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What Does It Mean by Legal Description

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A legal description is the exact location and measure of the real estate. Although an address is often used to locate a property, legal descriptions are used when transferring titles because they are more accurate. Unlike an address, it is a unique identifier. This is especially important if you are buying undeveloped land without an address. Most potential buyers know how important a tax certificate is before closing the transaction for a property. They want to know that there are no overdue taxes or other problems. However, there is one equally important document that the potential seller should have: the legal description of the property. The legal description of a property can be found on the deed. You can usually find a certificate in your area on a local authority`s website. Be sure to check the latest certificate for the most accurate information. If you carefully read the legal description in your document and compare it with the legal description in a previous document, you can ensure that your document contains the corresponding legal description. As mentioned earlier, how a real estate law definition of property is written depends on where the land is located and the type and shape of the land. There are three types of commonly used legal property descriptions: boundary markers, government surveys, and lot and block.

Here is an overview of each of these types in detail. Sometimes the legal description is attached to the document. If this is the case, the text of the document usually refers to the attached legal description. For example, the body of the document might refer to the property as “. the lands described in Schedule A.” Appendix A is appended to the document and contains the legal description. Do you know the purpose of a title search? Learn what it is, what it is used for and how important it is to have one before buying a property. The type of legal description you will find on a real estate document depends on factors such as the method of measurement, location, and type of property. If the property is not subject to a subdivision area, and especially if it has an irregular shape, more complex descriptions will be posted, allowing a surveyor to measure and mark the boundaries of the property.

A valid legal description should define a fully fenced property, i.e. the described dividing lines should meet at one point. It is usually prepared by a surveyor or other qualified professional. This type of legal description is used in modern planned residential communities, commercial areas, and industrial developments. The areas are divided into blocks and then into parcels. Inside each platform, there is a permanent reference monument or checkpoint that helps determine the location of each property. The land surveyor notes the size and location of each property and block that will be included in the survey platform or subdivision map and registered in the jurisdiction where the subdivision is located. Metes and bounds is the oldest surveying method used for property descriptions. It is commonly used for irregularly shaped land, commonly used to describe properties located in rural areas or large tracts of land that are not divisible. These definitions are very precise and describe all dividing lines, lengths and angles. To do this, they rely on terms such as monuments, landmarks and starting point (POB). The definition starts at the POB and then tells you how far and in what direction the boundaries go from there until they are reconnected.

For an example of how a legal description of a lot and block appears on an actual deed, see Example of an act – Lot and block. The inclusion of an accurate legal description of ownership is essential when transferring or pledging real estate. In most cases, there is no substitute for simply finding the last deed of ownership and using the legal description on that deed. In the case of plated subdivisions, the description of the object is simplified. The property description used in deeds and other land deeds refers to the name of the subdivision and the lot number. For example: This is very common in rural areas and is called description metes and bounds. It begins with the description of a point where measurement begins, which can be abbreviated to POB, as a starting point. It usually contains information on the cantons. This is a simple description of Metes and Bounds.

They can be much more complex in irregularly shaped plots. If a property is in a subdivision, the legal description can be very simple. It usually refers to one or more lots, the block (or blocks) on which the lots are located, in the name of the subdivision, the county and the state. Such descriptions can get quite complicated, especially if a property crosses a municipal section or boundary. All deeds in the chain of ownership of the property must have an identical legal description. It is usually found on the document after a sentence similar to: “the defined parcel or parcel of land described as follows”. You may be wondering why you need such a detailed description of a property and why you should hire someone to prepare it. Well, the short answer is: Because that`s the only way to provide a unique identifier for your property. However, in some cases, the legal description of the property may be a separate document attached to the deed.

In this case, the deed must contain a reference to this point, for example “the goods described in Schedule 1”. The following description: From the intersection of the south line of The legal description of Metes and Bounds uses geographic features, monuments and distances. In this context, a monument is a survey marker – an element placed on a parcel of land to mark an important survey point. The destruction, removal, permanent degradation or relocation of a monument is a regulatory offense in all U.S. states. As you can see, the legal definition of a property is much more complex and descriptive than a real estate address. It describes the exact boundaries of the country, which are essential for the transfer of ownership and mortgage documents. It allows all parties to understand which properties they legally own and can help avoid property conflicts with neighbors. The appropriate method depends on the type of property in question, so the real estate definition should always be drafted by a lawyer who understands the exact systems and arguments. Neither the address nor the tax identification number is a sufficient description to transfer or encumber the property. The exact method of changing the legal description of a property varies depending on the type of property and where you live, but it should be a fairly simple process.

Legal descriptions change frequently, especially as more accurate GPS tools highlight errors in the original description of properties. Contact your city or county authorities to learn more about the process in your area. Although relatively rare, a real estate document may contain an inaccurate legal description due to outdated surveying methods. Surveys have become a much more accurate science with GPS, drones, and planned community development. A legal description is a description of real estate that is sufficient to identify it for legal purposes. When drafting an act, it is important to use the correct legal description. In most cases, it is best to use the legal description of the last deed of ownership. The three types of legal descriptions you are likely to encounter include: The other, less common, use of a legal description of real estate is when disputes arise between neighbors regarding the boundaries of a property. An impartial expert will review the legal description and help resolve these disputes. This confirms who owns the area and describes where property boundaries begin and end. If one of the parties chooses to do so, the legal description of the property may be challenged. In some cases, a land surveyor will redefine the boundaries of the property so that both parties agree.

It is customary for a party to obtain financial compensation to agree on the owner of the land. The legal description should also give a surveyor enough information to find and measure the country`s borders. Correcting errors in the legal description can delay a property`s closure and cost additional time and money, but ignoring it can jeopardize an owner`s claim to the land. A potential buyer must ensure that the deed of ownership of the land they wish to purchase contains a legally binding description of the property. This is the only way to be sure that once the transaction is completed, you are the undisputed owner of this property. The description reflects the rudimentary tools used to study the country at the time. You will often see traces of trees, rocks, bridges, rivers and other bodies of water. As you can see, the legal description of the property is different from the address of the property.

While it can help locate the property on a map, addresses can change. Therefore, using an address as the primary identifier of the property is not always effective. On the other hand, a definition of real estate law helps anyone understand the exact boundaries of ownership and the amount of land sold. It may seem longer and more complicated, but it is a much more precise way of defining the exact borders of the country, which helps to avoid disputes. There are two main types of legal descriptions: lot and block descriptions, which are most often associated with subdivisions; and Metes and Bounds descriptions, which are used for non-dividing properties. Some legal descriptions include both lot and block descriptions and boundaries and boundaries. When creating a legal description, it is important to use the exact legal description that appears on the last deed of ownership.