New legal description trend

A Point of Beginning is a thing, so it's a proper noun. Proper nouns are to be capitalized. What you are seeing is a failure of the American educational system.

I must have failed the education I was given because I don't believe Point of Beginning nor point of beginning to be a proper noun. Granted you put emphasis on it when you capitalize it but it does not become a proper noun. It is the point of beginning. 

Posted by: @lurker

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I must have failed the education I was given because I don't believe Point of Beginning nor point of beginning to be a proper noun. Granted you put emphasis on it when you capitalize it but it does not become a proper noun. It is the point of beginning. 

blasphemy!!!! 😂 

Capitalize it as if you were going to abbreviate it POB. Much like Right-Of-Way becomes ROW.

Per Gemini——

In legal descriptions, Point of Beginning (along with Point of Commencement) should generally be capitalized when it refers to a specific, defined physical starting point in a land survey description (e.g., "...thence to the Point of Beginning").

Here is how capitalization rules apply across common legal and surveying drafting standards:

1. Specific Term vs. General Concept

 Capitalized ("Point of Beginning" or "P.O.B."): Used as a defined term of art that designates the precise starting and ending monument/vertex of a metes-and-bounds boundary description.

 Example: "...thence South 45° West 150 feet to the Point of Beginning."

 Lowercase ("point of beginning"): Used in informal prose or general discussions about survey methodology where it does not refer to a specific legal boundary marker.

 Example: "The surveyor must first locate a reliable point of beginning before establishing the property lines."

2. Standard Industry Practices

 Metes and Bounds Descriptions: Capitalization is the standard convention in real estate transactions, deeds, land surveys, and title policies to prevent ambiguity about where the perimeter closes.

 Abbreviations: When abbreviated, it is almost always capitalized and punctuated as P.O.B. or POB.

 Legal Style Guides: According to standard legal drafting guidelines (such as Black's Law Dictionary conventions and legal citation practices), defined terms and specific reference points within property descriptions carry initial caps.

If you are drafting formal legal instruments (such as a warranty deed, easement, or legal survey exhibit), capitalize Point of Beginning or use the standard abbreviation P.O.B.

I prefer POINT OF BEGINNING at the beginning and end of the description.

It is intuitively obvious that Point of Beginning should be at the beginning.

@not-my-real-name Good Point! 😊

The Arkansas Supreme Court has found the "place of beginning" and the "point of beginning" to be acceptable. Personally I like Point of Beginning. But I don't think it matters much what you use. But what you use at the start should be what you use at the end.

Many of the descriptions I wrote started with "Commencing at some known and found point" thence a bearing and distance (or multiple calls as needed) to the Point of Beginning (which would be the property to be described) then around the property and back to the Point of Beginning.

My software, PCSurvey, has a legal description writer function that works really well. You select the lines and curves of your property, click create a boundary then click "legal writer". I have to add the word TRUE, cleanup the point descriptions, add "more or less" to the last course and add extra courses if I'm not starting at the TPOB but the rest is great. Here is a quick example with just TRUE and "more or less" added. The rest is straight from the software.

Commencing at the REC:MAP.7781, said point being the TRUE POINT OF BEGINNING; thence N51°09'10"W, a distance of 265.82' to the point of curvature of a non-tangent curve, concave to the southeast, having a radius of 274.00' a central angle of 27°00'00", and a chord of 127.93' bearing S57°42'08"W; thence Northeast along said curve, a distance of 129.12' to the point of curvature of a reverse curve, concave to the northwest, having a radius of 226.00' a central angle of 24°17'38", and a chord of 95.11' bearing N59°03'19"E; thence East along said curve, a distance of 95.83'; thence N79°21'51"E, a distance of 415.39'; thence S47°18'23"W, a distance of 531.89' more or less to the TRUE POINT OF BEGINNING; said described tract containing 2.0 Acres, more or less.

Also there are many options for the bearings and distances like grads, azimuth, meters etc.

Posted by: @landbutcher464mhz

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My software, PCSurvey, has a legal description writer function that works really well. You select the lines and curves of your property, click create a boundary then click "legal writer". I have to add the word TRUE, cleanup the point descriptions, add "more or less" to the last course and add extra courses if I'm not starting at the TPOB but the rest is great. Here is a quick example with just TRUE and "more or less" added. The rest is straight from the software.

Commencing at the REC:MAP.7781, said point being the TRUE POINT OF BEGINNING; thence N51°09'10"W, a distance of 265.82' to the point of curvature of a non-tangent curve, concave to the southeast, having a radius of 274.00' a central angle of 27°00'00", and a chord of 127.93' bearing S57°42'08"W; thence Northeast along said curve, a distance of 129.12' to the point of curvature of a reverse curve, concave to the northwest, having a radius of 226.00' a central angle of 24°17'38", and a chord of 95.11' bearing N59°03'19"E; thence East along said curve, a distance of 95.83'; thence N79°21'51"E, a distance of 415.39'; thence S47°18'23"W, a distance of 531.89' more or less to the TRUE POINT OF BEGINNING; said described tract containing 2.0 Acres, more or less.

Also there are many options for the bearings and distances like grads, azimuth, meters etc.

I wouldn't have any trouble "following in the footsteps" of this description, provided that "REC:MAP7781" is a key to a public record serving to locate the point of beginning. Without such public record, the deed might be insufficient and convey nothing.

I also note that the description does not mention a public right-of-way adjoining the property. Thus there is no shown intent of the grantor that the property has access.

This was just an example of what the software pumps out on its own. I would correct that MAP.7781 reference  to something like "the SW corner of Lot 5 per MAP.7781 in some county etc. for the finished product.

That is a good comment about access to public right-of-way but to be honest, when the lot is part of a map that has the street shown, I have never had to mention the access. There will be an Exhibit added that will show the street access. When there is an easement from public access to the property then of course that easement gets added as a second item and again will show on the added Exhibit.

@landbutcher464mhz 

"Commencing at the REC:MAP.7781"

This part is one hundred percent foreign to me.  Please explain fully and slowly.  I don't listen real fast.

REC with a colon : ie "REC:" at the beginning of a point description sets a layer for my data collector that is using Fieldgenius software. So when I traverse around a map using PCSurvey to generate coordinates for use in my DC, each point from that map gets a description of REC: followed by the map number making each point description "REC:MAP.7781". The PCSurvey legal writer picks up that point description when it starts and it is one of the items that has to be corrected by me to something like "Commencing at the SW corner of Lot 5 per MAP.7781 in some county etc." for the finished product.

My request for clarification reflects only the difference between the practices in Colonial States versus those in the PLSS States.  We try to avoid POCs where possible and go straight to the POBs.  POCs are either a named Government corner of a PLSS section or a Block or Lot corner tied to an officially recorded Subdivision/Addition that has been approved by various County and City elected officials or a combination of both.  We do not give such allegiance to some other surveyor's common work product.

We routinely work with PLSS sections that have not been fully monumented at all pertinent Government corners.  We must decide what to accept, or not accept, just to begin a description.  That is our individual opinion as to precisely what is the POC or POB.  The next surveyor to come along in need of that corner is not bound to agree with our solution.  The same largely applies to small tracts within an officially adopted subdivision/addition plat.  Too many times that document is a bunch of lines on paper/linen that mean little to the true circumstance.

We always capitalize and bold TRUE POINT OF BEGINNING and POINT OF BEGINNING.  That's just the way i was taught.  Is there a right or wrong way? I've literally done thousands and never once had a comment on my preferred structure.   I review quite a few legals each year for a variety of municipalities and see all sort of punctuation and wording surrounding these.  it's not my place to critique your structure so i never comment on those components.  I can usually tell which ones were written by the technician vs the PLS though, it's usually very easy to spot especially when you know all the local PLSs.