I am looking at a piece of property and the current owner is unsure of the property boundaries. He can't get a surveyer out to mark for several weeks. If I go to the county assessors site I can pull up a map with the property boundaries but really hard to decifer that when your looking at timber etc. Is there an app out there for an android or ipad that works with the internal gps and platted boundaries to show you where they are as you walk the property? thank you
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any app. for finding property boundaries?
- Thread starter tomcat
- Start date
There is more than one surveyor in the world and I have a hard time thinking that it will take that long to get one out there. You wouldn't by a sled, car, etc without knowing exactly what comes with the purchase. Don't buy property based off the GPS on your smart phone.
To answer the question, depending on what county you are working in you may have options but it might require a little technical know how on your part. I work for the Wood County, Wis land information office and I try to get as much information served up as I can and as many ways as I can. Remember, just because it's digital doesn't make it any better than a paper map.
To answer the question, depending on what county you are working in you may have options but it might require a little technical know how on your part. I work for the Wood County, Wis land information office and I try to get as much information served up as I can and as many ways as I can. Remember, just because it's digital doesn't make it any better than a paper map.
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Guest
I wouldn't trust a GPS to define property lines. Not at this point in time anyway. The only correct way to do it is to find a pin (s) and go from there with an old fashioned tape line. There are many property lines in my geographical location that have become blurred over time. Folks planted tree rows 100 years ago on land that really wasn't theirs and other people have been farming around for years but technically the trees are supposed to be farmland. It can be a hairball if and when somebody buys the farmland and actually has a real survey done and decides to bulldoze down somebody's protective treerows. Nothing but hard feelings all around. I would find another surveyer if I were you.
Wait for the property boundaries to be marked by a professional Surveyor, there is a reason they have to licensed. In my 30 yrs. as s Survey Technician I have seen many instances in which people made property boundary assumptions based on flawed logic or bogus property corners(iron in the ground). Things like garages built on the wrong lot, 1/2 million dollar log cabin built on state land and so on. All because the persons determining the boundaries thought they knew what they were doing. We once came upon a person who paid a lot of money to have a new well sunk on property that was not his, but he thought it was.
Any handheld GPS is not accurate enough to determine property boundaries.
Any handheld GPS is not accurate enough to determine property boundaries.
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snobuilder
Well-known member
To feed off of what grub said. Once you get a survey done and lets say it shows a fenceline or plantation of
trees is on or overlaps the property you are looking to buy....don't think your survey will hold much water in court.
The court rules in favor of established and maintained fencelines even if they don't coincide with a modern survey.....
even something as official as a US Forestry section corner marker.
I learnred that personally ....not a lot of land but the neighboring property had trees planted on a small pie slice of my surveyed 5 acres at one corner.
Litigation is only worthwhile if a huge amount of land is at stake ....in my case it was not.
trees is on or overlaps the property you are looking to buy....don't think your survey will hold much water in court.
The court rules in favor of established and maintained fencelines even if they don't coincide with a modern survey.....
even something as official as a US Forestry section corner marker.
I learnred that personally ....not a lot of land but the neighboring property had trees planted on a small pie slice of my surveyed 5 acres at one corner.
Litigation is only worthwhile if a huge amount of land is at stake ....in my case it was not.
Exactly! That's called (click →) adverse possession:… The court rules in favor of established and maintained fencelines even if they don't coincide with a modern survey …
So if your neighbor uses a portion of your land for a sufficient length of time, and you "permit" that, by taking no action to correct it, he owns it; you essentially gave it to him through your inaction!"By adverse possession, title to another's real property can be acquired without compensation, by holding the property in a manner that conflicts with the true owner's rights (by actual, open and notorious, exclusive, adverse, and continuous possession) for a specified period. For example, squatter's rights are a specific form of adverse possession."
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Guest
Exactly! That's called (click →) adverse possession:So if your neighbor uses a portion of your land for a sufficient length of time, and you "permit" that, by taking no action to correct it, he owns it; you essentially gave it to him through your inaction!
Been down that road. It doesn't work here in MN. When farmland is over $5000 per acre you can fight with adverse possession until you are blue in the face. You can spend a lot of money on a lawyer and your treerow will go down if it is on surveyed farmland. Perhaps it is different in other places and I am in no position to say one way or the other BUT if the property Tomcat wants to buy is not bought yet would it not be prudent to go ahead and have it surveyed NOW and not have to deal with adverse possession questions down the road? Just trying to help here. Not interested in getting into murky water with adverse possession which may or may not go your way. Keep things simple. Life is interesting enough. Get it surveyed.
Exactly! That's called (click →) adverse possession:So if your neighbor uses a portion of your land for a sufficient length of time, and you "permit" that, by taking no action to correct it, he owns it; you essentially gave it to him through your inaction!
Well, not necessarily. The neighbor has to do more than "use it" or just mow the grass. Most adverse possession cases are determined by a fence line, tree line, wall or some other visual line that has been used or 'understood' to be the 'property line' for several years (usually 20 or more). Iowa refers to it as "FENCE LAWS". Most county website GIS maps are 'close', but are certainly not accurate. In several spots you can see buildings shown 'over' the lines, but in fact when an actual survey is done are not. At least that's what I have learned in 25 years of being a Licensed Surveyor. Either get another surveyor or wait would be my suggestion.
snobuilder
Well-known member
Yes, get a survey...I hope I didn't come across as anti-survey.
I was just pointing out what I learned and/or what to look for when I was buying my getaway land up north.
It was a simple choice for me....the land owning neighbor is pro snowmobile!
I was just pointing out what I learned and/or what to look for when I was buying my getaway land up north.
It was a simple choice for me....the land owning neighbor is pro snowmobile!
Land owner ended up finding the correct markers. He had it surveyed a few years ago but got confused on where the line was. I'm guessing the surveyer he uses was tied up. The markers he found seem to line up with the platt map. Not planning on building right on the line so I don't need to have them exact. 5000 and acre for farm land in Minnesota? Can't touch timber for that around here. I've heard of tillable going for 14000 an acre down here. A friend sold 200 acres for 10k a piece a few years ago. Many think he let it go to cheap! Currently a five acre platt across the highway from him for sale for 120k. No house on it.