Pick up an old property deed in Alabama. There’s a good chance it reads something like this: “Beginning at an iron pin on the north side of Old Mill Road, then running North 45 degrees East 200 feet to a large white oak tree…” That’s metes and bounds. And it still controls where your property begins and ends.
Metes and bounds is a land description system that uses directions, distances and physical landmarks to define property boundaries. It’s one of the oldest systems in use and still legally binding across much of the eastern United States. Developers who don’t account for it before closing on land pay for that oversight later.
What Metes and Bounds Actually Means
“Metes” refers to distances and directions. “Bounds” refers to the boundaries themselves, often marked by physical features like trees, creeks, roads or iron pins. A metes and bounds description traces the outline of a property like a set of turn-by-turn directions. You start at a specific point, follow a series of turns and distances, and end back where you started.
It sounds simple. In practice, it often isn’t.
Where It Came From
The system came over from England. Colonial-era land grants relied on it because the land had no pre-set grid. Surveyors worked with what was physically there: hills, rivers, roads and trees. The federal government later created the rectangular survey system, also called the Public Land Survey System, for land in the midwest and west. But states already settled before that system existed kept using metes and bounds.
Alabama is one of them. That means a property description written in 1887 can still be the controlling legal document for a parcel today.
Why Old Descriptions Cause Problems for Developers
A tree marked in 1910 is likely gone. A creek that once served as a boundary may have shifted course. An iron pin may be rusted, buried or missing entirely. When the landmarks in a deed description no longer exist, things get complicated fast.
Vague Language Is Common
Old metes and bounds descriptions weren’t always written with precision. Phrases like “to a point near the large rock” or “along the old fence line” leave a lot of room for disagreement. Two neighboring property owners can read the same deed and walk away with different ideas about where the line sits.
For a developer buying a large parcel made up of several older tracts, this isn’t a minor issue. A boundary that’s off by ten feet on one edge of a hundred-acre tract can shift a meaningful amount of land.
Gaps and Overlaps Between Adjoining Deeds
When two neighboring parcels were surveyed decades apart, their boundary descriptions don’t always line up. One deed may leave a small strip of land unaccounted for. Another may overlap with a neighboring parcel. These gaps and overlaps don’t resolve themselves. They require a licensed surveyor to sort out, and the sooner that happens, the better.
How Metes and Bounds Descriptions Are Read Today
A licensed surveyor reads a metes and bounds description and then goes to the field to verify it. They locate the starting point, called the point of beginning, and follow each call in the description. A “call” is a single direction-and-distance segment in the deed.
Modern equipment makes this more accurate than it used to be. Survey-grade GPS, total stations and GIS software allow surveyors to measure and map property lines with precision that wasn’t possible when many of these deeds were first written. The legal authority still comes from the deed language. The surveyor’s job is to interpret it correctly and document what they find.
What Happens When Descriptions Conflict
When a metes and bounds description conflicts with a neighboring deed, the surveyor documents both positions. The conflict then has to be resolved, sometimes by agreement between property owners and sometimes through the courts.
Developers who discover a boundary conflict mid-project face delays and legal costs that a proper survey before closing would have prevented. That’s not a hypothetical. It happens regularly on older parcels with descriptions that haven’t been verified in decades.
What Developers Need to Do Before Buying or Building
Get a boundary survey done before you close. This applies to any parcel with an older metes and bounds description. Don’t rely on the deed alone. Don’t rely on a county GIS map. Neither one is a substitute for a licensed survey.
Ask the surveyor to flag any conflicts between the deed description and what they find in the field. If there are gaps, overlaps or missing monuments, you need to know before money changes hands.
Title insurance covers some ownership disputes, but it doesn’t fix a boundary problem. It pays out if you lose a claim. A survey helps you avoid the claim entirely.
Also ask whether any part of the property uses a different description system. Some large tracts contain a mix of metes and bounds descriptions and rectangular survey references. That combination can create confusion if a surveyor isn’t watching for it from the start.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are metes and bounds?
Metes and bounds is a system for describing property boundaries using directions, distances and physical landmarks. It traces the outline of a parcel from a starting point all the way back to where it began. It’s the primary boundary description system used in Alabama and most of the eastern United States.
Are metes and bounds description still legally valid?
Yes. A metes and bounds description recorded in a deed is legally binding. Courts recognize it as the controlling document for property boundaries, even if the description is hundreds of years old. A licensed surveyor must interpret it when boundaries are disputed or unclear.
What happens if the landmarks in the description no longer exist?
The surveyor uses other evidence to locate the boundary. This can include historical records, neighboring deeds, old maps and physical evidence found in the field. If the evidence is unclear or conflicting, the dispute may need to be resolved through a legal process before the parcel can be developed.
How are metes and bounds different from the rectangular survey system?
The rectangular survey system divides land into townships, ranges and sections on a uniform grid. Metes and bounds have no grid. Each parcel is described individually using directions and distances from a specific starting point. The two systems were developed separately and apply to different regions of the country.
Do I need a licensed surveyor to interpret a metes and bounds description?
Yes, if you’re making any legal or financial decision based on it. A licensed surveyor can verify whether the description matches the physical boundaries of the land. Reading the deed yourself is fine for general awareness. Relying on it to determine where to build or where a property line sits is a different matter entirely.
