Taking The Guesswork Out Of Finding Your Property Lines

Posted on: 11 March 2018

If you have ever had a question about where the lines on your property end and the next property begins, it a simple matter of hiring a surveyor to come out and survey the lines and boundaries for you. The property line may have shifted over the years so if you have a reason to question it, it is easy to put an end to. Understand that shifting of the presumed line can happen on both sides so you may lose or gain space after the survey is complete.

Where To Start

Before the surveyor starts any work on the property, he will visit the town or country records office and get a copy of the deed and the property boundaries on record. If the boundaries were changed and never documented, you might have a problem. The original record will only show where the last know property lines were. There was a time when things were changed with a handshake and a gentleman's agreement but without documentation of the changes, these agreements can become void and may lead to conflicts over where the line really is.

Getting Started

When the surveyor arrives on your property, he will more than likely take a walk around the property and look for markers that established the boundaries. If the markers have been removed, he will need to place them back in the ground using the coordinates from the original deed. It can make the job a little more time consuming but no less accurate. In most cases, the markers have been on the corners of the site for many years and sometimes they fall over, get run over, or get removed by kids out having some fun. In any case, the surveyor may replace or choose a more natural corner for the marker.

Defining The Lines

Once the corners have been established, the land surveyor will choose one to work from and he can start to work out where the property lines run. He will mark the lines and points on a map that the deed office will use to update the deed for both properties along the border. In some cases, surveying adds land to your plot and other times it makes your land a little smaller. In either case, have a good record of your property line and there will be no question going forward. If there is a dispute about where the line runs, the new survey can be used in court to prove the boundaries and establish precisely where the property starts and ends.

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