Error in deed’s property description must be fixed
legal description, and follow the legal description as if you were following directions. If the directions follow correctly on the survey, we’d guess you’re right and the deed is wrong.
While the address is important, the legal description is even more important. When it comes to single family homes, many homes are located in subdivisions. When a seller conveys title to a buyer, the seller’s deed might contain a reference to, say, Lot 30 in such and such subdivision. If the reference to the lot is wrong, the buyer would not receive title to the right property. In condo buildings, where parking is sold separately, if there is a mistake in the parking space number on the deed, the buyer will technically be sold the wrong spot.
Likewise, when a property is not subdivided, the legal description may be referred to as a metes-andbounds description. That description, if the property were a rectangular parcel, would start at a specific point, then describe the distance to the next point with certain coordinates, then again to a third point by distance and coordinates and finally one last distance with more coordinates. If the legal description is proper, it makes the rectangle (or whatever the shape of the property), and the legal description closes properly.
That’s why you should have the issue corrected. In some instances, the correction can be made on the original recorded document and that document can be rerecorded with the correct information and an indication the document was rerecorded to correct a scrivener’s error. If you purchased the property and obtained title insurance, you may be able to go back to the title company that insured your purchase and have them or the settlement agent correct it.
This is why it’s so important to review all the documents before you sign them at the closing. Mistakes can creep into the process. Ilyce once caught a refinance loan agreement with the wrong interest rate on it; it’s a lot less hassle to correct the documents at the closing than afterward.