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Land, Site, and Legal Identifiers
Chapter 12: Land, Site, and Legal Identifiers
Introduction
In real estate appraisal, precisely identifying the land and site is paramount. This chapter delves into the scientific and legal aspects of land and site identification, emphasizing the importance of accurate descriptions and the impact of various factors on land value.
12.1 Defining Land and Site
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Land: Represents the earth’s surface and its naturally occurring resources, including soil, minerals, and water. It’s an immutable, finite resource, often referred to as “raw land” before improvements.
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Site: Land that has been improved with essential amenities like utilities, access roads, and drainage systems, making it suitable for development. This transformation significantly increases the land’s utility and value.
12.2 The Significance of Legal Descriptions
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A legal description serves as a unique identifier, differentiating one parcel of land from another. It is crucial for real estate transactions, property ownership records, and appraisal reports.
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USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice) mandates the clear identification of the subject property. Legal descriptions fulfill this requirement by providing a definitive, unambiguous representation of the land.
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Practical application: Legal descriptions are used to determine whether the correct property is being valued. The description helps to ensure that all parts of the land are included in the valuation.
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Underlying Method: Legal descriptions need to be the primary tool used for the process. Parcel numbers and other identifiers can be helpful to assist, but the legal description should be the defining factor.
12.3 Methods of Land Description
Three primary methods are used to legally describe land:
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Metes and Bounds System
- Principle: Relies on a series of distances (“metes”) and directions (“bounds”) from one monument or landmark to another.
- Monuments: Can be natural features (rivers, trees) or artificial markers (fences, roads).
- Point of Beginning (POB): The description starts at a specific POB, which must be clearly defined.
- Calls: boundary❓ lines are described by their course (direction) and distance. Courses can be defined by angles or bearings.
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Closure: The description must “close,” meaning it returns to the POB.
- The distance around the boundary can be defined as:
- L = d1 + d2 + … + dn
- where L is the total boundary length and di is the length of each side.
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Experiment example: Surveying land parcels requires precise measurement to ensure complete closure. Errors in measurement and landmark displacement can lead to a failure of the description to close.
2. Rectangular Survey System (Government Survey System) -
Principle: Divides land into a grid of rectangles using principal meridians (north-south lines) and base lines (east-west lines).
- Principal Meridians: Run north and south, identified by their distance (degrees, minutes, seconds) west of the Greenwich meridian.
- Base Lines: Run east and west, identified by their latitude (degrees north of the equator).
- Township Lines: Run east and west, parallel to base lines, at six-mile intervals.
- Range Lines: Run north and south, parallel to principal meridians, at six-mile intervals.
- Townships: Six-mile square units formed by intersecting township and range lines.
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Sections: Each township is divided into 36 sections, each approximately one mile square (640 acres). Numbering follows a serpentine pattern.
- The area of the sections can be defined as
- A = l2
- Where l is one mile.
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Correction Lines and Guide Meridians: Used to compensate for the Earth’s curvature. Correction lines are typically every 24 miles, and guide meridians are used to adjust for convergence.
- Reading Descriptions: Government survey descriptions are read backward to determine the location and size of the property.
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Lot and Block System
- Principle: Used in urban and suburban areas where land has been subdivided into lots and blocks.
- Plat: A detailed map of the subdivision is recorded with the local recorder’s office.
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Legal Description: Refers to the lot number, block number, and the recorded plat.
- The legal description might read “Lot 4 in Pleasant Acres Addition.”
12.4 Title and Record Data
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Appraisers must conduct thorough research of title and record data to ensure the accuracy of the property identification and to uncover any relevant information that may affect value.
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Sources: County records of the auditor or assessor, title insurance policies, and deed abstracts.
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Key Information:
- Ownership History: Recent sales, listings, or options.
- Leases: Existing leases as of the appraisal’s effective date.
- Easements and Rights-of-Way: Access rights, utility easements, and other encumbrances.
- Deed Restrictions: Limitations on property use.
- Subsurface Rights: Mineral extraction licenses and other rights related to the land beneath the surface.
12.5 Zoning and Land Use Information
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Understanding zoning regulations is essential for determining the permitted uses of the property and its development potential.
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Sources: Local planning or zoning departments.
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Key Considerations:
- Minimum Lot Size: The smallest allowable area for a building.
- Utility Availability: Access to water, sewer, electricity, and other essential services.
- Minimum Building Size: The smallest allowable building size.
- Minimum Road Frontage: The length of the property that must abut a public road.
- Minimum Side Yard Requirements: The required distance between a building and the property line.
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Compliance: Compliance can be classified as either legal land use or development standards. Issues may be discovered upon closer inspection such as: small lot size, small yard, or buildings not following setback procedures.
Chapter Summary
The chapter “Land, Site, and Legal Identifiers” within the training course “Decoding Real Estate: Neighborhoods, Land, and Legal description❓s” elucidates the critical importance of accurately defining and identifying real property. It emphasizes that land possesses value derived from its utility and that an appraiser’s opinion of value is tied directly to the rights associated with a legally defined space on Earth.
The chapter differentiates between “raw land” and a “site,” the latter being land improved with utilities, streets, and drainage, which significantly impacts its value. A core tenet is that a precise legal description is paramount for identifying the subject property, superseding reliance on addresses, which can be unreliable. The function of a legal description is to uniquely differentiate one parcel of land from another, irrespective of any improvements made upon it.
The chapter details three primary systems for legal land description: metes and bounds, the rectangular (government) survey system, and the lot and block system.
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Metes and Bounds: This system, prevalent in original American colonies states, relies on distances and directions (courses) from one monument (natural or man-made landmark) to another, originating from a “point of beginning.” A critical requirement is that the description “close,” meaning it returns to the starting point; otherwise, it’s unusable.
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Rectangular Survey System: This system, conceived by Thomas Jefferson and adopted in 1785, divides land into rectangles using principal meridians (north-south) and base lines (east-west). It uses township and range lines to create a grid. Townships (approximately six miles square) are further subdivided into 36 sections (one mile square), each containing roughly 640 acres. Correction lines compensate❓ for the curvature of the earth. Descriptions are read “backwards” to determine location and size.
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Lot and Block System: Common in urban areas, this system uses plats filed by developers. Legal descriptions refer to a specific lot within a recorded plat❓ (“Lot 4 in Pleasant Acres Addition”), simplifying lengthy metes and bounds descriptions.
Furthermore, the chapter stresses the necessity of researching title and record data, including ownership history, leases, easements, and deed restrictions, to ensure accurate property identification and avoid appraisals on the wrong property. Ownership information can be obtained from county records or directly from property owners. Zoning and land use information must be thoroughly checked with local planning or zoning departments, including minimum lot size, utility availability, building size, road frontage, and yard requirements. Compliance with zoning falls into two categories: legal land use and development standards. Non-compliance with development standards does not necessarily mean the land use is illegal.
In sum, the chapter emphasizes the scientific underpinnings of real property identification through standardized legal description systems. Its implications are that accurate property valuation❓ relies on a clear, legally sound definition of the land being appraised and a comprehensive understanding of factors impacting its utility, including title history, zoning, and land use regulations. Failure to adhere to these principles can lead to inaccurate appraisals and legal complications.
