Importance of Legal Descriptions in Land Surveys

Every professional settlement agent is worthy enough to understand the importance of legal descriptions in real estate transactions. Legal descriptions are of high importance in commercial real estate deals – the investors have to exactly know what are they receiving. If the legal description is incorrect, then it will be creating dire consequences for the home buyers. At the same time, a legal description is an exceptionally important tool to the surveyors.

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Neither the homeowners nor the home buyers will be familiar with the term “legal description”, and so we have compiled the important factors you should know regarding this very part of real estate due diligence.

What is Meant by Legal Descriptions?
A legal description denotes the way for the real properties to accurately pointing out the exact location of each particular property. Based typically on the prevailing ownership grids, legal description comprises combined alphabetical abbreviations and numbers for locating that very land.

So, Why Does Legal Descriptions Matter?
Neither the land surveyors nor do the boundary surveyors in Perth ever use an address for surveying because the address might be wrong. They make sure to use the legal description to exactly find out what is the property’s location by locating the specific permanent reference points and monument points for finding the property. Never do the surveyors work according to the address, least they survey the wrong property.

The legal description is said to be a completely unique identifier for the properties in Perth, like all the other Australian regions. It is much different from the property address. Now, a valid property description is should be close – the lines must describe the start as well as the end, and should state the eventual meeting of the lines. Even the lines for legal description should be clearly defined.

In case, two parcels of property are existing within the same legal description, then it is likely to be a major potential issue clouding the owners’ titles, and might possibly call for litigation. At such an instance, you should ensure hiring an experienced land surveyor from a registered surveying company in Perth.

In order to determine the property to hold the title conveyed to the buyer from the seller, the settlement agents make use of the legal descriptions. Nevertheless, the agents might come across certain problems like leaving any part of property behind, or else including excessive property in the re-conveyance as the be mortgage and deed had been recorded with incorrect legal description. Subsequently, it might bring forth incredibly expensive title curative works in the upcoming times.

Now, for avoiding litigation, a new land survey must be obtained before closing as it is the best way for determining the legal description’s accuracy and closure, as well as for confirming the property’s boundaries. The legal description provides the important instructions to the land surveyors for following so this determination can be established.

Three Types of Legal Descriptions
While examining the legal descriptions of different properties, you need to realize a few differences and patterns emerging in how are they written. You will come across three main types of legal descriptions.

  1. Lot and Block
    Legal descriptions should be identifying the individual lot, the lot where the lot has been located and the reference for finding the cited plat map existing in the public record.
  2. Metes and Bounds
    The land surveyors use the distances and bearings for measuring the property’s circumference as described in the legal description to exact the metes and bounds.
  3. Fractional
    Fractional is the description of a property after a section is broken down. The land surveyors use certified corner records for calculating measurements and figuring out the lots and distances.

Holding the ownership of the property as well as a particular portion of it is the legal right, and so to establish the title lawfully, land surveys must be done. A land surveyor is the distinguished professional you need to consult and engage for exacting the legal descriptions, which in turn serves to be an acknowledged tool to the land surveyors to define the exact location of the property.


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