Florida Real Estate Sales Associate Examination Content OutlineReal Estate Property and OwnershipEasy
A land surveyor is preparing a legal description for a large, irregularly shaped parcel of land located in a rural area where natural monuments and boundaries are prominent. Which legal description method is MOST likely to be used for this property?
- ALot and Block.
- BMetes and Bounds.
- CRectangular Survey System.
- DGovernment Survey System.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Metes and Bounds.
The Metes and Bounds method is ideal for irregularly shaped parcels and commonly uses natural and artificial monuments as points of reference, especially in older and rural areas not covered by the rectangular survey system.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Lot and Block descriptions are used for subdivided land, not typically for large, irregularly shaped rural parcels.
- C. The Rectangular Survey System (or Government Survey System) is for uniform, rectangular parcels, not irregular ones.
- D. The Government Survey System is another name for the Rectangular Survey System, which is for rectangular parcels.
Metes and Bounds
A legal description method that describes property boundaries by starting at a point of beginning and following a series of courses (directions) and distances ('metes') along boundary lines to various monuments ('bounds') and back to the point of beginning.
- Uses directions, distances, and monuments.
- Ideal for irregular shapes.
- Common in older and eastern states.
Memory trick: Remember 'LMR' for Lot, Metes, Rectangular – the main ways to map land.