When it comes to land surveys, the deed description is essential to any property record. Writing a deed description is basically about taking the ‘house on Main Street’ and describing it in a much more descriptive nature to demonstrate exactly where the property is located, what is nearby, and what its measurements are. Property descriptions have their own terminology to understand, and knowing these terms often makes it easier to write a deed description. Metes and bounds are two terms that are common. Metes is an explanation of the distance and course of the property, while bounds is a description that gives the boundaries of the property.
To better explain this, bounds would be used to state that a property is “bound on the north by Green, on the east by Smith, on the south by Jones, and on the west by Crane Creek River”. This basically supplies the information as to what surrounds the property, and really only describes that it is a four-sided structure. Determining the boundaries of neighboring properties is important, and this description doesn’t cover that information. Therefore, a metes description might better serve to clarify the information that is present.
A metes description would say something along the lines of “thence westerly for a distance of 300 feet to the eastern boundary of Crane Creek River”. This description shows that the property runs to the west until it reaches 300 feet, at which point it comes into contact with the boundary of the river. Using both of these descriptions gives a much better description of the property when writing a deed description. This quickly becomes known as a metes and bounds description. Preparing a deed description is best done by a professional land surveyor, because it requires experience in land surveys to be completed properly.
Many people have trouble understanding a deed description, but when it is deciphered, it basically states where the property is located and how far it is from neighboring properties. It also shows property boundaries and the size of the structure and existing land, as well. This description is a professional surveying piece that advises on the extent of the land title in a written format. Writing a deed description is not a challenge for professional surveyors, but understanding it might prove to be a little more difficult for homeowners if they aren’t familiar with terms and regulations of deed description writing.