How To Use A Compass To Find Property Lines

July 22, 2021 July 26, 2021 past

Updated on July 26th, 2021

As a homeowner, you likely have a full general thought of where your belongings begins and ends. You lot may be using your driveway, the edge of your lawn, or a fence as a reference signal. But are you sure those are the official property lines? They really might non exist.

And so before you dive into any outdoor projects like a garage addition, fence replacement, pool installation, or landscaping upgrades , it is important to take a step back to assess your property'southward boundaries. You'll want to be able to enjoy the improvements to your house or yard without disrupting property lines and potentially causing issues with your neighbors.

Front entrance

What are property lines?

Property lines are necessary during construction past the programmer, city, county, or state to show where ownership of one plot of land starts and ends. A surveyor establishes the formal boundaries and marks them. When the holding is legally split, the new property lines are established in a survey. The holding line at the forepart of your house is known as your frontage, the measured distance across the front of the plot you own. The property lines on the side of your plot are known as sidelines. Local zoning laws frequently dictate these distances.

Why is it important to know the location of your belongings lines?

Property lines are in place to keep ane property owner from encroaching on another owner's land or compromising their privacy by edifice also close to their house. A typical inroad might be tree limbs that grow past your belongings and overhang into a neighbor's yard or a driveway poured to extend onto a neighbor'due south property. When you know exactly where your belongings lines fall, you'll avert accidentally encroaching on your neighbor'southward land.

If y'all programme to build a permanent construction, you lot'll want to be every bit accurate as possible, and ordering your own land survey is the best selection. In most states, you are required to telephone call a diggers hotline 811 to asking buried utility information before you build a fence, plant a tree, or extend your driveway. This call ensures y'all know the location of whatever buried wires or irrigation systems to avert causing damage. Within a few days' notice, someone from your local utility visitor should be able to mark county wires or pipes with spray paint or flags.

Since property line information can be valuable to someone you may sell your house to, you will want to keep all records. Keep a re-create of a new survey you've completed, a plat map, or whatever information from the city or county offices in digital or difficult copy format. If yous do a new survey, you may also demand to register it with your canton assessor or recorder. During the sale of a property, the title company volition search for inroad of one property into another. They may refuse title insurance to the seller if they detect a property line dispute.

When you know how to observe your property lines, yous'll gain peace of heed for any projection that could come shut to the edge of the property. Showing respect for your neighbor and their property rights can help yous avoid a lawsuit.

12 ways to find property lines

To avoid issues with property lines and preclude confrontation with your neighbors, here are 12 easy ways to detect property lines.

one. Hire a licensed country surveyor

The most accurate style to know where your land begins and ends is to hire a surveyor to decide your belongings lines. The holding surveyor will commencement check county records to understand the history of the lot. So they will find out about easements , subdivisions, and whatsoever other important factors that could affect your land and what you choose to do with it. The price to hire a licensed land surveyor typically runs betwixt $330 and $670 per survey and depending on the location, size, and belongings history, information technology could be upwards to $ane,000 per survey.

ii. Review your property deed

Your property human action volition requite yous a tax clarification of your property. This revenue enhancement description explains the boundaries of your plot of country. The clarification oftentimes references the names of subdivisions and other land references that may no longer be in the area, such equally a row of trees. Yous tin can become a copy of your deed online or from your county recorder's office for a fee.

3. Check the metes and bounds survey

A metes and premises survey identifies a landmark to define the holding boundaries, such as a tree, creek, road, or intersection. This is the "place of beginning" or POB. Y'all tin can then use a compass to follow the directions provided. This survey can be hard to understand because it oft uses landmarks that may no longer exist. For example, the survey may state that a belongings line extends "l meters from the alpine maple." However, that maple tree may no longer be standing.

iv. Read the property line map, or 'plat'

When you buy a house , yous typically receive a plat or property line map. If you don't, you can find information technology at the county clerk'due south office. The plat will give you the exact dimensions of your lot related to other lots on your cake. For a property on a residential street, await to run into similarly sized rectangles lined upward on each side of the street, showing each privately endemic belongings. Every private property will be labeled with an identifying number. This number is dissever from the parcel number for tax purposes. Your neighbors may be able to help as well. You can ask them if they have a re-create of their plat map, which would show the neighborhood.

v. Enquire for the property survey from your mortgage or title company

If you finance your home buy through a lender, the lender will typically require a holding survey. Your mortgage company should accept a copy of this survey from the purchase transaction. The title company will as well run a belongings search and may have a copy of any surveys or holding line maps completed for your belongings.

six. Review the existing property survey from your county or local municipality

Belongings surveys are public records and you lot can asking a copy of any existing surveys from your canton or local municipality. If the county or municipality has completed a survey for your plot of land, they volition accept a copy. They usually charge a fee to reproduce it.

7. Locate a subconscious survey pivot

During construction, builders ofttimes use survey pins to mark the plot of land. Look for sparse iron confined staked into the ground in the general area you expect your property lines to be. A metal detector tin be a helpful tool for your search along the perimeter of your property. Yous'll often find survey pins close to a sidewalk or the curb of the holding. However, survey pins tin be misleading as utility companies, tree-removal companies, and other contractors may have moved them in the grade of their work.

eight. Look for property line markers

Locating property line markers is some other alternative to finding survey pins. Belongings line markers can exist made of metallic, wood, or concrete. For a relatively new home, the belongings boundary markers might still be in place. If you discover survey pins or concrete boundary markers, they are likely to be more accurate, as wooden stakes are more easily moved. Check your plat map to come across where to await for property line markers.

9. Check sidewalks and street lights

Sidewalks and street lights can give you a good visual reference if y'all don't know how to find holding lines. While they are non a perfect reference, installers may have aligned sidewalks or streetlights with the property lines. Start by looking at the lines cut into the sidewalk in front of the business firm. A contractor may have cut lines to run across upwardly with the edge of the property or used slightly different concrete to separate backdrop. This method is a skillful starting point but be sure to apply information technology in conjunction with a survey or plat map to ensure accuracy.

10. Visit the local zoning section

Your municipality'due south zoning department records plats showing country sectionalisation. They will take maps drawn to scale for your belongings. Unless your habitation was built over a hundred years ago, you can ask for a copy of your neighborhood and lot plat for a minimal fee. The zoning section records volition give you the exact dimensions of your lot.

11. Search online for your property line

Looking online for your property line might be one of the fastest ways to learn property information today. Many counties and municipalities have plat maps on their Geographical Information Organisation (GIS), attainable through the official county or assessor's website. This information can be a helpful guide as a start and could go you close enough for your intended purpose. Usually, you can input your address to search upward a re-create of your property map. It should show your firm and any other structures, forth with your property lines.

Other GPS apps tin can provide you with accurate plat maps. LandGlide and Landgrid are two used almost ordinarily by holding owners.

LandGlide app – The LandGlide app uses GPS to pinpoint your property's location accurately. The app includes package records in iii,000 counties throughout the country, covering more than 95% of the U.s.a.. The app is available on IOS and Android devices; it offers a free trial, and it is a paid subscription service later on your trial expires.
Landgrid Map – The Landgrid app allows users to view more than 149 meg properties nationwide and includes ownership & address information. The app has a survey editor that will allow y'all to create your survey. The pro version allows users to admission premium fields, bookmark properties, run surveys, and apply various web features.

12. Measure the Belongings Yourself

You could measure out your lot by hand. To do this, y'all'll need a long measuring record, a compass, and perhaps an assistant. Retrace the surveyor'due south steps past locating the starting indicate labeled on the plat. This will exist the "mutual point" or POB. Once y'all find the starting point, use the measuring tape to follow the plat, recording measurements every bit you become. The plat measurements should correspond with the ones y'all record yourself.

Why you might desire to locate property lines before you purchase a firm

Every bit a homebuyer, practise caution regarding holding lines every bit you motility through the purchase process. The previous owners may take failed to account for property lines before they started various home improvements and could have encroached on a neighbor'south holding. Ask your lender for a copy of the completed survey – you may larn that the property is smaller than you expected. Or, an inroad issue could prompt you to renegotiate the deal or walk away altogether.

If yous love the home, a suitable compromise could involve a boundary line agreement after the purchase. A boundary line agreement is a legal contract to settle disputes betwixt neighbors over property boundaries and provides an agreement on holding line usage without going to courtroom.

There are fast, piece of cake, precise, and cost-effective ways to notice property lines, whether it'due south for a holding you own or one yous plan to purchase. Make certain to gather accurate information when buying a home or starting any construction or landscaping project.