One of the oldest methods for identifying a land parcel is called description by metes and bounds. A metes-and-bounds description may be presented verbally, in written form, and/or graphically in a drawing called a plat.
In a metes-and-bounds description, a point of beginning (POB) for the parcel must be clearly identified and described and shown on the plat. It should be a permanent marker located at one of the property corners and tied in or referenced to some other permanent monument in the neighborhood.
The POB, in effect, establishes the precise location of the parcel within the community.
Starting with the POB, a running description that gives the direction and length of each boundary line is presented, in sequence, as if walking around the parcel and finally returning to the POB; it is customary to begin the running description with the boundary along a public right-of-way (ROW) adja-cent to the parcel (usually a main road). To complete the description, the names of all the neighboring property owners, called the adjoiners, are usually given: also, the enclosed area should be noted.
It takes some practice to be able to visualize and sketch or draw a tract of land from a written description, particu-larly for irreguparticu-larly shaped parcels with many sides. As a very simple example, the following metes-and-bounds descrip-tion for a so-called regular (or rectangular) lot, and its plat, is presented (see Figure 8-1).
Example 8-1
Beginning at a point on the north side of Adam Road, 160 m due west from a concrete monument at the corner formed by the intersection of the west side of Ginger Lane and the north side of Adam Road;
1. Thence, 30 m due west along the north side of Adam Road to a concrete monument;
2. Thence, 60 m due north along the line now or formerly of L.&T. Dunkin to an iron pipe;
3. Thence, 30 m due east along the line now or formerly of S.&S. Franks to a wooden stake;
4. Thence, 60 m due south along the line now or formerly of S.&F. Hershey to the point of beginning.
The directions of boundary lines are usually described in terms of bearings. In the past, magnetic bearings were usually used. It is generally difficult to accurately retrace those lines in a resurvey, due to the questionable accuracy of the magnetic declination determined for the time of the original survey. But the angles between the lines of the parcel can be computed from the bearings, to an accuracy equal to that of the original work.
FIGURE 8-1.A simplified survey map, or plat, for a “regular” (rectangular) lot. The corresponding description in the text depicts a “walk” along the lot boundary, starting and ending at the POB.
Today, it is customary to assume a somewhat arbitrary base bearing for one line of the parcel; this is often taken as the known or recorded bearing of an adjacent right-of-way from a previous deed or from some other source. The bear-ings of the other property lines are then computed from the measured angles. The bearings serve as a means of defining the relative directions of the lines, but have little meaning by themselves. Sometimes an astronomical observation is made to determine the true bearing of one of the lines. When state plane coordinates are used as part of the description,
“grid bearings” can be indicated for the boundary lines;
these can be independently established and provide reliable evidence of the locations of the lines.
Generally, the preferred form of a land description is the plat because the configuration of the parcel can be seen at a glance; all the survey data, including the positions of buildings and other facilities, are easily shown on the drawing. It is important, however, that the plat be incorporated in the deed by a carefully worded reference.
Some advantages of a written metes-and-bounds description, as compared with a plat, are that no drafting is required and the written description is incorporated directly as a part of the deed; a reference to a separate drawing is not required. In most cases, however, a plat is also prepared along with a written description.
Two additional examples of a written metes-and-bounds land description, and the corresponding plat, follow. In Example 8-2, a garage is seen to be encroaching on the parcel; this is explained further in Section 8-2. In Example 8-3, one of the property lines is the arc of a circle; the necessary descriptive data include the arc length L, as well as the length and direction of the corresponding chord. In addition, the radius R and the central angle Δ are given; these terms and their relationships are explained in more detail in Section 10-2.
Example 8-2
Recommended form of metes-and-bounds description (as seen in Figure 8-2) situated in the City of Blankville, County of
FIGURE 8-2.A survey plat show-ing existshow-ing structures and other information, as well as the prop-erty lines. (Philip Kissam, Surveying for Civil Engineers, 2e. New York:
McGraw-Hill Company, 1981.
Reprinted by permission.)
Blank, State of Blank, being a part of the same tract conveyed by Leslie Ware to Richard Roe by warranty deed dated June 15, 1907, and recorded in Book 100, page 100, June 20, 1907, at the Blank County Clerk’s Office, and bounded as follows:
Beginning at a concrete monument in the northeasterly line of Walnut Avenue, at the southerly corner of the land hereby conveyed, said monument bearing N 42°24 W, 378.62 ft along the northeasterly line of Walnut Avenue from the intersection of said northeasterly line of Walnut Avenue and the northwesterly line of Oak Street, and running:
1. Thence, N 42°24 W, 95.75 ft along the northeasterly line of Walnut Avenue to a concrete monument at the southerly corner of the land of James Smith and the westerly corner of the land hereby conveyed;
2. Thence, N 47°36 E, 207.69 ft along the southeasterly line of the land of James Smith to an iron pin at the northerly corner of the land hereby conveyed;
3. Thence, S 44°56 E, 108.84 ft along the southwesterly line of the land of John Rich to a point at the easterly corner of the land hereby conveyed, said point bearing S 19°41 E, 29.00 ft from a cross chiseled on a boulder on the land of John Rich and also bearing S 89°15 E, 13.95 ft from the easterly corner of the face of the foundation of the garage on the land hereby conveyed;
4. Thence, S 51°06 W, 212.90 ft along the northwesterly boundary hereby established of the land of Richard Roe to the point of beginning.
Example 8-3
The property of L. M. Jones, being Lot 7 situated in Elm Park in the city of Blankville, County of Blank, State of Blank (see Figure 8-3).
FIGURE 8-3. A plat of a land parcel with a curved boundary. The area of the segment formed by the arc and the chord AB must be subtracted from the area of the traverse ABCD.
(Philip Kissam, Surveying for Civil Engineers, 2e. New York: McGraw-Hill Company, 1981. Reprinted by permission.)
Beginning at a concrete monument in the northwesterly section of the line of Locust Circle and the southerly corner of the lot hereby conveyed:
1. Thence, along the said northwesterly line on a circular arc curving to the right at a radius of 191.10 ft, a distance of 150.76 ft, and a central angle of 45°12, to a concrete mon-ument at the easterly corner of the lot hereby conveyed.
The chord of said arc running N 52°05 E, 146.88 ft;
2. Thence, along the line now or formerly of R. T. Smith N 12°32 W, 232.70 ft to an iron pipe at the northerly corner of the lot hereby conveyed (bearing base);
3. Thence, along the line of A. B. Realty Company S 55°10 W, 226.52 ft to an iron pipe at the westerly corner of the lot hereby conveyed;
4. Thence, along the line now or formerly of George Brown et Ux S 32°40 E, 223.36 ft to the point of beginning.
As surveyed by Parker and Day Civil Engineers, in April 1970.
Do you notice any deficiency with this description?
Where is the POB located? Is it properly referenced?