Legal Descriptions: Introduction and Metes & Bounds

Chapter: Legal Descriptions: Introduction and Metes & Bounds

I. Introduction to Legal Descriptions

Informal property descriptions like street addresses (“123 Main Street”) or common names (“Empire State Building”) are insufficient for definitively establishing property boundaries for legal and appraisal purposes. A legal description is a precise and unambiguous identification of a property’s exact boundaries. It’s the foundation for deeds, mortgages, and other real estate documents, ensuring clarity and preventing disputes. Appraisers should be able to recognize whether the description meets the local standards, and identify the real estate that is described in the legal description.

There are three primary systems of legal description used in the United States:

1. Metes and Bounds System: Relies on distances, angles, and reference points to define boundaries.
2. Rectangular (U.S. Government) Survey System: Divides land into a grid system using principal meridians and base lines.
3. Lot, Block, and Tract System: Identifies parcels within a platted subdivision.

The selection of system or a combination thereof is determined by local law and custom.

II. Metes and Bounds System

The metes and bounds system is the oldest and often most complex method of legally describing property. It defines a parcel’s boundaries by specifying their metes (distances and directions) and bounds (natural or artificial features serving as boundaries). Essentially, it provides a step-by-step instruction set allowing a surveyor to trace the exact perimeter of the property.

A. Reference Points

A reference point, also known as a monument, is a readily identifiable and fixed location used as a starting or turning point in the description. These points can be:

• Natural Monuments: Naturally occurring features like trees, rocks, rivers, or other geographical landmarks. While historically used, their impermanence makes them less reliable in modern descriptions.
• Artificial Monuments: Man-made features like survey markers (often metal or concrete stakes permanently set in the ground), roads, walls, or buildings.
• Record Monuments: References to publicly recorded documents, such as a deed of an adjoining property.

All metes and bounds descriptions originate at a Point of Beginning (POB). The POB is the initial reference point from which the boundary description commences and, crucially, where it must return to close the described parcel. To ensure clarity, the first point on the actual property boundary is sometimes referred to as the True Point of Beginning. The initial reference point and true point of beginning might coincide, or the true point of beginning may be described in reference to the initial reference point.

B. Courses and Distances

Once the POB is established, the description proceeds to define each boundary line by specifying its course and distance. Metes are the bearings and lengths used in each segment of the boundary.

• Courses (Bearings): A course defines the direction of a boundary line, expressed as an angle relative to North or South. The system utilizes degrees (°), minutes (‘), and seconds (“) to specify these angles with precision.

  • There are 360 degrees in a full circle:

    1 circle = 360°

  • Each degree is subdivided into 60 minutes:

    1° = 60'

  • Each minute is further divided into 60 seconds:

    1' = 60"

  • Therefore:

    1° = 3600"

  • Cardinal Directions: North (N), South (S), East (E), and West (W).

  • Quadrant Bearings: Most courses are expressed using quadrant bearings. A quadrant bearing defines the angle east or west of North or South. For example:

    • N 45° E: North, 45 degrees towards the East. This means the line runs in the Northeast quadrant, 45 degrees away from North.
    • S 89° 19’ E: South, 89 degrees and 19 minutes towards the East. The line runs in the Southeast quadrant, 89° 19’ away from South.
    • S 10° W: South, 10 degrees❓ towards the West. The line runs in the Southwest quadrant, 10 degrees away from South.
    • N 2° 30’ 15” W: North, 2 degrees, 30 minutes, and 15 seconds towards the West. The line runs in the Northwest quadrant.

• Distances: The distance is the length of the boundary line, usually measured in feet, meters, or chains (an older unit of measure, often 66 feet).

  A typical “call” (instruction) in a metes and bounds description looks like:

  “North 45 degrees East, 100 feet”
  (N 45° E, 100 ft)

  This instructs the surveyor to proceed from the current point in a direction 45 degrees east of North for a distance of 100 feet.

C. closure❓❓

The final and most critical aspect of a metes and bounds description is closure. Closure ensures that the described boundaries form a closed polygon, returning precisely to the POB. A lack of closure creates ambiguity and renders the description legally deficient.

• Mathematical Closure: Ideally, the sum of the angles and lengths of all courses should mathematically return to the POB. In reality, survey measurements are subject to small errors.
• Tolerance: Surveying standards allow for a small margin of error. If the discrepancy is within acceptable tolerances, the description is deemed to have “closed.”
• Modern Techniques: Software and surveying equipment automate closure checks.

D. Practical Applications and Related Experiments

1. Parcel Area Calculation: Given a closed metes and bounds description, it is possible to calculate the area enclosed. One common method is using the coordinate method (also known as the surveyor’s formula), which relies on converting the bearings and distances into Cartesian coordinates (x, y). The area A is then calculated as:

A = 0.5 * | Σ (xi * yi+1 - xi+1 * yi) |
where xi and yi are the coordinates of the i-th vertex, and the summation is performed cyclically (i.e., the last vertex is connected back to the first).

2. Simulated Survey Experiment: Using CAD software or surveying software, input a metes and bounds description. The software will plot the points and lines, allowing you to visually verify closure. Experiment with intentionally introducing small errors into the bearings or distances to observe the impact on closure and area calculation.

3. Real-World Boundary Reconstruction: (Advanced) If permissible, obtain a metes and bounds description of a small parcel of land. Using a compass, measuring tape, and appropriate safety precautions, attempt to physically stake out the boundaries according to the description. Compare your results with existing boundary markers or aerial imagery to assess the accuracy of your interpretation.

E. Appraisals

• Verification: Appraisers are not typically responsible for surveying property. However, they should understand metes and bounds descriptions to identify the property and recognize potential issues (e.g., obvious ambiguities, lack of closure).
• Transcription: Copying metes and bounds descriptions introduces risk of errors. It is advisable to use photocopies of legal documents to avoid transcription mistakes.
• Area Calculation Tools: Appraisers may use software to calculate parcel area based on the metes and bounds description.
• Modernization: The laser transit used by surveyors has made for more accurate determinations of points, directions and distances. Uncertainty with regards to points of beginning has largely been eliminated through the use of established BENCH MARKS, which are survey markers set in heavy concrete monuments. Satellite technology has also been utilized by surveyors to locate points.

F. Advantages and Disadvantages

• Advantages: Flexible system for describing irregular shapes, suitable for areas not covered by the rectangular survey system.
• Disadvantages: Can be complex, lengthy, prone to errors, relies on potentially impermanent monuments.