In real estate

Real estate

In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...

, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property

Real property

In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...

 in some countries or immovable property

Immovable property

Immovable property is an immovable object, an item of property that cannot be moved without destroying or altering it - property that is fixed to the Earth, such as land or a house. In the United States it is also commercially and legally known as real estate and in Britain as property...

 (meaning practically the same thing) in other countries. Possible owner(s) of a lot can be one or more person

Person

A person is a human being, or an entity that has certain capacities or attributes strongly associated with being human , for example in a particular moral or legal context...

(s) or another legal entity, such as a company/corporation

Corporation

A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...

, organization

Organization

An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...

, government

Government

Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...

, or trust

Trust company

A trust company is a corporation, especially a commercial bank, organized to perform the fiduciary of trusts and agencies. It is normally owned by one of three types of structures: an independent partnership, a bank, or a law firm, each of which specializes in being a trustee of various kinds of...

. A common form of ownership of a lot is called fee simple

Fee simple

In English law, a fee simple is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. It is the most common way that real estate is owned in common law countries, and is ordinarily the most complete ownership interest that can be had in real property short of allodial title, which is often reserved...

 in some countries.

A lot may also be defined as a small area of land that is empty except for pavement or similar improvement. An example would be a parking lot

Parking lot

A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....

. This article covers lots as parcels of land meant to be owned as units by an owner(s).

Like most other types of real estate, lots owned by private parties are subject to a periodic real estate tax payable by the owners to local governments such as a county or municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

. These real estate taxes are based on the assessed value of the real property; additional taxes usually apply to transfer of ownership and property sales. Other fees by government are possible for improvements such as curbs and sidewalks or an impact fee

Impact fee

An impact fee is a fee that is implemented by a local government on a new or proposed development to help assist or pay for a portion of the costs that the new development may cause with public services to the new development within the United States...

 for building a house on a vacant lot.

Definition and Boundaries

A lot has defined boundaries (or borders) which are documented somewhere, but the boundaries need not be shown on the land itself. Most lots are small enough to be map

Map

A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....

ped as if they are flat, in spite of the curvature of the earth. A characteristic of the size of a lot is its area

Area

Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...

. The area is typically determined as if the land is flat and level, although the terrain of the lot may not be flat, i. e, the lot may be hilly. The contour surface area

Surface area

Surface area is the measure of how much exposed area a solid object has, expressed in square units. Mathematical description of the surface area is considerably more involved than the definition of arc length of a curve. For polyhedra the surface area is the sum of the areas of its faces...

 of the land is changeable and may be too complicated for determining a lot's area.

Lots can come in various sizes and shapes. To be considered a single lot, the land described as the "lot" must be contiguous. Two separate parcels are considered two lots not one. Often a lot is sized for a single house

House

A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...

 or other building. Many lots are rectangular in shape, although other shapes are possible as long as the boundaries are well-defined. Methods of determining or documenting the boundaries of lots

Land description

A Land description consists of the written words which delineate a specific piece of real property. Also known as a "Legal Description". In the written transfer of real property, it is universally required that the instrument of conveyance include a written description of the property.- Canada...

 include metes and bounds

Metes and bounds

Metes and bounds is a system or method of describing land, real property or real estate. The system has been used in England for many centuries, and is still used there in the definition of general boundaries...

, quadrant method

Public Land Survey System

The Public Land Survey System is a method used in the United States to survey and identify land parcels, particularly for titles and deeds of rural, wild or undeveloped land. Its basic units of area are the township and section. It is sometimes referred to as the rectangular survey system,...

, and use of a plat

Plat

A plat in the U.S. is a map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. Other English-speaking countries generally call such documents a cadastral map or plan....

diagram. Use of the metes and bounds method may be compared to drawing a polygon

Polygon

In geometry a polygon is a flat shape consisting of straight lines that are joined to form a closed chain orcircuit.A polygon is traditionally a plane figure that is bounded by a closed path, composed of a finite sequence of straight line segments...

. Metes are points which are like the vertices (corners) of a polygon. Bounds are line segment

Line segment

In geometry, a line segment is a part of a line that is bounded by two end points, and contains every point on the line between its end points. Examples of line segments include the sides of a triangle or square. More generally, when the end points are both vertices of a polygon, the line segment...

s between two adjacent metes. Bounds are usually straight lines, but can be curved as long as they are clearly defined.

When the boundaries of a lot are not indicated on the lot, a survey

Surveying

See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...

 of the lot can be made to determine where the boundaries are according to the lot descriptions or plat diagrams. Formal surveys are done by qualified surveyor

Surveying

See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...

s, who can make a diagram or map of the lot showing boundaries, dimensions, locations of any structures such as buildings, etc. Such surveys are also used to determine if there are any encroachment

Structural encroachment

A structural encroachment is a concept in American real property law, in which a piece of real property hangs from one property over the property line of another landowner's premises. The actual structure that encroaches might be a tree, bush, bay window, stairway, steps, stoop, garage, leaning...

s to the lot. Surveyors can sometimes place posts at the metes of a lot.

The part of the boundary of the lot next to a street or road is the frontage. Developers try to provide at least one side of frontage for every lot, so owners can have transportation access to their lots. As the name implies, street frontage determines which side of the lot is the front, with the opposite side being the back. Sometimes minor, usually unnamed driveways called alleys, usually publicly owned, also provide access to the back of a lot. When alleys are present, garage

Garage (house)

A residential garage is part of a home, or an associated building, designed or used for storing a vehicle or vehicles. In some places the term is used synonymously with "carport", though that term normally describes a structure that is not completely enclosed.- British residential garages:Those...

s are often located in back of a lot with access from the alley. Also when there are alleys, garbage collection

Waste collection

Waste collection is the component of waste management which results in the passage of a waste material from the source of production to either the point of treatment or final disposal...

 may take place from the alley. Lots at the corners of a block have two sides of frontage and are called corner lots. Corner lots may have the advantage that a garage can be built with street access from the side, but have the disadvantage that there is more parkway lawn

Lawn

A lawn is an area of aesthetic and recreational land planted with grasses or other durable plants, which usually are maintained at a low and consistent height. Low ornamental meadows in natural landscaping styles are a contemporary option of a lawn...

 to mow and more sidewalk to shovel snow from. In areas with large blocks, homes are sometimes built in the center of the block. In this situation, the lot will usually include a long driveway to provide transportation access. Because the shape is reminiscent of a flag (the home) on a flag pole (the driveway), these lots are called flag lots.

Development and Use

Local governments often pass zoning

Zoning

Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...

 laws which control what buildings can be built on a lot and what they can be used for. For example, certain areas are zoned for residential buildings such as houses. Other areas can be commercially, agriculturally, or industrially zoned. Sometimes zoning laws establish other restrictions such as a minimum lot area and/or frontage length for building a house or other building, maximum building size, or minimum setbacks

Setback (land use)

In land use, a setback is the distance which a building or other structure is set back from a street or road, a river or other stream, a shore or flood plain, or any other place which needs protection. Depending on the jurisdiction, other things like fences, landscaping, septic tanks, and various...

 from a lot boundary for building a structure. This is in addition to building code

Building code

A building code, or building control, is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as buildings and nonbuilding structures. The main purpose of building codes are to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the...

s which must be met. Also minimum lot sizes and separations must be met when well

Water well

A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...

s and septic systems are used. In urban areas, sewer

Sanitary sewer

A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...

s and water lines often provide service to households. There may also be restrictions based on covenants established by private parties such as the developer. There may be easement

Easement

An easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without possessing it.Easements are helpful for providing pathways across two or more pieces of property or allowing an individual to fish in a privately owned pond...

s for utilities

Utility

In economics, utility is a measure of customer satisfaction, referring to the total satisfaction received by a consumer from consuming a good or service....

 to run water, sewage, electric power

Electric power

Electric power is the rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.-Circuits:Electric power, like mechanical power, is represented by the letter P in electrical equations...

, or telephone

Telephone

The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...

 lines through a lot.

Something which is meant to improve the value or usefulness of a lot can be called an appurtenance

Appurtenance

Appurtenances is a term for what belongs to and goes with something else, with the appurtenance being less significant than what it belongs to. The word ultimately derives from Latin appertinere, "to appertain"....

to the lot. Structures such as building

Building

In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...

s, driveway

Driveway

A driveway is a type of private road for local access to one or a small group of structures, and is owned and maintained by an individual or group....

s, sidewalk

Sidewalk

A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...

s, patios or other pavement, well

Water well

A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...

s, septic systems, signs, and similar improvements which are considered permanently attached to the land in the lot are considered as real property, usually part of the lot but often parts of a building, such as condominium

Condominium

A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...

s, are owned separately. Such structures owned by the lot owner(s), as well as easements which help the lot owners or users, can be considered appurtenances to the lot. A lot without such structures can be called a vacant lot, urban prairie, spare ground, an empty lot, or an unimproved or undeveloped lot.

Many times, developers divide a large tract of land into lots to make a subdivision

Subdivision (land)

Subdivision is the act of dividing land into pieces that are easier to sell or otherwise develop, usually via a plat. The former single piece as a whole is then known in the United States as a subdivision...

 out of it. Certain areas of the land are dedicated (given to local government for permanent upkeep) as street

Street

A street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable...

s and sometimes alley

Alley

An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane found in urban areas, often for pedestrians only, which usually runs between or behind buildings. In older cities and towns in Europe, alleys are often what is left of a medieval street network, or a right of way or ancient footpath in an urban setting...

s for transportation and access to lots. Areas between the streets are divided up into lots to be sold to future owners. The layout of the lots is map

Map

A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....

ped on a plat diagram, which is recorded with the government, typically the county

County

A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...

 recorder's office

Recorder of deeds

Recorder of deeds is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over that property.-Background:...

. The blocks

City block

A city block, urban block or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest area that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, they form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric...

 between streets and the individual lots in each block are given an identifier, usually a number or letter.

Land originally granted by the government was commonly done by documents called patents. Lots of land can be sold/bought by the owners or conveyed in other ways. Such conveyances are made by documents called deed

Deed

A deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, or affirms or confirms something which passes, an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions sealed...

s which should be recorded by the government, typically the county recorder's office. Deeds specify the lot by including a description

Land description

A Land description consists of the written words which delineate a specific piece of real property. Also known as a "Legal Description". In the written transfer of real property, it is universally required that the instrument of conveyance include a written description of the property.- Canada...

 such as one determined by the "metes and bounds" or quadrant methods, or referring to a lot number and block number in a recorded plat diagram. Deeds often mention that appurtenances to the lot are included in order to convey any structures and other improvements also.

In front of many lots in urban areas, there are sidewalk

Sidewalk

A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...

s, usually publicly owned. Beyond the sidewalk, there may sometimes be a strip of land called a road verge, and then the roadway

Carriageway

A carriageway consists of a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally...

, being the drivable part of the road

Road

A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...

.