metes and bounds

Intermediate 🏠 Real Estate

Definition

A property description system using distances (metes) and directions (bounds) to define boundaries, starting from a point of beginning and returning there. The most complicated way possible to say 'here's where your fence goes.'

Example Usage

The metes and bounds description read like a treasure map: 'North 45 degrees East for 200 feet to an iron pin, then South 30 degrees East for 150 feet...'

Origin

Medieval English surveying practice brought to American colonies

Fun Fact

Old metes and bounds descriptions referenced trees, rocks, and streams that no longer exist, creating modern boundary disputes that require archaeological surveying to resolve.

Source: Historical land surveying and property description standards

Related Terms

Intermediate

DTI ratio

Debt-to-Income ratio—the calculation that determines if you're financially responsible enough to borrow money, by comparing your debts to your income. It's how lenders mathematically judge your life choices.

🏠 Real Estate
Beginner

auction

A socially acceptable form of gladiatorial combat where participants wave paddles and bankrupt themselves in public, all for the thrill of outbidding strangers. The highest bidder wins the dubious honor of paying more than everyone else thought something was worth. Popular in real estate, art, and estate sales where dead people's stuff finds new homes.

🏠 Real Estate
Beginner

comparables analysis

The process of evaluating recently sold similar properties to determine market value, essentially treating home pricing like comparison shopping for toasters. It's the foundation of appraisals and every pricing strategy that claims to be data-driven.

🏠 Real Estate
Beginner

warranty

A seller's promise that their product won't immediately explode or fall apart, though the fine print will explain in excruciating detail all the ways you can void this promise. This legal guarantee assures buyers that goods or property meet certain standards and provides recourse if things go wrong—assuming you kept the receipt, didn't use it wrong, and performed ritual maintenance every third Tuesday. Extended warranties are the profitable cousin that exists solely to make you second-guess your purchase.

🏠 Real Estate
Beginner

principal

The original loan amount borrowed, excluding interest, or in agency relationships, the person represented by an agent. Context is everything, because confusing the two can make closing statements deeply confusing.

🏠 Real Estate
Intermediate

kickout clause

A contingency allowing sellers to accept backup offers and 'kick out' current buyers if they can't remove their contingencies fast enough. The real estate equivalent of keeping your options open while dating.

🏠 Real Estate

Translate This Term

See “metes and bounds” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on XShare on FacebookShare on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Beginner

Mombie

A sleep-deprived supermom who feeds on caffeine and survives on sticky kisses and messy smiles. Mombies are master multi...