stefan olafson
Senior Member
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2003
- Professional Status
- Certified General Appraiser
- State
- North Dakota
Stuart,
The simple answer is to go backwards. I'll try to explain, however it's covered in The Appraisal of Real Estate, pages 191 and 192.
A Section of land contains 640 acres, an acre is 43,560 Sq Ft in size. A section of land is 1 mile by 1 mile in size or 5,280' x 5,280'.
A half section contains 320 acres and is typically a mile by a half mile or 5,280' x 2,640'
A quarter section contains 160 acres and is typically a half mile by a half mile or 2,640' x 2,640'.
A legal description can be figured out by going backwards, here's an example;
SE1/4SE1/4SW1/4-1-152N-40W
Going Backwards you are in Section 1 which is 640 acres, within the section you are in the SW1/4 which is 160 acres; within the quarter section you are in the SE1/4 which is 160 divided by 4 or 40 acres; within that 40 acres you are asked how many acres are in the SE1/4, and the answer is 10 acres....One side would be 660' in length.
Hope that helps!
The simple answer is to go backwards. I'll try to explain, however it's covered in The Appraisal of Real Estate, pages 191 and 192.
A Section of land contains 640 acres, an acre is 43,560 Sq Ft in size. A section of land is 1 mile by 1 mile in size or 5,280' x 5,280'.
A half section contains 320 acres and is typically a mile by a half mile or 5,280' x 2,640'
A quarter section contains 160 acres and is typically a half mile by a half mile or 2,640' x 2,640'.
A legal description can be figured out by going backwards, here's an example;
SE1/4SE1/4SW1/4-1-152N-40W
Going Backwards you are in Section 1 which is 640 acres, within the section you are in the SW1/4 which is 160 acres; within the quarter section you are in the SE1/4 which is 160 divided by 4 or 40 acres; within that 40 acres you are asked how many acres are in the SE1/4, and the answer is 10 acres....One side would be 660' in length.
Hope that helps!