Property Descriptions 101

Here is a basic form of property description that is used maybe 90% of the time here in Texas:

 100 acres, more or less, in Live Oak County, Texas, out of the  Averill Humdinger Survey, A-101, being the same land described in a deed dated January 1, 2009, from John Doe and wife, Jane Doe, to Joe Public and wife, June Public, recorded in Volume 177 at Page 299 of the  Official Public Records of Live Oak County, Texas. 

Please notice a few things about this description.

• The number of acres you are describing is the first thing you see. 
• The county and state where the lands are located is set out.
• The survey name and abstract number where the lands are located are set out.
• The  “reference deed” that properly describes the property is detailed. When choosing a reference deed for a lease description, please choose the most recent one unless there is a reason not to. Ideally, the referenced deed will contain a good, metes and bounds description of the lands.  However, this is not always practicable. If the recent deeds refer all refer to an earlier deed with a metes and bounds description, then one option is to reference the later deed and include a copy of the earlier deed with the metes and bounds description in the LPR or MOR package.
• When describing a reference deed, it is not necessary to list all of the  Grantors and all of the Grantees. The Latin terms, “et al” or “et ux” or  “et vir” or their English counterparts, “and others,” or “and wife,” or  “and husband,” are often utilized instead. Usually, though, if you are not going to list the additional names, you utilize the Latin phrases instead of the English ones. Use your best judgment when deciding whether or not to utilize these abbreviations.

Two of the most basic modifications to this basic form of descriptions are  the “More Than One Tract” description and the “Save and Except” description. 

Always begin the description with the number of acres you are leasing. Then, go on and set out the county and state, the survey name  and abstract number, and then say the following: 

“being more particularly described in two (or more) tracts as follows:”

And then, simply describe each tract as set out above under “Basic  Description”. One thing that you can do when describing these two or more tracts that comprise the property you are leasing is to omit the county and state and even the survey name and abstract number from your descriptions. Of course, if the tracts you are describing are in different counties, or states, or surveys, then you definitely would not want to omit these things. 

Here is an example: 

 100 acres, more or less, in  Live Oak County, Texas, out of the Averill Humdinger Survey, A-101,  being more particularly described in two (2) tracts as follows: 

Tract One

50 acres, more or less, the same land described in a deed dated January  1, 2009, from John Doe and wife, Jane Doe, to Joe Public and wife, June  Public, recorded in Volume 177 at Page 299 of the Official Public  Records of Live Oak County, Texas. 

Tract Two

50 acres, more or less, the same land described in a deed dated January  1, 2010, from John Doe and wife, Jane Doe, to Joe Public and wife, June  Public, recorded in Volume 188 at Page 477 of the Official Public  Records of Live Oak County, Texas. 

Please note that the description could be arranged or formatted in many ways. For instance, instead of being formatted as set out above, it could all be together in one paragraph as set out below. The important thing is that you make it clear that you are describing 100 acres in two tracts.  

100 acres, more or less, in Live Oak County, Texas, out of the Averill Humdinger Survey, A-101, being more particularly described in two (2) tracts as follows: Tract One: 50 acres, more or less, the same land described in a deed dated January 1, 2009, from John Doe and wife, Jane Doe, to Joe Public and wife, June Public, recorded in Volume 177 at Page 299 of the Official Public Records of  Live Oak County, Texas; and Tract Two: 50 acres, more or less, the same land described in a deed dated January 1, 2010, from  John Doe and wife, Jane Doe, to Joe Public and wife, June Public,  recorded in Volume 188 at Page 477 of the Official Public Records of Live Oak County, Texas. 

Notice the use of the bold text here. 

 Again, it is always important to begin your description with the number of acres you are describing. Then, go ahead and set out the county,  state, survey name, and abstract number as always. Then, the next step is  to say the following: 

“being all of a tract of land containing _____ acres, being the same  land described in a deed dated _____, from _____  to ______ and  recorded in Volume ____ at Page ____ of the _____ records of ______  County, Texas; SAVE AND EXCEPT _____ acres…….” 

 Here is an example: 

100 acres, more or less, in Live Oak County, Texas, out of the Averill Humdinger Survey, A-101, being 150 acres, more or less, being the same land described in a deed dated July 1, 2008, from John Doe and wife, Jane Doe, to Joe Public and wife, June Public, recorded in Volume 165 at Page 350 of the Official Public Records of Live Oak County, Texas; SAVE AND EXCEPT, however, 50 acres, more or less, being the same land described in a deed dated January 1, 2010, from Joe Public and wife, June Public, to Jose Anybody and wife, Juanita Anybody, recorded in Volume 188 at Page 477 of the Official Public Records of Live Oak County, Texas. 

Again, notice the use of the bold text to help set out what you are doing with the description. 

Also, as with all descriptions, there are many options you could choose from in regard to formatting. The most important thing is to be clear that you are utilizing a SAVE AND EXCEPT form of description and that you begin by stating the number of acres you are leasing.

With the proper use of these three forms of descriptions in various combinations as necessary, you can describe almost any property. 

Here are some final thoughts on this subject. 
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•  As with all land work, the important thing is not how quickly you get it done. The important thing is to get it right. Always take the time to carefully proofread your work and double-check the details. It is always much easier and better to get things right in the beginning than it is to go back and try to fix them after documents are signed and recorded.
• A  cleanly drafted document free of obvious mistakes and typos instills a  sense of confidence in your work and makes it easier for you to obtain signatures.
• Because of the existence of mostly irregular surveys arising out of early land grants from the Spanish, Mexican, and Texas governments, these forms of descriptions are especially suited to  the lands in Texas. However, it is not always necessary to utilize a  deed reference in order to properly describe a property. Examples are subdivided lands and entire surveys. When working in areas with a lot of square, 640-acre surveys, we can, of course, utilize S/2, etc. and properly describe smaller pieces of these surveys, which would certainly pass the “reasonableness” test for property descriptions without the need to utilize deed references.