A legal description will identify the property in such a way that it cannot be mistaken for any other parcel and can be found at a later date in spite of changes that might occur. The street address is usually included in the legal description, if available, just to be sure both parties to a contract are thinking of the same property.
The more formal ways of describing property require the technical skills of a surveyor. Only licensed surveyors can officially prepare the survey, which is an authenticated map based on measurements and data assembled for that purpose. The survey a buyer receives at closing is called a spot survey. Real estate professionals are not expected to have this expertise; however, they should be able to read and understand information on a surveyor prepared plat of survey in order to advise clients.
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