Property Description and Analysis
Describing the Property
Candidates must read and interpret legal descriptions: metes and bounds, lot and block, government survey (section, township, range), and monument systems. Know that a section is 640 acres, a quarter section 160 acres, and that township is 36 sections. A trap: confusing township (36 square miles) with section (1 square mile).
Physical and Locational Analysis
Analyze site and improvements: frontage, depth, area, shape, topography, drainage, utilities, and access. Recognize excess land (more than needed, marketable separately) versus surplus land (more than needed, not separately marketable). This is a frequent exam distinction.
Units of Comparison
Use the appropriate unit: price per square foot, per front foot, per acre, per room, or per unit. Choose the unit the market uses; do not impose a unit the market ignores.
Worked Rule of Thumb
A tract described as the NE 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of Section 12 contains 40 acres (640 ÷ 4 ÷ 4). If a lot is 60 feet wide and 120 feet deep, area = 7,200 sq ft. If the market indicates $50 per front foot, the lot value is 60 × $50 = $3,000-but only if front footage is the market's unit.
Exam Traps
Watch for descriptions that omit a quarter, halving or quadrupling the acreage. And remember that shape and access can override raw area in value.