Periodically, a property owner who is just looking for information calls or writes me with a question about how to inspect (or map) his own property. A common question that comes up many times is, “How do I get my property records?” The second question that is asked, usually after you have your description in hand, is, “How do I read this?”
People ask these questions for many reasons. Some wish to fence or pose their lands, others out of pride of ownership, the desire for knowledge, or sometimes to protect themselves from the threat of invasion. The information in this article will not make you an expert overnight, and you will want a certified surveyor for any legal issues you may face, but this will help you better understand your property.
As you read your property description, you are reading about the imaginary lines that establish the “demarcation” (boundary) between your property and its neighbors, often referred to as “adjoining.” A neighbor can be another private landlord or a government agency that has a title to the property, such as the street in front of your property.
You will see the property description in many formats. The most common are Lots, Metes or Bounds. In some cases, the description may be a combination of the three above.
Briefly, when a larger parcel of land is divided into two or more parcels, it is called a subdivision. The owner subdivides the property into lots. The description of each lot is generally created through a government planning procedure. This creates a process called “concurrent handover” because all parcels (lots), at the time of county registration, share the same property rights.
For example, a property can be described as follows:
Lot 1, SMITH SUBDIVISION, City of Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
On the other hand, a description of Metes is written “in sequence, “with the lines that form the perimeter of the property, while a boundary description describes the property boundary by calling the description “contiguous”. Examples of a contiguous would be: “Bordered on the west by County Road 119, have east by the Jones property “, or maybe a natural limit like “the Platte River “. These two types of descriptions are considered “sequential transports “, in which there are junior and senior titles between contiguous lands.
To read the description of your property in the case of the lot description format, you will need a copy of the “Recorded“plate. If you don’t have one, you can purchase a copy at your county seat. Look for the”Registrar and Clerk’s Office“. Most subdivision plates will provide you with the necessary geometry as shown next to your lot lines. Today’s plates require that the direction and length of the lines that make up the perimeter of your lot must be on the plan map, but for some plan maps, you may not find it. However, if available, the units of measure are usually aspects and distances for each of the property lines. The bearing will indicate the direction. Distance (length of line) is generally written in units of feet and are horizontal values. The deed to your property will identify the nomenclature of the particular lot, and the plan map will show the geometric size, shape, and location along with the bearings and distances that uniquely identify your lot.
Let’s simplify reading for you. Think of a compass. The arrow heading provides the direction with the numbers at the end of the arrow providing the amount of north deviation. The bearings are purposely placed in four quadrants of the circle. The bearings in your lot will almost always begin with the letter N or S, which means North or South, with numbers in the middle, and will end with the letters E or W, which means East or West. For example, a heading of N 44 E means traveling along that line in the northeast quadrant of your compass on a heading of 44 degrees east of north. N 45 W means 45 degrees west of north. The beauty of many descriptions is that all lines are created simultaneously.
To read a Description of Metes, as in the following example, it is important to know that the sequence it cannot be read out of order. If bearings and distances are given, then they should be read in the order in which they are printed. Sometimes the description will start with “From … . “That is your starting point.
For example, you can see your description as: Beginning at a point 247 feet east of Jacobs Fork; thence N 51 W, 210 feet; thence N 44 E, 204 feet to a pine tree; thence S 48 E, 210 feet to a cement post; thence S 43 W, 204 feet to the starting point, which contains 0.98 acres, more or less.
There may be other ways to provide the direction (bearing) of the property, such as using angles starting from the previous property line. They can be recited as inside, outside, right, left, prolongation (continued), and many others.
To read a Description of limits, the order of the lines that are described does not usually matter. If bounded to the north by a river, to the east by Highway 1, to the south by Jones, and to the west by Smith, the order as presented makes no difference. This type of description is usually the most expensive and takes the most time to define, because to conduct a successful survey, you or the surveyor must investigate all other adjacent properties in the boundary description.
Again, the information in this article is not to make you an expert, and before designing the expense to lay that shed slab, or that first post hole, we strongly recommend that you have the property inspected by certified professionals. However, with a little understanding, time, and a decent compass, most people can understand the overall layout of their property.