accurate statements about metes and bounds land descriptions include:

Surveyors took many notes and made many It was 66 feet long (4 rods). directions were often (not always) provided from landmark to landmark. A township is six miles by six miles and has 36 sections. A metes and bounds description ends at the point of beginning. for the line S32E - align your protractor with the circular side facing east). While standardization is critical for enabling property to be understood by a larger and more distant set of buyers and creditors, customized property practices built upon localized knowledge serve other important social functions that likewise encourage development. Check off each line or corner on the photocopy as you work to help prevent errors. Internet Links It's specified by a distance between two terminal points and includes the direction or orientation of the line. Rectangular Survey System | Definition, Process & Examples, Legal Description of Property | Overview & Examples. Bounds are typically used to define properties with more acreage. Dan Listwa and the other editors of the Yale Law Journal provided outstanding substantive suggestions and invaluable editorial assistance, including the visuals, which were produced by Sarah Levine. In order to avoid litigation, the best way to determine the accuracy and closure of a legal description and to confirm the boundaries of the property is to obtain a new land survey before closing. Metes & Bounds: System & Survey - Study.com Example of a Metes and Bounds Legal Description: These descriptions are easiest to write but are the most difficult types of legal descriptions to survey. for a newly opened up territory. U.S. Public Land Survey Tenancy at Will Laws & Examples | What is an Estate at Will? Associate Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Real Estate Liens: Overview & Characteristics. Draw a solid dot on your graph paper to indicate your starting point. section are usually less than 40 acres. *Some subdivisions may not be divided by blocks and may only list the lot number. in 1784. Metes and bounds are the limits or boundaries of a piece of property as identified by its natural landmarks. Index, Metes & Bounds Metes refer to a boundary defined by the measurement of a straight line. Such mapping generally uses streets and their intersections to define the boundaries of election districts, wards, precincts, inter alia. the system that was used to open most of the new territory added to the United These can fall over on their own, or malicious neighbors can intentionally move them. Check out our PDH approved courses today. Metes and Bounds. Ralph passed away in 1952, whereupon the land was transferred to Ruth Martin. Notably, for newly subdivided lands, it is usually unlawful to use metes and bounds descriptions. Metes and bounds - Wikipedia Instead, the land was consistently described as having a certain number of acres more or less.. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. It is based on a series of rectangular surveys, adjusted for the LegalDictionary.net mentions a case in which a piece of property was poorly described by a surveyor using terms such as more or less. The property was surveyed three times over a period of years and each survey yielded markedly different boundaries. Smaller distances are measured in rods, with a rod being 16.5 feet, so four rods equals one chain. English history. "Metes" Metes and Bounds to Describe Real Property | Schorr Law, APC a piece of land roughly one mile by one mile, or roughly 640 acres. Most homes within a developed community should lie within a township and range. To begin, the surveyor must locate three of the sections certified corners. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. lines converge in the north but the township lines remain parallel, always 6 Each of these corners are a mile apart, so this means that the surveyor or surveyors must walk this distance with their equipment while following the instructions and measuring until they reach the specified point. Metes and bounds are the boundaries of a parcel of real estate that identified by its natural landmarks. It is also used in some states that were previously part of one of the Thirteen Colonies, or where land was allocated before 1785. At that point, the rapid expansion of the U.S. required a simplified and more efficient . lies about 12 miles north of Jackson, on the county line. 2. Chapter 4 Quiz Flashcards | Quizlet Making a plat from a land description may sound complicated, but it is actually very simple once you learn how. The lake itself and the land under the water is typically owned by the public There is no easy fix to correct a legal description, and it requires an experienced title professional to resolve the issue. hbspt.cta.load(489537, 'db19e496-14d6-4971-8d52-b08e516a2f87', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); Amanda Farrell is a digital media strategist at PropLogix. English surveyors carried chains (such as a Gunter's chain) with which to measure lengths, as well as poles, and many older legal descriptions of real estate in the United States are given in chains and poles. Metes and Bounds landmarks are often used in a "legal description" of a land. In Michigan, the initial point It was therefore impossible to tell which boundary lines were correct. Note that the range Metes & Bounds: Definition & Uses - Video & Lesson Transcript - Study.com Information on this site and your receipt or use of it (1) does not create an attorney-client relationship, (2) is not intended as a solicitation, (3) is not intended to constitute legal advice, and (4) is not a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified real estate attorney in Los Angeles. subdivided. ends up with a mile of 5,280 feet). The metes and bounds system marks the boundaries of a property according to its surrounding landmarks. of establishing corners and running lines from the southeast corner of the township Updated on March 17, 2017 In the original thirteen colonies, plus Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Texas, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, and parts of Ohio (the state land states), land boundaries are identified according to the indiscriminate survey system, more commonly referred to as metes and bounds . 4, NW1/4 SE1/4. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Along the N-S prime meridian, points are marked at Legal Descriptions Compass directions always have to be tied to a table of annual deflections because magnetic north is constantly changing. The metes component designates the property line using a directional call (north, south, east, or west), an angle (described in degrees, minutes, and seconds), and a distance (usually noted in feet). By custom, it was applied in the original Thirteen Colonies that became the United States and in many other land jurisdictions based on English common law, including Zimbabwe, South Africa, India and Bangladesh. This Usually, but not always, the "forties" around a lake are not true forties. which is a single square mile, or one mile on each of four sides of a square, more or less any survey 2021 Scope of Survey Services. Texas Supreme Court: What Happens When Deed Descriptions Differ? Parcels were often defined by formations such as rivers, trees, roads, or other landmarks. Since compasses point to magnetic north, rather than true north, surveyors may have corrected their surveys by a particular declination value. When Europeans came to North America, they brought with We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. The "Star Chamber" during furlongs, a furlong would be 40 poles (or rods), and a pole would be 16.5 feet (all this Each section is identified with a number based on its position. Home Page v. Varsity Brands, Inc. A system used in real estate to define the physical features and boundaries of a piece of property. Highlight the calls - lines and corners. Balance Section The description gives important instructions to the surveyor to follow in order to make this determination. Metes is a piece of the propertys boundary line determined by measuring the distance between two points. METES AND BOUNDS. Kimberly Powell is a professional genealogist and the author of The Everything Guide to Online Genealogy. ". She teaches at the Genealogical Institute of Pittsburgh and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. challenge to take a wilderness and divide it up into ownership parcels. Yale Law Journal - The Forgotten History of Metes and Bounds flashcard sets. This also requires an understanding of certain legal conventions of surveying used to describe directional calls. BLM Module 3: Metes-and-Bounds Study Guide Metes are distances between two points measured with straight lines, regardless of what is in between them. curved, adjustments have to be made. In the end, the jury sided with a surveyor who said that although the original survey had unclear borders, it described a set number of acres and that this should be the determining factor in establishing borders. https://www.britannica.com/topic/metes-and-bounds. A monument may be A. any physically identifiable object. The metes component of the survey uses three identifiers for the property line: When performing a metes and bounds survey, the surveyor begins at a point designated by the legal description. The government or rectangular survey system was adopted in the United States in 1785. This line may follow the course of a natural boundary like a stream or river, or an artificial boundary like a road or highway. Metes and bounds have historical significance, and in some jurisdictions, metes and bounds are considered the most accurate description of parcel boundaries due to the geographical. PDF 3 The Nature of Real Property - Washington Not all underwriters require a survey for all closings. An acre equals a square 208.7 feet by 208.7 feet, 43,560 square A metes and bounds description should include names of all adjoining property owners. The subdivision's location within a section, a township, a county, and a state. The simplest way to read a USPLSS legal description is to proceedbackwards from the end the description to locate the appropriateState, County and Principal Meridian to determine the generalvicinity. These lines are called guide meridians. Because of the Earth's curvature, these guide meridians do not A pertica was a measuring stick. These The description then gives distance, direction and various boundary descriptions as if one were walking the bounds pacing off the distance to the next corner where there is a change of direction. of Professional Land Surveying(TBPLS) , 12100 Park 35 Circle, Bldg. land descriptions. The Roman "pertica" 276 lessons A principal legal type of land description in the United States, metes-and-bounds descriptions are commonly used wherever survey areas are irregular in size and shape. Metes are distances and directions. At trial, Warren L. Storey, Jr., the surveyor who had conducted the 1982 survey, testified that, since the deeds to the property contained no metes and bounds, the property should be measured by calculating its acreage. copyright 2003-2023 Study.com. Understanding the survey Metes and bounds descriptions are typically used whenever land survey areas are irregularly sized and/or shaped, so that the boundaries of the property can be more clearly defined. Boundary Descriptions - details on natural features found along the property boundaries, such as creeks and trees. D All the following are true about a metes-and-bounds legal description EXCEPT a. it is only used in states west of the Mississippi River. Modern land survey is based largely on proposals developed by Thomas Jefferson Metes and bounds systems have long been the subject of ridicule among scholars, and a recent wave of law-and-economics scholarship has argued that land boundaries must be easily standardized to facilitate market transactions and yield economic development. In conducting a metes and bounds survey, the surveyor begins at a known landmark and proceeds clockwise around the perimeter of the property using a compass. Recreation Section Townships are divided into 36 Sections of one square mile each. Metes and bounds was the survey system used to map the original thirteen colonies of the United States and remains part of the legal description of properties in that geographic area. Election constituency boundaries continue to be described by the use of metes and bounds, even in jurisdictions where land plats are not otherwise based upon metes and bounds. In most distance measures, especially those in older deeds and where measuring distances over a furlong, boundary lengths are listed in rods or poles instead of feet or meters. Each corner of the property should be described by a monument or marker, and the description should proceed in a logical, clockwise direction around the property, beginning and ending at the same point to form a closed figure. Since long before the settling of the American colonies, property boundaries were described by the metes and bounds method, a system of demarcation dependent on localized knowledge of movable stones, impermanent trees, and transient neighbors. Place the center of your protractor on top of the dot, making sure that it is aligned with the grid on your graph paper and that north is on top. Martin appealed to the Court of Appeals of Georgia, and in April of 1997, the Court reversed the lower courts decision and remanded the case back to the trial court for the purpose of conducting a new trial. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you Find the legal description of property. The basic unit is an acre. Land platting experts Patricia Law Hatcher and Mary McCampbell Bell suggest to their students that they underline the lines (including distance, direction, and adjoining owners), circle the corners (including neighbors), and use a wavy line for meanders. I also owe thanks to Benito Arruada, Rick Brooks, Chris Buccafusco, Dave Fagundes, John Goldberg, Patrick Goold, John Harrison, Debbie Hellman, Liz Papp Kamali, Greg Keating, Donald Kochan, Gary Libecap, Anna Lvovsky, Cynthia Nicoletti, Marc Poirier, Michael Pollack, Joe Singer, Henry Smith, Stew Sterk, David Waddilove, Katrina Wyman, and Ekow Yankah for helpful comments and conversations. Today, https://www.thoughtco.com/metes-bounds-and-meanders-ancestral-land-1420631 (accessed July 17, 2023). It employs the use of measurements and markers to draw straight lines from one point to another in order to show the location and shape of a piece of property. Sandy Burris has taught CTE (Career and Technical Education), social studies, and English at the middle and high school levels for over 20 years. Examples of metes and bounds landmarks include rivers, roads, stakes, or other such natural or manmade markers. Beginning at a white oak in Michael King's line: then by sd [said] line S[outh] 30 d[egrees] E[ast] 50po[les] to a pine then E 320 poles to a pine then N 220 poles to a pine then by Crisp's line west 80 poles to a pine then down the creek to the first station. Once you look closer at the land description, you'll notice that it follows a fairly basic pattern of alternating "calls," consisting of corners and lines. and accurate descriptions. From each standard corner, a line is run true Metes and bounds have historical significance, and in some jurisdictions, metes and bounds are considered the most accurate description of parcel boundaries due to the geographical features used to identify precise locations. When using this method to survey land, the description directs the surveyor to start at a certain point. If there are two parcels of property with the same legal description, this is a potentially huge issue that will cloud the owners titles and possibly lead to litigation. These jurisdictions typically rely on streets and their intersections to define the boundaries of each electoral district. Each section is divided further into quarters and so on. earliest descriptions used an archaic system called the "Rural Land A principal legal type of land description in the United States, metes-and-bounds descriptions are commonly used wherever survey areas are irregular in size and shape. In the United States, its a misdemeanor to intentionally destroy, remove, or deface permanent survey markers. NJDEP| Green Acres | Survey Section - Standards for Land Surveys Using new archival research from the American colonial period, this Article reconstructs the forgotten history of metes and bounds within recording practice. Land description and maps - AAPG Wiki 24 There are four rods in one chain. Mile Tract Divided These objects are typically metal rods or concrete pieces lodged into the ground. A metes and bounds legal description starts from a point of beginning, then traces the outline of the propertys boundary lines until there is closure in the legal description. Some survey contractors were very States. How to Get a Legal Description of Property: An Expert Guide - wikiHow I feel like its a lifeline. Ms. Burris is certified in Business Education, English, and Social Studies in the state of South Carolina. extends east-west. Typically the system uses physical features of the local geography, along with directions and distances, to define and describe the boundaries of a parcel of land. acres, which is 1/16th of a section. This method takes additional time to calculate dimensions resulting in higher costs to conduct the survey. Basically, this system breaks down counties and towns into a grid system. Natural monuments and artificial monuments can both be used as metes and bounds. of Roman armies. The rich descriptions of the metes and bounds of colonial properties were customized to the preferences of American settlers and could be tailored to different types of property interests, permitting simple compliance with recording laws. there are numerous survey systems in Ohio because the learning process was How Do I Stop My Neighbor from Tearing Down My Fence if the Courts Are Closed? This is because a more detailed definition would otherwise be either too expensive to carry out, or simply unnecessary.