What is a Legal Property Description?
The legal description of property is the language used to convey the exact location and boundaries of a property. In Georgia, a legal description usually includes the title of the deed, the surveyor’s name, the county and state the land is situated in, the relevant land lot, district, and section, the metes and bounds or lot number, and potentially a reference to a subdivision plat. It must be in the chain of title to the property, including sales contracts, deeds, mortgages, easements, plats, and surveyor’s sketches and notes, such that a knowledgeable surveyor can locate it based on the description provided.
Purchasers of real property typically require a legal description in any purchase agreement, and lenders require it in a mortgage. During a closing, the lender often requires a survey from an independent surveyor showing the property boundaries and the location of any improvements. This survey is then filed in the clerk of court’s office to ensure its accuracy and proper record-keeping as part of the chain of title.
It is vital that a correct and accurate legal description is included on a property deed to respect the rights of subsequent landowners, lenders, and everybody else that has some interest in the property. An improper or incomplete legal description may void the deed or mortgage , consequently creating defects in the chain of title and leading to the revision or re-recording of a mortgage if it is not placed in the chain. Such problems may result in additional costs to subsequent buyers and lenders. It also provides a basis for possible tort or malpractice claims involving a surveyor or closing attorney when a legal description is recorded incorrectly.
For instance, let’s say Bob purchases a parcel of land located between two others, with the intention of building a house. Tom owns the land on either side of Bob. A surveyor a licensed surveyor in Georgia, Brad, does a boundary line survey for Bob while a closing attorney does the closing. After giving Bob a certificate of occupancy, Bob develops the land, but builds too close to Tom’s property line, encroaching on Tom’s land. A surveyor discovers the problem after Tom has not built due to financial reasons while Bob has built a full-fledged house on the land. Tom sues Bob and finds out about the improper survey and improper legal description and demands that they be corrected. Bob has some insurance coverage under his owners policy covering the house. The title company is forced to update the legal description as Tom insists on using the certified survey to update the legal description, but Brad is confident that he measured the property correctly, and takes the position that if the survey is wrong, each land lot should be legally combined into one combining the land in the legal description with another parcel registered and identified by its lot number.
Common Legal Descriptions in Georgia
Commonly, the preferred form of legal description is metes and bounds. Metes and bounds is used to describe any tract of land. It follows a simple format identifying a starting point, or monument, then describing the direction and distance to reach the next point, until you arrive back at your starting point or closed metes and bounds. It will include a call pointing out the landmark or a specific point on the map with the distance to that point. A classic example is, "From a 1-inch iron pipe found on the east side of Jones Road, run south 89 degrees east a distance of 300 feet to a 1-inch iron pipe found; thence in a northwest direction for a distance of 100 feet to a 2-inch iron; thence in a east direction 150 feet to a large water oak found and a point on the Davis line; thence in a south direction down Davis line 225 feet to the large Stone found and the initial point. A 1-inch iron pipe was found at the point." There must be an end to the description of a metes and bounds, otherwise it is void.
A plat map legal description is considered very precise. It references not only the surveyor but also the exact page in the land records where the plat was recorded. A typical example is – "All that certain lot, tract, or parcel of land lying and being in the City of Atlanta, Georgia, DeKalb, County bounded as follows: On the north by Jones Street, on the east by Lot (5), on the south by Lot (3) and on the west by Lot (1) and Lot (2) : being a part of the property known as Pinder Ridge Subdivision, as per plate thereof of record in the Deed Book 8E, Page 105, records of DeKalb County, Georgia."
The government survey legal description covers very large parcels of land. It uses a combination of angles, measurements and instructions to describe the land. It might read something similar to this: "Commencing at point marking the northwest corner of the 40-acre tract of land shown on Survey drawn for Richmond Redd. dated June 30, 1891, a distance of 264 yards south of the intersection of Providence Road with East Fork of Pigeon Creek; thence running east Sixty-Seven degrees North a distance of 319.5 yards (to iron pipe); thence north Sixty degrees west a distance of 318.2 yards (to the original 80-acre line); and thence south Seventy-eight degrees West, along said original line, a distance of 1180.1 yards to point near the base of the rock bluff on the west side of said line, and thence south 17 degrees 10 minutes East to a large Dogwood tree marking the southwest corner of said property, consisting of a part of what is known as the Aiken Ranch. A 1-inch iron pipe was found at the point."
Reading and Interpreting a Legal Description
Legal descriptions can often seem confusing or complicated at first glance. However, understanding how to read a legal description of your property ensures that you know exactly what you own, and ensures that potential buyers also know exactly what they are purchasing when the time comes to sell your property. In Georgia, a legal description of a piece of property is often composed of two very basic pieces of information: the lot number for the piece of property and a reference to a subdivision plat recording. For example, "lot 1 of H.J. Smith’s Subdivision as same is recorded in plat book 1, page 100, in the survivor’s office, Cobb County Georgia". This will tell a potential buyer exactly what it is they are buying. More complex legal descriptions are often used in commercial transactions, which can prove to be more difficult to interpret. The best way to read these descriptions is to use a piece of graph paper, a ruler and a pencil or pen to make notes so that you translate the description into something concrete. You will be measuring angles and lengths, looking for the right streets, and sometimes even going to the courthouse to find a stone monument marking the property. Commercial legal descriptions will often rely on the beginning point (also called the point of beginning), the angle and distance to the next marker, and the angle and distance to the end point. For example: Begin at the corner of Henderson and Lake Streets; thence North 30.0 feet; thence West 50.0 feet; thence South 30.0 feet; thence East 50 feet to point of beginning. The next step will be finding the actual location of the property, which is often described in the description. In this situation, you look for the corner of Henderson and Lake Streets, measure 30 feet North, 50 feet West, 30 feet South and 50 feet East. This will give you the basic dimensions of the property. Sometimes, legal descriptions will be written in what would be the language of the everyday person. For example, you may see something like this: "Parcel 2 – All that tract or parcel of land lying and being in the 17th District, 2nd Section of Cobb County, Georgia, which contains 0.50 acres, more or less, which is also identified as Land Lot 578 of said District on the maps and surveys of said county, and which is being a part of the 2.845 acres conveyed to Grantor by deed dated August 15, 1997, and recorded at Deed Book 5245, Page 760 in the Cobb County, Georgia, Deed Records, and is specifically but not by way of limitation, a part of the property shown on a Plat showing the proposed subdivision of said property, which is being, made a part of this description by reference and which said Plat is recorded at Plat Book 84, Page 123, Cobb County, Georgia records." Although this may seem long and complicated, it really isn’t once you break it down. Parcel 2 is one half of an acre of land that is located on Land Lot 578. It is one of the parcels mentioned in that deed that is at book 5245, page 760 of the Cobb County deed records, and is also part of the subdivision called out as Plat Book 84, page 123 in the Cobb County subdivision plats.
Importance of Legal Descriptions for Title Searches
The role of legal descriptions in title searches cannot be overstated as they are integral to the determination of ownership to land and in the establishment of boundary lines. When a deed is recorded in the public records, it is the legal description that places the property described on the ground. The legal description details the precise location and the number of acres within the boundaries of the land.
The surveyor creates the legal description from the survey which determines the location and boundaries of the land in relation to known reference points. The most common legal descriptions refer to the United States Public Land Survey System. This is an official system established by the Federal Government in 1785 to survey the States of the Union, beginning with Ohio. To this day, the rectangular grid system established by the Federal Government under the Public Land Survey System is the primary system used for subdivision or subdivision type legal descriptions in the United States . Not all parts of Georgia are covered by the Public Land Survey System. Portions north of the Savannah River, on the Coastal Plain and in the Valley and Ridge of North Georgia are not. In other parts of the State, the legal description may refer to a portion of land as being . . . "lying within the limits of the City of Atlanta . . . ." Any reference to a City as opposed to the United States Public Land Survey System in a Georgia legal description is a description of the land within the City limits of that City. These references to the City of Atlanta are acceptable. In these instances, the City of Atlanta is acting as the surveyor to determine the boundaries of the land. There are restrictions with this type of legal description that relate to the commercial use of the property and if a boundary survey is required. This means that when a legal description refers to property within the limit of the City of Atlanta, if that property is sold, title or survey work must include a survey plan in accordance with the requirements of The City of Atlanta.
Modifying and Correcting Legal Descriptions
If you realize that an error exists in the legal description of your property, that does not mean the mistake cannot be fixed. Mistakes or errors are common, and thus there are processes in place to update or correct the description. Keep in mind that in real estate, a legal description governs everything. Thus, if the description is incorrect, it could lead to disarray in your ownership.
If you purchased a home and it has a mistake in the legal description, all you typically have to do is get the correct legal description and have it re-recorded. If that does not precisely fix the issue, a quitclaim deed may be needed. Working with your closing attorneys can help resolve this issue without going through costly litigation.
To amend an erroneous legal description, it generally requires amending the original deed. You would have to open a warranty deed and then record a certificate of accuracy. A property survey can help determine where the error might be after which it can be determined where the error occurred in the deed. It may also be just easier to create a new deed that has the correct legal description.
If a survey shows the legal description to be correct, but you believe the property is not where it should be, you need to determine if your property was part of a subdivision or otherwise had its own plat recorded at the county courthouse.
It is up to the parties involved to create the new deed and file it with the clerk of court. The old deed will then be marked as void and the new one stands as the valid legal document.
A quitclaim deed is not a tool for correcting issues regarding a legal description. Quitclaim deeds are for making transfers of property. For instance, if a husband and wife divorce and no longer want to hold the property together, they can use a quitclaim deed to transfer their interest in the property to the other.
While it might seem as though a quitclaim deed may be a useful tool for this situation, it is not. When a quitclaim deed is issued, it provides no warranties about the status of the title or whether the property itself is subject to encumbrances. A quitclaim deed relinquishes rights only and does not add or remove things from a legal description.
What is needed is a corrective deed which is a warranty deed with a legal description correction. The corrective warranty deed lists the original legal description and then presents the amended version. This must then be filed with the clerk of court.
Importance of Accurate Legal Descriptions
As critical as the legal description of your property is to your seller covenant and to financing, it’s also important to have an accurate legal description to close on your property. Closing attorneys want to make sure that the down payment and debt requirements on all chargeable lines of the HUD-1 Settlement Statement are met and an accurate legal description is required for that. For example, we can’t get a mortgage on a home that is configured like a mobile home park; and Harvey could buy the golf course from Chip if the description were wrong and it were really a peach orchard.
The most common problems seen with legal descriptions are: errors in linear, square or cubic footage calculations, misspellings , misplaced or missing characters or punctuation, missing acreage, lots not recorded on the tax digest, transposition errors, missing covenants and restrictions, and missing information from other documents like easements. Errors made at the courthouse and recording office level can be difficult to correct and may result in problems later with financing, title insurance and claims, and claims for warranty complaints with the Georgia Real Estate Commission.
Without establishing first the way to identify land, in fact, the whole closing process would fall apart. To ensure that the buyer actually gets what it is entitled to, it is important that the legal description is accurate and is as specific as possible.