Professional Surveyors and Real Property Descriptions – Composition Construction and Comprehension

FOREWORD xi
<p>1 INTRODUCTION 1</p>
<p>1.1 Property / 1</p>
<p>1.1.1 Personal Property / 1</p>
<p>1.1.2 Real Property / 2</p>
<p>1.1.3 Ownership / 2</p>
<p>1.1.4 Possession / 3</p>
<p>1.2 Title and Interests in Real Property / 4</p>
<p>1.2.1 The Concept of Title / 4</p>
<p>1.2.2 Fee Simple / 7</p>
<p>1.2.3 Limited Title / 7</p>
<p>1.2.4 Easements / 12</p>
<p>1.3 Transfers of Title and Interests / 26</p>
<p>1.3.1 Written Transfers and Conveyances / 27</p>
<p>1.3.2 Unwritten Transfers and Conveyances / 30</p>
<p>1.3.3 Statute of Frauds / 33</p>
<p>1.4 Deeds / 35</p>
<p>1.4.1 Legally Sufficient / 38</p>
<p>1.4.2 Abstract of Title / 39</p>
<p>1.4.3 Recordation / 40</p>
<p>2 LAND RECORD SYSTEMS 45</p>
<p>2.1 Overview / 45</p>
<p>2.2 Metes and Bounds / 47</p>
<p>2.2.1 General History / 47</p>
<p>2.2.2 Legally Sufficient / 48</p>
<p>2.3 United States Public Lands System / 51</p>
<p>2.3.1 History / 51</p>
<p>2.3.2 Aliquot Division / 53</p>
<p>2.4 Platted Subdivisions / 56</p>
<p>2.4.1 History / 56</p>
<p>2.4.2 Recorded Plats / 57</p>
<p>2.4.3 State and Local Regulations / 58</p>
<p>2.4.4 Federal, State, and Local Government Maps / 59</p>
<p>2.4.5 Linear Tracts / 59</p>
<p>2.5 Combined Record System Descriptions / 67</p>
<p>3 DIRECTIONS 71</p>
<p>3.1 Angles / 71</p>
<p>3.1.1 General / 72</p>
<p>3.1.2 Interior Angles / 72</p>
<p>3.1.3 Exterior Angles / 74</p>
<p>3.1.4 Deflection Angles / 74</p>
<p>3.2 Meridians / 75</p>
<p>3.2.1 General / 75</p>
<p>3.2.2 True North / 76</p>
<p>3.2.3 Astronomic North / 77</p>
<p>3.2.4 Magnetic North / 77</p>
<p>3.2.5 State Plane North / 78</p>
<p>3.2.6 Assumed North / 78</p>
<p>3.3 Bearings / 79</p>
<p>3.3.1 North–South Reference Lines / 79</p>
<p>3.3.2 East–West Reference Lines / 81</p>
<p>3.3.3 Reversing Directions / 82</p>
<p>3.3.4 Generalized Directions / 82</p>
<p>3.4 Curved Lines / 83</p>
<p>3.5 Azimuths / 86</p>
<p>3.6 Compass Directions and Headings / 87</p>
<p>4 MAP PROJECTIONS 91</p>
<p>4.1 General / 91</p>
<p>4.2 Projectionless Maps / 94</p>
<p>4.2.1 Government Land Office (GLO) Plats / 95</p>
<p>4.3 Conformal Plane Projection / 95</p>
<p>4.3.1 Tangent Plane Projection / 96</p>
<p>4.3.2 Lambert Projection / 96</p>
<p>4.3.3 Transverse Mercator Projection / 97</p>
<p>4.3.4 State Plane Projection / 99</p>
<p>4.3.5 Universal Traverse Mercator (UTM) / 101</p>
<p>4.3.6 Global Positioning System (GPS) / 101</p>
<p>4.3.7 Geographical Information Systems (GIS) / 102</p>
<p>4.4 Application / 103</p>
<p>5 PLATTING TO DESCRIBE 107</p>
<p>5.1 General / 107</p>
<p>5.2 Original Surveys / 108</p>
<p>5.2.1 Identifying the Bounding Parcels / 109</p>
<p>5.2.2 Monumentation / 112</p>
<p>5.2.3 Directions / 116</p>
<p>5.2.4 Distances / 119</p>
<p>5.3 Retracement Surveys / 121</p>
<p>5.3.1 Hierarchy of Calls / 123</p>
<p>5.3.2 Identification of Lines / 124</p>
<p>5.3.3 Area and Significant Figures / 125</p>
<p>5.3.4 Recovery of Monumentation / 128</p>
<p>5.3.5 Perpetuation of Monumentation / 129</p>
<p>5.4 Preserving the Evidence in Words: A Case Study / 130</p>
<p>5.5 Reference to Plats in Descriptions / 135</p>
<p>6 COMPOSING, COMPREHENDING DESCRIPTIONS 141</p>
<p>6.1 General / 141</p>
<p>6.2 Hierarchy of Calls / 142</p>
<p>6.2.1 Elements of the Boundaries / 144</p>
<p>6.3 Caption / 152</p>
<p>6.3.1 Land Record System / 153</p>
<p>6.3.2 Clarify Intent / 154</p>
<p>6.4 Body / 156</p>
<p>6.4.1 Point of Commencement / 156</p>
<p>6.4.2 Point of Beginning / 158</p>
<p>6.4.3 Elements of the Boundaries / 160</p>
<p>6.5 Elements of the Description / 173</p>
<p>6.5.1 Qualifications (Additions, Subtractions,</p>
<p>Reservations) / 173</p>
<p>6.5.2 Closing and References / 177</p>
<p>6.6 Punctuation and Language / 177</p>
<p>6.6.1 Key Words or Phrases / 179</p>
<p>6.6.2 Construing Ambiguous Deeds / 188</p>
<p>6.7 Deed Discrepancies Conflicts / 202</p>
<p>7 ALTA/ACSM SURVEYS 207</p>
<p>7.1 Land Title Insurance / 207</p>
<p>7.1.1 Why a Survey Matters / 208</p>
<p>7.2 ALTA/ACSM Survey Standards / 209</p>
<p>7.3 Mandatory Requirements for ALTA Surveys / 210</p>
<p>7.4 Accuracy Standards / 212</p>
<p>7.5 Informational Options / 215</p>
<p>7.6 The Description for an ALTA/ACSM Survey / 215</p>
<p>7.7 The Surveyor Is in Charge / 216</p>
<p>8 SITUATIONAL AWARENESS 219</p>
<p>8.1 Deed Discrepancies Conflicts / 219</p>
<p>8.2 Professional Responsibilities / 220</p>
<p>8.2.1 Understanding Historical Context / 220</p>
<p>8.2.2 Clarity and Completeness: Extrinsic Evidence / 224</p>
<p>8.2.3 Clarity and Completeness: Consider the Future / 227</p>
<p>8.2.4 Clarity and Completeness: Addressing Three Dimensions / 228</p>
<p>8.3 Regional Lexicon and Local Practice / 233</p>
<p>8.3.1 Limitations on Local Practice / 238</p>
<p>8.3.2 Marketable and Registered Title / 238</p>
<p>8.3.3 The Effect of Legislation and Courts / 241</p>
<p>8.4 Introducing Uniform Language / 244</p>
<p>8.4.1 Commencing versus Beginning / 246</p>
<p>8.4.2 Word Choices, Grammar, and Punctuation / 248</p>
<p>8.5 Breaking Old Habits / 248</p>
<p>8.5.1 Repeating Old Descriptions Verbatim / 249</p>
<p>8.5.2 Destroying Evidence / 250</p>
<p>8.5.3 Jargon, Colloquialisms, and Abbreviations / 251</p>
<p>8.5.4 Sentence Construction and Punctuation / 253</p>
<p>8.5.5 Copying a Writing Style / 254</p>
<p>AFTERWORD 255</p>
<p>TABLE OF CASES 257</p>
<p>INDEX 259</p>