


A similar line, called the baseline, runs from east to west on the compass.

An imaginary line, called a meridian, runs from north to south on the compass. The surveyor typically uses a quadrant notation compass, like the one depicted above, to determine direction. Standing at the given point of beginning, the surveyor must determine true north and then determine the direction of the first line of the survey. A metes and bounds survey must begin at a particular point. As such, a metes and bounds survey is one that measures the boundary lines of a particular area of land, which can be of any size or shape. According to Black’s Law Dictionary, metes means to measure and bounds means boundary. When land ownership began there had to be a way to define the boundaries of a property so people knew where their land ended and their neighbor’s land began.The metes and bounds survey system was developed in England,before the European discovery of the Americas. There had to be a way to define the perimeters of a person’s property. Natural boundaries served as handy reference points, until the tree blew down or the stream changed course. A better way needed to be invented, one that would be more permanent and reliable. The methods used evolved as the shapes and size of properties changed. In our everyday world, we rely on street addresses to locate property, and you might think that street addresses would be the best way to identify property. However, while they are convenient, street addresses are not always reliable. Not only can address numbers change, the whole name of the street can also be changed. What are some reasons this might happen? Sometimes the streets are renamed by request from the fire department or police in order to make emergency location easier, or the residents might request a change.
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In any case, if the street address was the primary way of identifying the property, these changes would create chaos, because people wouldn’t know where the old street name and number went, or how to find the new one.

That’s why using a legal description is the most accurate way to identify real estate. A legal description can be long and look complicated, but it’s a more precise method of describing where a property is located. Why is this so important? You can imagine the problems if a property was bought and sold, a house built and a family moved in, only to discover it was in the wrong spot. Or worse, the building straddled two different properties, with two different owners. It would create headaches that could have been avoided if the correct legal descriptions had been verified. The importance of using accurate measurements cannot be overstated. How explicit should it be? The legal description should be detailed enough for a surveyor to be able to locate the property using that information alone. The legal description appears in several places in real estate paperwork, such as sales contracts, mortgage documents, deeds, title information and more. It’s used to trace the history of a property to ensure clear title and lenders need it to make sure they have the proper security for the loan.
