Professional Surveyors and Real Property Descriptions: Composition, Construction, and Comprehension

269 Pages·2011·3.43 MB·English

by  Stephan V Estopinal

PROFESSIONAL SURVEYORS AND
REAL PROPERTY DESCRIPTIONS
PROFESSIONAL
SURVEYORS AND
REAL PROPERTY
DESCRIPTIONS
Composition, Construction,
and Comprehension
STEPHEN V. ESTOPINAL
WENDY LATHROP
JOHNWILEY&SONS,INC.
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData:
Estopinal,StephenV.(StephenVincent)
Professionalsurveyorsandrealpropertydescriptions:composition,construction,and
comprehension/StephenV.Estopinal,WendyLathrop.
p.cm.
Includesindex.
ISBN978-0-470-54259-0(cloth:acid-freepaper);ISBN978-1-118-08466-3(ebk);
ISBN978-1-118-08467-0(ebk);ISBN978-1-118-08468-7(ebk);ISBN978-1-118-08584-4(ebk);
ISBN978-1-118-08630-8(ebk);ISBN978-1-118-08632-2(ebk)
1.Surveying. 2.Surveys—Plotting. 3.Realproperty. 4.Mapreading. I.Lathrop,Wendy.
II.Title.
TA545E872012
526.9—dc23
2011013565
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
FOREWORD xi
1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Property / 1
1.1.1 PersonalProperty / 1
1.1.2 RealProperty / 2
1.1.3 Ownership / 2
1.1.4 Possession / 3
1.2 TitleandInterestsinRealProperty / 4
1.2.1 TheConceptofTitle / 4
1.2.2 FeeSimple / 7
1.2.3 LimitedTitle / 7
1.2.4 Easements / 12
1.3 TransfersofTitleandInterests / 26
1.3.1 WrittenTransfersandConveyances / 27
1.3.2 UnwrittenTransfersandConveyances / 30
1.3.3 StatuteofFrauds / 33
1.4 Deeds / 35
1.4.1 LegallySufficient / 38
1.4.2 AbstractofTitle / 39
1.4.3 Recordation / 40
v
vi CONTENTS
2 LAND RECORD SYSTEMS 45
2.1 Overview / 45
2.2 MetesandBounds / 47
2.2.1 GeneralHistory / 47
2.2.2 LegallySufficient / 48
2.3 UnitedStatesPublicLandsSystem / 51
2.3.1 History / 51
2.3.2 AliquotDivision / 53
2.4 PlattedSubdivisions / 56
2.4.1 History / 56
2.4.2 RecordedPlats / 57
2.4.3 StateandLocalRegulations / 58
2.4.4 Federal,State,andLocalGovernmentMaps / 59
2.4.5 LinearTracts / 59
2.5 CombinedRecordSystemDescriptions / 67
3 DIRECTIONS 71
3.1 Angles / 71
3.1.1 General / 72
3.1.2 InteriorAngles / 72
3.1.3 ExteriorAngles / 74
3.1.4 DeflectionAngles / 74
3.2 Meridians / 75
3.2.1 General / 75
3.2.2 TrueNorth / 76
3.2.3 AstronomicNorth / 77
3.2.4 MagneticNorth / 77
3.2.5 StatePlaneNorth / 78
3.2.6 AssumedNorth / 78
3.3 Bearings / 79
3.3.1 North-SouthReferenceLines / 79
3.3.2 East-WestReferenceLines / 81
3.3.3 ReversingDirections / 82
3.3.4 GeneralizedDirections / 82
3.4 CurvedLines / 83
3.5 Azimuths / 86
3.6 CompassDirectionsandHeadings / 87
CONTENTS vii
4 MAP PROJECTIONS 91
4.1 General / 91
4.2 ProjectionlessMaps / 94
4.2.1 GovernmentLandOffice(GLO)Plats / 95
4.3 ConformalPlaneProjection / 95
4.3.1 TangentPlaneProjection / 96
4.3.2 LambertProjection / 96
4.3.3 TransverseMercatorProjection / 97
4.3.4 StatePlaneProjection / 99
4.3.5 UniversalTraverseMercator(UTM) / 101
4.3.6 GlobalPositioningSystem(GPS) / 101
4.3.7 GeographicalInformationSystems(GIS) / 102
4.4 Application / 103
5 PLATTING TO DESCRIBE 107
5.1 General / 107
5.2 OriginalSurveys / 108
5.2.1 IdentifyingtheBoundingParcels / 109
5.2.2 Monumentation / 112
5.2.3 Directions / 116
5.2.4 Distances / 119
5.3 RetracementSurveys / 121
5.3.1 HierarchyofCalls / 123
5.3.2 IdentificationofLines / 124
5.3.3 AreaandSignificantFigures / 125
5.3.4 RecoveryofMonumentation / 128
5.3.5 PerpetuationofMonumentation / 129
5.4 PreservingtheEvidenceinWords:ACaseStudy / 130
5.5 ReferencetoPlatsinDescriptions / 135
6 COMPOSING, COMPREHENDING DESCRIPTIONS 141
6.1 General / 141
6.2 HierarchyofCalls / 142
6.2.1 ElementsoftheBoundaries / 144
6.3 Caption / 152
6.3.1 LandRecordSystem / 153
6.3.2 ClarifyIntent / 154
viii CONTENTS
6.4 Body / 156
6.4.1 PointofCommencement / 156
6.4.2 PointofBeginning / 158
6.4.3 ElementsoftheBoundaries / 160
6.5 ElementsoftheDescription / 173
6.5.1 Qualifications(Additions,Subtractions,
Reservations) / 173
6.5.2 ClosingandReferences / 177
6.6 PunctuationandLanguage / 177
6.6.1 KeyWordsorPhrases / 179
6.6.2 ConstruingAmbiguousDeeds / 188
6.7 DeedDiscrepancies—Conflicts / 202
7 ALTA/ACSM SURVEYS 207
7.1 LandTitleInsurance / 207
7.1.1 WhyaSurveyMatters / 208
7.2 ALTA/ACSMSurveyStandards / 209
7.3 MandatoryRequirementsforALTASurveys / 210
7.4 AccuracyStandards / 212
7.5 InformationalOptions / 215
7.6 TheDescriptionforanALTA/ACSMSurvey / 215
7.7 TheSurveyorIsinCharge / 216
8 SITUATIONAL AWARENESS 219
8.1 DeedDiscrepancies—Conflicts / 219
8.2 ProfessionalResponsibilities / 220
8.2.1 UnderstandingHistoricalContext / 220
8.2.2 ClarityandCompleteness:ExtrinsicEvidence / 224
8.2.3 ClarityandCompleteness:ConsidertheFuture / 227
8.2.4 ClarityandCompleteness:AddressingThree
Dimensions / 228
8.3 RegionalLexiconandLocalPractice / 233
8.3.1 LimitationsonLocalPractice / 238
8.3.2 MarketableandRegisteredTitle / 238
8.3.3 TheEffectofLegislationandCourts / 241
8.4 IntroducingUniformLanguage / 244
8.4.1 “Commencing”versus“Beginning” / 246
8.4.2 WordChoices,Grammar,andPunctuation / 248
CONTENTS ix
8.5 BreakingOldHabits / 248
8.5.1 RepeatingOldDescriptionsVerbatim / 249
8.5.2 DestroyingEvidence / 250
8.5.3 Jargon,Colloquialisms,andAbbreviations / 251
8.5.4 SentenceConstructionandPunctuation / 253
8.5.5 CopyingaWritingStyle / 254
AFTERWORD 255
TABLE OF CASES 257
INDEX 259
FOREWORD
Land.Language.Law.
As readers of documents that address every aspect of land—its
location, its character, its physical dimensions—surveyors and title
examiners and attorneys must all be intimately familiar with the va-
riety of possible interpretations and misinterpretations. Strange and
unusualthingshappenwhenlanguageisnotclearandthelawisthere-
foremisapplied.
Throughout our professional careers, we (the authors of this book)
have had a wide variety of experiences, often ordinary, sometimes
intriguing,sometimesfrustrating,relatedtolanddescriptions.Ourpur-
poseinundertakingthistopic istoimprove thewrittenrecordrelating
to land and to reduce the legal problems associated with poor or un-
cleardescriptions.Whenthelawmustbeimposedbecauseofproblems
withthedescription,everyonesuffers,whethermonetarilyoremotion-
ally. Real property boundary descriptions, land descriptions, must be
clearandconciseandpreservealltheevidencepertainingtoboundary
location. Often, land descriptions are the only surviving source of in-
formationpertainingtoaparcel’slocation.Whenthesedocumentsare
missing, incomplete, or ambiguously written, we play a losing game
of forensics in locating limited and full ownership interests on, above,
orbelowtheearth’s surface.
In this volume we examine the land description in the context of
time and history to understand how to improve documents we write
and how to increase our understanding of those we read. We include
history of language, of record keeping, and of surveying, and illus-
trate the consequences of failure to communicate with court opinions.
We hope that the background information provides a lively context to
thetopic.
xi
PROFESSIONAL SURVEYORS AND
REAL PROPERTY DESCRIPTIONS