six-mile square is called a township and can be uniquely identified by combining both numbers. The intersection of Township 3 North and Range 2 West identifies one specific 36-square-mile area containing 36 sections.

A street address is not a valid legal description because it does not define the exact boundaries of a parcel with sufficient precision for legal purposes. Addresses can change when streets are renamed or municipalities reorganize numbering systems, and they do not specify how much land is included in the parcel. A legal description must identify one unique parcel with enough specificity that a surveyor could locate its exact boundaries on the ground.

A survey is a professional measurement and mapping of a property's boundaries, dimensions, area, and physical features by a licensed surveyor. Surveys are required by most lenders before issuing a mortgage to verify that the legal description matches the physical property and to identify encroachments, easements, or boundary disputes. A survey reveals whether structures are within required setback lines and whether any improvements extend onto neighboring land. Title insurance companies also rely on surveys to identify risks.

An acre is a unit of land measurement equal to 43,560 square feet, which is roughly the size of a football field without the end zones. In the rectangular survey system, one section equals 640 acres, a half section equals 320 acres, a quarter section equals 160 acres, and a quarter of a quarter section equals 40 acres. To calculate acreage from a fractional description, multiply the fractions by 640. The northwest quarter of the southeast quarter equals one quarter times one quarter times 640, which equals 40 acres. This conversion is tested frequently on real estate licensing exams. ---