How to find property boundaries for your land
As a landowner, knowing where your property lines are located is one of the best ways to avoid disputes with your neighbors.
Property boundaries, or boundary lines, are the defined points where one owner’s land ends and neighboring property begins. A property owner uses boundary lines to determine where they can legally place items like fences, driveways, outbuildings like pole barns, or anything else. Erecting a structure on or partially on someone else’s land can lead to lawsuits and unpleasant situations with neighbors.
1. Check your writing. The deed contains the legal description of your property, which is basically the measurements and boundaries of the property in words. For most people, the property description can be difficult to interpret, so you may not find it useful. However, sometimes the legal description uses benchmarks and measurements that you can interpret. If that’s the case, measure from the landmarks in the description to the property lines. Mark each corner with a stake or other marker. Measure from each stake to the next around your property to make sure the measured lines match the deed. Physically measuring the boundaries will allow you to visually determine where the lines are and avoid encroaching on your neighbor’s land. Just be careful: an old description may be based on the location of a tree that no longer exists or a stream that has dried up.
2. Check the official website of the appraiser’s office in your municipality. Some assessors have mapping tools available online for all real estate in the area. You can use the maps to find your property lines and determine where nearby landmarks are, like the east line of your street. You can use these reference points as fixed points to measure from. Using a tape measure or wheel measure, measure the distance from each of the landmarks to your property line, as shown on the maps.
3. If you don’t have a copy and nothing is available online, visit your county recorder’s office or assessor’s office. When you purchased your property, you may have received a flat map showing the lines and measurements of the property. If it was not included with your paperwork, check with your local clerk or surveyor’s office. Ask if maps are available to the public that include your neighborhood and street. Some of these maps may be available online, while others will be hard copies or microfiche. Even neighboring property maps can be valuable if they show shared property lines.
4. Last but not least, hire a surveyor. The safest way to determine legal property limits is to hire a professional. The surveyor can measure and map the property and will usually also mark the corners of the property with stakes. It is always a good idea to be present when the surveyor comes to measure your property, so that he can review the property lines with you. The cost of a survey will vary based on your location, lot size, and other variables. The surveyor must be licensed by your state and must have professional liability insurance, which can cover you if the surveyor makes a mistake on the survey.