What is the definition of a legal description of property?

The correct answer defines a legal description of property as a description sufficient to locate and identify the property. A legal description provides an exact location of a piece of real estate and can be used in legal documents, such as deeds or mortgages. This specificity is essential for establishing ownership and for various transactions in real estate. It may use methods such as the Metes and Bounds system, Lot and Block, or Rectangular Survey, all of which serve to pinpoint the boundaries and area of the property accurately.

In contrast, requiring oral testimony, which is not suitable for a legal description, refers to verbal accounts which can be ambiguous and subjective, making them invalid for precise property identification. Furthermore, property appraisal pertains to determining the market value of a property rather than identifying or locating it. A guideline for property listing might provide general pointers on how to present or market a property but lacks the precision needed to legally identify and locate a property. Thus, the defining feature of a legal description is that it must accurately and unequivocally delineate the property’s boundaries.