SITE LOCATION, MAP

READING AND LOT

PLOTTING
Purpose of the Course
To equip future brokers:

1. Basic understanding in reading

legal descriptions
1.The methods used to describe real property
2. how to plot a legal description
Site Location
Map
Reading Lot
Plotting
Workshop
 HOW TO DESCRIBE REAL PROPERTY

Informal – street number and name or the distance

from a certain landmark; property boundaries cannot
be determined by these methods and the address
and physical features may change over the years
LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY

 METES AND BOUNDS

• Metes = defined by distances and direction
• Bounds = more general boundary description

 PLAT SURVEY METHOD –Subdivision Survey

 RECTANGULAR SURVEYS
 MONUMENTS
• Metes and Bounds . A common method of land description that
identifies a property by specifying the shape and boundary
dimensions of the parcel, using terminal points and angles.
Rectangular Survey System – also called as
government survey or geodetic survey system.
To better understand this concept, think of a
checkerboard. It has an intersecting line that forms a grid
of squares. The first set of intersecting lines are called
principal meridian which run north and south and base
lines which run east and west.
Plat survey method – sometimes called
the lot-block tract method. This is used
in areas where land is subdivided into
phase, block and lot and usually recorded
in an approved subdivision plan. Lot 2,
Block 4, Phase 2 of Corona del Mar Talisay City.
 DEFINITION OF TERMS
• Points of Beginning - must be either (1) at a known point (such as a
monument) or (2) at a certain course and distance from such a
known point.
o Reference points (Bureau of Lands Location
Monument -BLLM, Bureau of Lands Barrio
Monuments
- BLBM, Tie Point or point of beginning)
• Bearing - indicate course or direction
• Distances - the description of a property line must show distance
(length of line)
• Closure - created by erroneous points of beginning, erroneous
courses, and erroneous distances
• Monuments- are permanent landmarks that indicate boundaries.
They may be natural (trees, streams, and lakes) or artificial (fences,
walls, stakes, posts, pins, roads, streets, and railroads).
COMMON TERMS
FOR REAL ESTATE
BROKERS
• Bearings = Bearings are used to indicate angular
orientation with respect to the earth
• Benchmark = A survey mark made on a monument
having a known location and elevation, serving as a
reference point for surveying.
• Tie Line = A survey line that connects a point to other
surveyed lines
• Property Line = describes the legal boundary of a parcel
of land
• BLLM = Bureau of Lands Location Monument
SITE LOCATION
IMPORTANT DATA
NEEDED FOR SITE
LOCATION

• Direction (Using internet, example: Google earth)

• Lot Plan / Vicinity Map / Location Map
• Means of Transportation
• Access Roads/Routes
• Reference Point (adjacent properties / land marks) and Specific
Distances, or Time Frame
• Land Use
• Contact persons
 THREE
ELEMENTS IN
SURVEYING

DISTANCE = the extent or amount

of space between two things,
points, lines, etc.
DIRECTION = a position on a line
extending from a specific point
toward a point of the compass.
Defined by the number of degrees,
minutes and seconds.
ELEVATION = height above a
fixed reference point
SOURCES OF DATA FOR SITE LOCATION
• Survey Maps
• Vicinity or Location Map
• Tax map
• Land Title
• Sketch Plan
• Owner
• Owner’s Agent
• Internet (ie… Google Map)
• Barangay/ Purok Officials
• Neighbors
HOW TO IDENTIFY
PROPERTY IN A SITE
LOCATION

• Technical Approach
• By relocation Survey
• Layman’s Approach
• Direction of a
knowledgeable
person
• Semi-Skilled Approach
• Sketching/Plotting with the use of:
• Compass and Tape
• Angular estimate and Pacing
• Use of a GPS
ROUGH DISTANCE MEASUREMENT

PACING
• Distance = Pace factor × Number of Paces
 Determine your Pace Factor
Seatwork:

A Real Estate Broker walked along a given straight line in a horizontal

ground that was known to be 60 m long, in order to determine her
average unit pace. She paced the line five times, recording 78, 76.5, 77,
87, and 76 paces, respectively.

a. Determine her average unit pace, or Pace Factor (PF).

b. If the said broker then counted an average of 123.5 paces while pacing off
the line of unknown distance, what is the distance?

Remarks:
Pace Factor (PF) = Distance ÷ Average Paces
Other Ways to Measure Distances

• Taping EquiAMents
• clisimeter
• Transit, or Level; and stadia
• Total Station
• EDM
• Laser Meter
THE MEASURING WHEEL
A simple measuring wheel mounted on a rod
can be used to determine distances, by
pushing the rod and rolling the wheel along
the line to be measured.

An attached device called an odometer

serves to count the number of turns of the
wheels

From the known circumference of the

wheel and the number of revolutions,
distances for reconnaissance can be
determined with relative accuracy of about
1:200.
COMMON TERMS
FOR REAL ESTATE BROKERS

 Hectare = 10,000 square meters

 Kilometer (km) = 1,000 meters

 Meter (m) = 100 centimeters

 Meridian (or line of longitude) = true north

and south line extending from an initial point
in both direction
 COMMON TERMS
FOR REAL ESTATE BROKERS
• Original Survey = cadastral survey which creates land
boundaries and marks them for the first time
• Plat = A surveyed map of a town, section, or subdivision
indicating the exact locations and boundaries of individual
properties, streets, easements, and public recreation areas.

• Setback = Zoning restrictions on the amount of bare land

required surrounding improvements; the amount of space
required between the lot line and the building line

• Subdivision = Land that has been divided by the owner into

individual parcels or lots which have been grouped into blocks.
These lots, together with streets, alleys, parks, schools,
planned commercial areas, and public utility easements, are
recorded on a plat
COMMON TERMS
FOR REAL ESTATE BROKERS

• Easement = areas of land owned by the property owner, but in which other
parties, such as utility companies, may have limited rights granted for a
specific purpose.

• Right-of-way = a parcel of land granted by deed or easement for

construction and maintenance according to a designated use. This may
include highways, streets, canals, ditches, or other uses

• Latitude = A measure of relative position north or south on the Earth's

surface, measured in degrees from the equator, which has a latitude of 0°,
with the poles having a latitude of 90° north and south

• Longitude = is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position

of a point on the Earth's surface
 COMMON TERMS
FOR REAL ESTATE BROKERS
• Prime Meridian = the longitude that passes through the Royal
Observatory, Greenwich, England, establishes the position of zero
degrees longitude.

• Mean Sea Level = is a measure of the average height of the ocean's

surface (such as the halfway point between the mean high tide and the
mean low tide)

• Contour Lines = a line on a map joining points of equal height above or

below sea level

• Topographic Map = is a type of map characterized by large-scale detail

and quantitative representation of relief
Sample Contour Lines
COMMON TERMS
FOR REAL ESTATE BROKERS BROKERS
• TCT = Transfer Certificate of Title

• OCT = Original Certificate of Title

• Free-Patent = is a legitimate proof of ownership of public land in the

Philippines granted by the Philippine government. It is an agreement
between the government and the grantee, that he or she is charged
of developing the land within a specified period of time.
• Cadastral Survey = creates or re-establishes, marks, and defines
boundaries of tracts of lands.

• Consolidation and Subdivision Survey = land survey of more

than two contiguous lots merging to form a single lot, and a
single lot subdivided into two or more lots, respectively.
COMMON TERMS
FOR REAL ESTATE BROKERS
• CAD = Cadastral Survey
• Csd = subdivision survey of Cadastral Lot
• Psd = subdivision survey of a titled properties. All Psd surveys are
conducted by a Private Geodetic Engineer

• Bsd - Is a subdivision survey on government titled properties

conducted by a Government Geodetic Engineer. If a private titled
land is being surveyed by a Government Geodetic Engineer thru
court order, the resulting survey is a Bsd.

• Psu - is a survey on original land (not yet surveyed) by a private

Geodetic Engineer. This kind of survey will be used by titling thru
judicial proceedings (means thru court order).

• FP - Free Patent survey by a Private Geodetic Engineer

oMap – it is a flat representation of earth’s surface in paper
oTie point – point one of the lot
oTie Line – imaginary line connecting the known geographic position
(say BLLM) to the corner (point 1) of the titled property
oSurveying – science of making measurements to
determine the relative position of points and lines on
the surface of the earth
oRelocation Survey – survey intended to verify the boundaries of
the property. The purpose of this is to ascertain whether or not
there are encroachments.
oSubdivision survey – a survey to determine the
boundaries of each lot in a subdivision project
oTopographic plan – plan showing various
elevations of the property
oContour lines – lines in a topographic plan which
indicate the elevation of the land at various
sections
oSubdivision – a tract of land, in general, subdivided
into two or more lots
15 MINUTES
BREAK
Map reading
FOR REAL ESTATE BROKERS
BASIC POINTERS IN MAP READING

oTypes of
Map oMap
symbol oMap
Scale
oImportant information in a map
oo Cardinal direction (north, south, east,
west)
oo Bearings and azimuth
(technical description)
oo Scale say 1:200
 MAP SCALE
Map Scale = indicates the relationship between a
certain distance on the map and the distance on the
ground. Often located in the “legend box”
Types of Scales:

1. Ratio or Representative Fraction (RF)

• Example: 1/100,000 or 1:100,000
2. Word statement
• "One centimeter equals ten kilometers.“
3. Graphic Scale
 BASIC MAPS/PLANS IN REAL ESTATE
1. Vicinity Map/Location Map
2. Subdivision Plan
3. Lot Plan
4. Topographic Map
5. Geohazard Map
6. Land use Map
Lot Plan
Basic Information in Approved Plan

• Location of property
• Name of owner/declarant
• Location of land
• Legal reference point
• Bearings and distance from tie point to reference point
• Bearings and distances from point 1 to the end of the lot
• Technical description
• Lot drawing or subdivision plan
• Area of lot
• Boundaries
• Date of survey
• Date of approval
• Name of surveyor
Valley Fault System
 WHAT IS A COMPASS ?
• WHAT IS A COMPASS?
• is a navigational instrument that measures directions in a frame of reference that is
stationary relative to the surface of the earth
• The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions (or points) – north,
south, east, and west.

 Can used for orienting a map

 Can be use to find direction

 Can be use to find location

ORIENTING A MAP
Orienting, or aligning, the map is
really easy with just 3 steps:

• Lay your map out on a

relatively flat, smooth surface.

• Turn your declination-adjusted

compass dial so due North is at the
index pointer.

• Place your compass on your

map with the edge of the base
plate parallel to the north-south
meridians on the map.

• Turn the map and compass

together until the compass
needle is "boxed" in the orienting
arrow
Draw and label the
bearings indicated
below.
• Seatwork

1. N30degW
2. S30degE
3. N33degE
4. S33degW
5. N76degE
LOT PLOTTING
PROPERTY DESCRIPTION IN THE TITLE
Lot Plotting – drawing the exact shape (square,
rectangle, trapezoid) and measurement of a
particular lot from the technical
descriptions shown in the title.

The boundaries and lot orientation on the

north, east,west and south are also attained.
BASIC SHAPES
TYPE OF LOT
• Cul-de-sac – a passageway with only one outlet. A blind alley.
• Key lot – exists when a lot has several otherhomes backing onto the
side of the home. If you were to walk along the side of a key lot
you’d be able to see two or three of the neighbors’ backyards
CONTENTS OF A TCT

oTCT Serial No.

oTCT Number
oPage and Book Number
oLocation of the property (Lot, Block and Survey No.)
oTechnical description
oTie line
oReference points
oName and address of registered owner
oOriginal registration of OCT
oPlace, date and time of last registration
CONTENTS OF A TCT

• Name and signature of register of deeds

• o Encumbrances annotated at the back of the title such as:
• o Subdivision restriction
• o Right-of-way
• o Mortgage and other liens (loans, mechanics, tax)
• o Lis pendens (property is under litigation)
• o Sec. 4 Rule 74 of the Rules of Court
• o Writ of attachment and execution
• o Lease contract, Contract to sell
MATERIALS NEEDED IN LOT PLOTTING
PROTRACTOR POSITION
• Measuring a Bearing .When measuring a quadrant bearing using a protractor, it is
important to note that a protractor has a baseline, an origin and a set of graduated
scales (outer scale and inner scale) running opposite of each other. One row of
numbers begins with 0 and run to 180 with the other running opposite from 180 to
0. With two sets of numbers, it can be confusing at first determining which number
to use, but remembering a simple rule will help. The rule is that you always count
up from zero. In addition, remembering that each quadrant runs from 0 to 90
degrees will help determine which number to use, meaning that for a quadrant
bearing, you will always select the lesser of the two numbers shown on the scales.
• Remember that a bearing is always measured toward East or West from North or
South and although there are 360 degrees in a complete circle, quadrant bearings
or 90 degrees in each quarter-circle are used when plotting legal descriptions. Each
degree has 60 minutes and each minute has 60 seconds.
• Seatwork

• 1. N 90 degrees E
• 2. S 45 degrees E
• 3. N 15 degrees E
• 4. S 05 degrees E
• 5. N 40 degrees E
NORTH
NORTH
NORTHEAST
NORTHWEST
SOUTH
SOUTH
SOUTHEAST
SOUTHWEST
LOT PLOTTING GUIDE
STEPS IN LOT VERIFICATION

oCompare lot plan, title and tax declaration whether they

are agreeable with each other like name or owner, bearings,
boundaries, etc.
oFurther verification is done by asking the help of the assessor thru its
tax mapping division
oIf it is a subdivision lot, refer to the subdivision developer,
homeowners association, owners of adjacent lots as to the
correctness of the plan as shown in the TCT
oIf the lot is not within the subdivision, hire a licensed geodetic
engineer especially if the property is rawland.
oVerify actual area vs area stated in the title. Check possible
encroachments.
Workshop

• Plot the technical description of a property

• Use protractor, ruler and Manila Paper
• Presentation
Legal Description
Site Location
Map
Reading Lot
Plotting