Legal Description Of Property

Definition of "Legal Description of Property"

Mary Ann Izzarelli real estate agent

Written by

Mary Ann Izzarellielite badge icon

Ebby Halliday Realtors

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!

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

Mortgage market in which original loans are made by lenders. The market is made up with lenders who supply funds directly to borrowers and hold the mortgage until the debt is paid. Examples ...

Aerial navigation that may interfere with a property owner, such as creating undue noise. The value of land near an airport may decline in value for this reason. Further airport congestion ...

The "frost line" is a critical concept in real estate and construction, especially in regions with cold climates. But what exactly is the frost line, and why does it matter? Let’s ...

Schedule which is part of Form 1040 showing income or loss from real estate transactions including net rental income (rental revenue less rental expenses). ...

Rough, fractured parts of brick and stone that may be left over after an old structure id destroyed to make room to build a new structure. ...

Federal program in which the U.S. government subsidizes much of the rent paid by low-income people. It applies to rentals of privately owned apartments. ...

See accommodation endorser, maker, or party. ...

Commonly, a covenant refers to a legal treaty or agreement between various parties. Explicitly, a stipulation comes into existence and is signed to confine particular financial transactions ...

When we discuss loans, it is essential to know that there can be many types of loans and there also are open-end loans and closed-end loans. In regards to closed-end loans, these often work ...

Popular Real Estate Questions