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Understanding Legal Descriptions

A Legal Description (also known as Land Description) consists of the written words which delineate a specific piece of real property.  In the written transfer of real property, it is universally required that the instrument of conveyance (in California, a Grant Deed) include a written description of the property. Attached please find examples of how legal descriptions appear on title documents of record.

IMPORTANT TITLE TIP:

As title insurers, it is the Legal Description and the corresponding Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN) that we insure to, NOT the property’s address.  The Post Master and Tax Assessor employ two different means of classifying property.

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