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
When we think of rural property or rural real estate, most of us think of farms, properties with large areas designated to agricultural land. That’s how rural communities generally ...
Property that is similar in characteristic and when exchanged is a nontaxable transaction. Any property that is not like-king, such as cash (boot), is taxed. As a result, a gain is not ...
Document between two or more parties indicating a need to take or not take a previous action taking place. For example, a bank may commit to make a loan dependent on a satisfactory credit ...
Building recognized because of its history, such as the Booth theater in Washington, Dc. The demolition of historical buildings is not permitted. Historical building modifications are ...
Type of property distribution occurring when a person dies intestate. The estate id divided by the children of the deceased and by their children. For example, if a husband dies intestate, ...
Market condition in which the prices of real property are declining because of a lack of demand normally associated with a general economic slowdown. ...
The landing at the bottom and/or top of a stair case providing support for the structure. ...
The right to drain water through anothers property through a ditch, pipe, or trench. See also drainage right of way. ...
A bilateral contract is a pretty straightforward term. No horseplay there. It’s a legal agreement between two individuals who both agree to do (or not to do) a specific act. The ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.