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

A rental stipulation a varying rental rate. Rental rate are determined tied to periodic appraisals or an inflation or an inflation index. The provision is more common in a long-term leases. ...

Traditional style borrowed from the British Georgian architecture in the American colonial period. Colonial architecture usually has two stories emphasizing window detail and shutters. ...

The term comparables is used to better determine the value an asset has when compared to others, similar to it. Real estate comparables are used in assessments to determine a house’s ...

Suppose you are a house hunter, buyer, seller, realtor, or investor. In that case, you've probably come across the term "Gross Rent Multiplier" or GRM. But what exactly is it? Let's shed ...

Home of 1 to 3 stories with stucco outside and a roof made of red tiles. ...

The definition of option explains the term as something that can be chosen in spite of having multiple other alternatives. It could be an option for food, which shows a preference for one ...

The definition of a full covenant and warranty deed in real estate is a type of deed that includes a number of specific assurances that certain conditions will be met that go above and ...

The definition of alienation in real estate stands for the legal action that is done voluntarily by an owner to dispose of their property. It also encompasses a property’s right to be ...

The rent a property commands in a free and open market setting. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions