Legal Description Of Property
Definition of "Legal Description of Property"
The legal description of property is a legal instrument to determine as best as one can, the physical boundaries and characteristics of a plot of land and the housing built on top of it. Its goal is for someone to completely identify a property just by reading the description provided, and it generally comes attached to lease agreements to guide possible disputes in the future. A legal description of property is mostly found in sales contracts, deeds, and mortgages.
Real estate lawyers are usually the ones responsible for the legal description of property, and – when doing one – they typically focus on aspects that don’t change much over the course of time. So, for instance, a street address is not the most common identifier in a legal description of property because street names do change a lot. So, no “the property is in the intersection of Old Guy Street with Brand New Name Street”, as time changes, and even the most popular name can be traded for any number of reasons - not to mention the street can cease to exist due to urban development or even natural disasters.
Some legal descriptions of property cover the quantity of land in acres, but the most common way of going about this document is making a description of the land itself through fractional designations that divide (and describe) the land in sections. This concept of locating or describing land is actually very old and has been around since 1785 when it was established by law under the Articles of Confederation as a way to divide the land in relation to the public land survey system. Its initial purpose was to determine farms and big real estate into “townships”, but as time went on and our society developed and started fragmentizing space within space, it grew more specialized and complex.
It is very important to have a professional do your legal description of property when doing the title transfer of your house because if it’s improperly done, the sale of the home can be marked as invalid due to improper land description.
Real Estate Tip:
You know who can connect you with a trustworthy lawyer to help out not only on the legal description of property but several other documents? A real estate agent! And we have the best ones! Contact a local one now!
Popular Real Estate Terms
The most common definition of economies of scale refers to the decrease in production costs of a single item due to a business enterprise’s expansion. In short, mass production can ...
Also called a rollover mortgage. Provides a borrower with a fixed-rate mortgage that expires at a preestablished time, such as in four years. This permits the lender and borrower to ...
A business in which one or more person, with unlimited liability, called general partners, manage the partnership. There are also limited partners who contribute capital, but do not manage ...
One who agrees to pay the debts of another in the event that the debtor does not pay. The creditor can demand payment from the surety as soon as the debt becomes due. Although a surety ...
An agreement occurring from actions of those impacted, but not communicated in writing or orally. For example, it is presumed that a real estate agent will perform his or her obligations ...
Economic policies designed to reduce the fluctuation in the business cycle. An example is Federal reserve monetary policies. An attempt by an underwriter to prevent a market price of a ...
Individual making the payments in a mortgage or pledging a mortgage or property. ...
An adversary hearing allows both parties to an issue to present their views. A public procedure performed by an administrative or legislative body to investigate certain matters and ...
Process of conferring and consulting with clients concerning real estate investments and developmental projects. See also American Society of Real Estate Counselors (ASREC). ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.