Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
legal meaning of plus or minus acres when selling a land parcel
What are the limits as to the number of acres when the sales contract has + or - , like it means .10 acres of less, when selling 320 acres. I sold a parcel of 360, with the agreement that I could subdivide out a 40 ac. parcel through the county process, which I did, in the process my surveyor found an additional 7.79 acres, I granted to myself the 7.79 ac. adjacent to my 40 ac. parcel with a legal description through the County recorder, but the buyer is saying this is his 7.79 acres under the disguise of the plus or minus. I am claiming the acres because I paid for the survey and otherwise these new acres would never exist.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: legal meaning of plus or minus acres when selling a land parcel
The designation +/- will be held by a court to mean "approximately". This in turn will be held to mean what a "reasonable person" would understand it to mean, and that will probably be held by a Court to mean "5% or less". Since the extra 7.79 acres represent less than 2.2% of 360 acres, the Court will probably hold that the 7.79 acres were transferred to the buyer and are not included in the 40-acre holdback.
Accordingly, we would recommend that you develop a litigation plan leading to a settlement. The litigation plan in turn will require and evaluation of the fair market value of the 7.79 acres.
Please contact me at [email protected] if you would like further information and advice.
Re: legal meaning of plus or minus acres when selling a land parcel
There is no rule. It is a matter of contract interpretation and interpretation of the deed. You'll have to get legal help to resolve this.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
