What is the exam-ready answer?
| Official syllabus topic | Metes and Bounds, Bearings, Monuments, and Point of Beginning |
|---|---|
| Official PSI area | Property Ownership |
| Published area weight | 10% of the 100-question national portion |
| Exam portion | National salesperson portion |
| Source edition | PSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026 |
The Rule
PSI publishes the weight for the complete content area, not a fixed question count for this lesson. Learn the rule well enough to apply it when PSI changes names, numbers, or parties in a new scenario.
The lesson
These ideas work together. On the exam, the wrong answers usually describe a nearby concept, so learn where each one stops.
Point of beginning
The description reaches a definite starting point, then follows the parcel perimeter. The final call should return to the point of beginning so the description closes.
Metes and bounds
Metes state distance and direction. Bounds refer to adjoining owners, roads, waterways, monuments, or other boundary features.
Bearings
A bearing such as N 35° E begins at north and turns 35 degrees toward east. The first and last letters identify the quadrant.
Monuments
Natural monuments include rivers and trees; artificial monuments include pins and marked stones. Questions may ask which call controls when evidence conflicts.
Closure
A description that does not return to its point of beginning may contain an error or omit a boundary call.
Decision rule
Georgia-specific distinction
Worked example
Scenario. A description begins at an iron pin, runs north 200 feet, east 100 feet, south 200 feet, and west 90 feet to the stated point of beginning.
Reason it through. The east and west distances differ by ten feet, so the calls do not return to the start.
Answer. The description does not close and should be investigated rather than assumed correct.
Common exam traps
- Starting at a benchmark instead of the point of beginning
- Reading N 20° E as twenty degrees from east
- Assuming every call has equal evidentiary weight
- Ignoring failure to close
Original practice questions with detailed explanations
These questions were written for instruction and mapped to the current outline. They are not copied from PSI or any live examination. Choose an answer before opening the explanation.
Question 1A description begins at an iron pin and runs north 250 feet, east 120 feet, south 250 feet, then west 100 feet to the point of beginning. What is wrong with it?
- A. Nothing, since it has four calls and four sides
- B. It must begin at a road rather than an iron pin
- C. It fails to close because east and west differ
- D. Its north and south calls do not match
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: C. It fails to close because east and west differ
A valid metes-and-bounds description must return to its point of beginning. This one runs 120 feet east but only 100 feet west, so it ends 20 feet short and does not close. Four calls alone do not prove a closed parcel; the distances have to balance.
Question 2A call reads "thence along the east bank of Sweetwater Creek to an iron pin." What role does the creek play in the description?
- A. A bound, because it is a boundary feature
- B. A mete, because it measures the distance
- C. The point of beginning, as a monument
- D. A bearing, because it sets the direction
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: A. A bound, because it is a boundary feature
Metes are measurements of direction and distance, and bounds are boundary features such as creeks, roads, adjoining owners, and monuments. The creek is a natural monument serving as a bound, and it gives no measured distance, so it is not a mete.
Question 3How is the bearing "N 20° E" read?
- A. Start at east and turn 20 degrees toward north
- B. Start at north and turn 20 degrees toward west
- C. Start at south and turn 20 degrees toward east
- D. Start at north and turn 20 degrees toward east
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: D. Start at north and turn 20 degrees toward east
A bearing starts at the first letter, north or south, and turns the stated degrees toward the last letter, east or west. N 20° E means from north, 20 degrees toward east, in the northeast quadrant. Reading it as 20 degrees from east is the classic mix-up.
Ready to move on?
You are ready for the next lesson when all of these are true.
- Explain Metes and Bounds, Bearings, Monuments, and Point of Beginning in one clear answer without notes.
- Separate Point of beginning from Metes and bounds using a fresh example.
- Apply the decision rule to a new fact pattern and name the fact that controls the result.
- State the Georgia-specific point or explain why the national rule applies unchanged.
- Answer every practice question and explain the rule each rejected option misapplies.
- Revisit this topic later in mixed practice without category labels.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Lot and Block Legal Descriptions. Next, lot and block shows the shorter alternative: instead of narrating every call around the parcel, the deed points to a recorded subdivision plat that already shows the boundaries.
Return to the Property Ownership hub to see every official branch and the complete lesson sequence for this content area.