Posted by JPiper on February 12, 2000 at 21:33:04:
All property has a legal description. As an example, I recently sold a house with a lot adjacent to it. The description of this property was "Lots 7 and 8, less the North 10 feet thereof, block 1, East XXXXX, a subdivision in City, County, State.
Legally, this is the way the property is described as opposed to the more common description such as 138 XXXX Street, City, State.
If the owner looks at his deed he will have a legal description. If he doesn’t have a deed in his possession, a preliminary title report will have the legal description. In my area, the tax records will show a legal description, although it’s not wise to rely on the tax records here for this since at times it is not accurate.
Chances are that this would give the investor what he wants. If you have an accepted offer your next step should be to order a preliminary title report from your title company. This will not only give you a legal description of what the owner owns, but it will also show any liens outstanding that must be paid off with your purchase to obtain clear title.
JPiper