How to Read a Legal Description of a Property

The legal description of a property is a real estate document delineating the precise location, shape, size, and boundaries of a land parcel. This brief legal document is distinct from a street address in that it expressly conveys the real property, rather than buildings, being exchanged in a real estate transaction. Real property refers to a physical piece of land, everything attached to it, and the rights that accompany ownership.

In a few short paragraphs, a legal description of property will detail the parcel of land's boundary lines, property span, and county and town information, all of which a licensed land surveyor helps determine. Homeowners can access this land description in the property’s most recent deeds, which are kept on public record at local government agencies, such as the county clerk or county assessor’s office, or the register of deeds.

The legal description of a property has many uses for lenders, homeowners, and assessors alike. Homeowners can use the document to settle a dispute over property lines or close out a property sale, while lenders commonly utilize it to determine the terms of a mortgage. Alternately, assessors use this information to determine a property’s value and thus its property tax.

The legal description of a property outlines the exact geographic boundaries of the property and notes any geographic features like water sources or easements. Property owners need an accurate legal description of the property for any legal transaction, like property transfers.

An imprecise description can create several legal and financial headaches for homeowners down the road, like boundary disputes or title problems. The law does not recognize deeds with an incomplete or inaccurate description.

The type used to determine the boundaries of your piece of property depends on which state you live in and whether you are in a suburban or rural area. These are the three primary types of legal descriptions of properties in the US:

• Lot and block: The lot and block format is based on maps and plats of subdivision records. When a property is subdivided, a developer must hire a surveyor to create a subdivision plat map, an official record detailing the size and boundaries of each lot within the subdivision, assigning each with a number. This system emerged in the nineteenth century during the rapid growth of urban and suburban areas. Sometimes referred to as the recorded plat survey system, this method is more common in densely populated areas and is the most accessible form to understand.
• Metes and bounds: The metes and bounds method is the oldest way to create legal descriptions of property. A metes and bounds description, which means distance and direction, begins and ends at a landmark called the point of beginning (POB). The property is measured and described in a point of direction from a starting point using angles, distance, directions, and landmarks. The metes and bounds legal descriptions are longer and more complicated than the other types of descriptions.
• Government survey: The government rectangular survey uses two hypothetical intersecting lines, principal meridians and baselines, to determine the property boundaries. A principal meridian runs north-south, and a baseline runs east-west. This land survey system is popular in the midwest and western regions of the US.

If you are buying or selling a home and need to review the legal description of a property, here are some steps to guide you through the process:

1. 1. Obtain the deed. The legal description of a property is located in the property’s most recent deed. If you are the current owner, you can refer to your own deed; otherwise, you can access the deed in the local county’s public record office.
2. 2. Identify the legal description. The legal description is located in the body of the deed following dates and names. Look for the words “described,” “legal description,” or “description.”
3. 3. Determine the type of legal description. Determine what kind of legal description you are looking at: lot and block, metes and bounds, or government survey—you will most likely be dealing with one of the first two.
4. 4. Read accordingly. A lot and block description is straightforward and usually accompanied by a diagram. A metes and bounds description, however, is not as straightforward to the layperson. The large chunk of text contains a step-by-step description following the property’s boundary line, which begins at a landmark, like a river or distinct tree, then proceeds to describe the rest of the property in terms of north and south until it arrives back at the initial starting landmark.
5. 5. Review for inaccuracies. Checking for inaccuracies is a particularly important step for metes and bounds descriptions. Defining a property line based on landmarks runs the risk of becoming outdated or being done inaccurately. Look for inconsistencies and ambiguities. If the description fails to close the loop at the designated landmark, it’s inadequate and may need to be defined by the courts.

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