There are more than 100 million houses in the United States. And surrounding all of those houses are very specific and crucial property lines. However, you might be surprised by how many people don’t actually know where their property ends and a neighbor’s property begins.
If you’re interested in doing work on your property, you’re going to want to know what your limits are. But it isn’t always easy to determine that information. Luckily for you, we’re here to help you with just that.
So if you would like to learn more, then keep on reading and we will take you through everything that you are going to want to know about determining property lines.
What Is A Property Line?
A property line is a legal boundary of a person’s property. These lines help to show clearly who owns what pieces of land by dividing the land.
They can be obvious boundaries, such as ditches, roads, or custom built gates. They can also be totally invisible.
As a home buyer and homeowner, it is very important that you know exactly where your property lines are.
How to Find Property Lines for Free
There are several ways in which you can determine property lines easily and without paying any money. Let’s look at those methods below.
Homeowner’s Deed
If you have the homeowner’s deed, then you should see a legal description on the document of the plot of land. This description should include the lot and block number, block, shape, measurements, and any other signifiers such as geographical features and landmarks.
If the language is difficult to understand, then you should reach out to a local real estate agent or lawyer and see if they can help you.
A Tape Measure
You can get a tape measure if you want to visually check the property lines and determine where the boundaries are. Look in the property description in the deed and try to find a described point on your property.
Measure out to the edge of the land. Then, put up a stake at the point to be a marker.
After you determine all of the edges, you want to measure the distance between each stake. You can then compare your results to the deed to make sure that everything is accurate.
Existing Property Survey from Title or Mortgage Company
A lot of mortgage lenders are going to demand that the buyer needs to get a current survey. The title insurance is also going to depend on the survey.
If you recently bought your house but you don’t have a survey, then contact one of those companies and see if they can send you a copy.
Existing Property Survey from Local or County Municipality
There are several places where you can find the legal records and history of the property where that you live on. You can go to the county’s or municipality’s tax assessor’s office. You can also go to the building or land records department.
A person can typically start their search by going on the internet and looking for relevant property information.
A lot of localities will offer property records for free. However, some places might as that you get the records in person or that you pay some money for the information.
Buried Pins
You might notice some steel bars at the corners of your land that have been buried. These bars are sometimes visible. They’re usually marked with a cap on the top end.
These are usually placed on someone’s land when a survey is finished. If you don’t see the pins easily, you should use something like a metal detector to find them. They might get buried under the ground as time goes on.
This is not a 100 percent accurate way to figure out where your property lines are. However, it’s going to give you a good idea of where your property limits are.
Before you dig, you should call 811. This is a national hotline that will tell you where buried utilities are. You don’t want to accidentally dig into an underground water line.
How to Legally Determine Property Lines
While the above methods can be useful and free, they aren’t always 100 percent accurate. Let’s look at some very accurate but sometimes costly methods for determining property lines.
Hire a Licensed Land Surveyor
If you are looking to get a legally accurate measurement of your property lines, then you will want to work with a professional land surveyor. Make sure to find one with a license.
You might end up spending several hundred dollars to have your land surveyed. But you’ll end up saving a lot of money in possible legal fees if you end up extending your driveway into your neighbor’s yard or start taking down trees that aren’t yours.
The Importance of Knowing How to Easily Determine Your Property Lines
Hopefully, after reading the above article, you now have a better idea of how to easily determine where your property lines are. As we can see, there are several methods that you can utilize to figure out your property lines. By taking the time to know where your land starts and ends, you will have an easier time knowing how much work you can do to your property. Are you looking for other helpful and interesting real estate articles like this one? If you are, then make sure to check out the rest of our site today for more!
Danny White is a freelance writer who offers to ghostwrite, copywriting, and blogging services. He works closely with B2C and B2B businesses providing digital marketing content that gains social media attention and increases their search engine visibility.
