First, a large parcel of land is described either by the metes-and-bounds method or by a rectangular survey. The lot-and-block method is used mostly in subdivisions and urban areas.Ī lot-and-block survey is performed in two steps. The plat map is a map of a town, a section, or a subdivision, indicating the location and boundaries of individual properties. This system uses lot and block numbers referred to in a plat map filed in the public records of the county where the land is located. The third type of legal description is the lot-and-block (recorded plat) method. A metes-and-bounds description always ends back at the POB so that the tract being described is completely enclosed. The boundaries are recorded by referring to linear measurements, natural and artificial landmarks (called monuments), and directions. From there, the surveyor proceeds around the property's boundaries. The POB is also the point at which the description ends. A metes-and-bounds description starts at a designated place on the parcel, called the point of beginning (POB). The method relies on a property's physical features to determine the boundaries and measurements of the parcel. Metes means to measure, and bounds means linear directions. The metes-and-bounds method of land description is the oldest found in the United States, and it was used in the original 13 colonies, as well as in those states that were being settled while the rectangular survey system was being developed. A method used to describe a parcel of land that begins at a well-marked point and follows the property's boundaries, using directions and distances around the tract, back to the place of beginning.