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How to Post property the correct way

3K views 33 replies 18 participants last post by  posco 
#1 ·
Ok I have a question for those of you that have done this. My grandparents own 10 acres in a nearby county that they've given me permission to hunt. It has never been posted and needs to be. I have access to the local Gis website but obviously that's not a legal plat of the property. After I get a plat, how can I go about posting the property. I don't mind getting a compass and doing it that way, but with modern tech it's got to be easier. I don't have a gps but I've got my phone which can be useful although not foolproof. So any ideas about posting this property? Also how about how often to post signs and other tags identifying the line?
 
#3 ·
There are usually old corner markers that will help in determining property lines. Depending on the neighbors, I would make a reasonable effort to mark it close, but without a survey it won't be perfect.
 
#4 ·
The correct way?

Get it professionally surveyed, then post it however you want..signs, fence, paint a purple slash on trees like they do down south..whatever.
 
#5 ·
You are correct in that a GIS website isn't a legal manor to determine the proper boundaries.

The first thing you do is go to the County Register's office, County Clerks office, Tax Accessors office and obtian the legal plat of the area. In addition to that you'll want a copy of the deed containing the Metes & Bounds. This is just a start.

If you want it done to the letter of the law, you're best bet is to get a registered surveyor to create a legal plat and mark the property...a requirement in most areas for legal marking of boundaries. The landowner can post stuff all they want and it may not be a proper legal posting.

DO NOT go buy what the city/county plat says is correct. I've done plenty of surveys and found that often they are wrong. What happens is that a bad call or reference will be made and it will just carry forward. It's not a problem if there isn't a dispute but if someone were to raise a stink...the "I didn't know" defense doesn't go very far.
 
#7 ·
A survey is the best way, but very expensive. As mentioned, go to the county records office and get a plat map from the most recent survey. It’ll have the locations of the corner pins marked (including coordinates). Then, just go find those pins. Some may be buried, so take a metal detector. There’s a variety of ways to “string” the lines from one pin to the next, it’ll just depend on the terrain and how far apart they are.
 
#10 ·
What if the property doesn't have a plat map? Not all parcels have recorded surveys, in fact I'd say less than half do. If you want to accurately mark your lines the only way to do it is get it surveyed. Any other way is guessing unless you can pull a string between the corners monuments. GPS takes measurements from outer space and can't be relied on for accuracy and the tax maps can be substantially off as well. GET IT SURVEYED! Anything else will end up costing you in the long run.
 
#14 ·
So Im guessing no fence? Correct way is get the property deed which will give you legal description, pretty easy to measure it off yourself. But official way is surveyor...I can tell you I just looked into this and it was going to cost me $3500, complete rip off IMO, so I guess I will keep the fence line as property line.

My situation is a little different since there is a visible "Property Line".

Good luck
 
#17 ·
So Im guessing no fence? Correct way is get the property deed which will give you legal description, pretty easy to measure it off yourself. But official way is surveyor...I can tell you I just looked into this and it was going to cost me $3500, complete rip off IMO, so I guess I will keep the fence line as property line.

My situation is a little different since there is a visible "Property Line".


Good luck
You have no idea what you're talking about or what it takes to provide an accurate survey or you wouldn't make such an ignorant statement. How much land was involved? How do you know the fence is directly on the line? Is it perfectly straight? People think surveying is expensive but wait until you run into a situation where you needed a survey, then you'll realize how inexpensive it would have been.
 
#18 ·
Can you talk to the neighboring property owners and establish where the corners and inline markers may be? It may be simpler to to get the deed or plat if available for near nothing than to pay a surveyor. I have done this many times and found the corners by walking and using the county's gis in conjunction with the deed or plat. Takes time but alot cheaper than paying someone to do it for you. Its all about the tools and using them.
 
#19 ·
Get it surveyed no questions asked

As my first post ever and being a SURVEYOR myself. GET IT SURVEYED. If you can find old corners GREAT but, what about the adjoining properties? They may come back to you and say it's posted wrong. Go to your local court house and get deeds of the adjoining properties FOR FREE. Draw it up on a piece of paper where every adjoining PIN should be. This can help you to make sure you are tied into the right measurements. A survey will cost money no doubt, but it is the right thing. This will play a big role in the future if you do not get it surveyed and say someone else does and here you've been marking the wrong properties. There is a lot of legal boundary law and honestly if you can talk to the adjoining property land owners and discuss where the actual corners are it would be worth your time if you don't want to invest in a survey. If you should contact a surveyor he can do what you want him to do. Don't get discouraged by prices, they are estimates. He is going to have to do some research on your property and the adjoining properties to see what the troubles are. If you know where some corner locations are this will help him out a lot and honestly if he needs to blaze some brush lines OFFER to help, it would reduce your price significantly. It's also good to follow him or his crew around to learn some tips for other properties. I suggest get it surveyed and if you do not go that route I would talk to the adjoining property owners and ask them to show you where they think their corner is at. Go to the local court house and get the deeds for every adjoining properties so everyone is on the right page... Just my rant, I hate hearing people say it costs too much to have something surveyed. If you find your properties deed and adjoining properties and want to PM me, maybe I can plot them up with an aerial for you to help you find locations better if you don't want to spend money. Good Luck!
 
#20 ·
Ten acres isn't that big. If you can find the corners you should be able to find lines. Never a bad idea to talk to the neighbors....Stay INSIDE the lines a bit and you'll be fine.

I'm a tree guy. I recommend you cut all "unsafe" trees. my mechanic always wants to fix stuff that's not really a problem...and the surveyor understandably believes that a certified survey is the way to go.

BTW,I had my lace surveyed to head off problems I foresaw with a neighbor. $400.

$3500? Either that guy owns some big acreage or he has MSU syndrome.

(MSU - makes s--- up)

(edit) Wisconsin has an online database for plat maps for 70 of our 72 counties. I know many other states have similar...google your county and GIS mapping. The aerials are good enough that I can see deer trails and tower stands.
 
#23 ·
Here in Iowa a friend of mine had his acerage (6-8 acers) surveyed and i remember it was gonig to cost more in the spring and summer time because it would take longer with all the "green stuff". If done in the fall/winter it was much faster, easier, and cheaper. just a thought even without the cost factor, i wouldn't wait till spring to have it done.
 
#25 ·
You CANNOT go by your county's GIS lines. If it were that easy, everyone would be a surveyor and I would be out of a job. The lines are accurate but not precise. The old Accuracy vs Precision, yes the lines are in the general area but they aren't precisely correct and even if they were do you think you're going to find your corner? What tree do you think that falls on, between what bush and branch are you going to measure. Once again, if you go to the local court house and find your deed and adjoining properties you might find clues on theirs. Something like a dimension from a Pin Oak or a slashed tree, etc etc. I just hate to see someone claim they know where they found their properties because they looked at a tax map on their county GIS and then a dispute happens and then you're all in court and the neighbor is right. Happens all the time in real estate transactions, a realtor thinks they know where the line is and tell the new owners that they would own that and they actually don't.
 
#30 ·
No kidding. People think you just show up to a house, start on a corner then mark the outline...a lot of work before you even step foot near the property. The bad thing is that there are both good and bad surveys.

I've had heated debates with lot locations because the typical surveyor was going by one property description. What he/they were failing to do was locate the USGS benchmark and start plotting from there. When you did, you found the start of the neighborhood was off by about 50' and at the wrong angle...why so off- easy the guy used the current location of the street not the one from 50 years ago when the subdivision was first created. Once I got him to go to the benchmark...he agreed.

That little bit of information helped him understand property line disputes a bit more. There is book smart, then there is experience. With my job as a landman being required to map square miles accurate to the foot, I found many, many errors over the years.

Got another case where there was a disput on property lines simply because the survey crew and landowner weren't using the proper deeds....though one was. Often, old town sites move or disappear. In this case there was an old rail road town that was absorbed by the neighboring city. The tracks were pulled up, town dispursed was no more. But, those legal descriptions still existed. Since it was common practice to simply go back 20 years for title...people were using the wrong maps. Mine came from the historical society and the old- very old plats in the back of the County Clerks office- not the current tax assessors plat. If you looked at the right map...there was a cross reference to the old town...and bingo- different source deeds, different plat references.

all this is likely moot for much of what the OP wants but just want to point out/support reasons as to why a proper survey is critical....as is errors and omitions insurance.
 
#31 ·
I may have to call a surveyor and get a price if that's the right way to do it I don't mind just going to have to save the money up. I may even have to get my grandpa who owns the land to pay it. Thanks for all your help and stoant I will be in touch with you soon. The property is fairly straight lines all the way around and I can always go talk to the neighboring property owners to figure out where the corners are. I know a lot of you are saying the survey thing and I get it, but I'm just looking to post it and get a bearing of where to cut a small food plot. But thanks for all your help it really has made me see the mess I could get into if I do this wrong.
 
#32 ·
check it out - you won't regret it - great service....great price...great support
for the record - I am not affliated in any way, just sharing an awesome tool....

http://www.propertylinemaps.com/

Also, when it comes down to the day you are hanging the signs...you would be WELL served to notify as many of he landowners as possible, whose land abates your property, let them know your intentions and share the proposed lines. Prompts neighborly dialogue long before the hideous yellow signs go up and goes a LONG way with landowner relationships. Don't get me wrong, it isn't always peaches and cream, but getting it is as right as possible from the start is much more beneficial than squabbling over lines later....

Joe
 
#34 ·
One surveyor commented to a friend of mine that he would be reluctant to do a survey in the area he is in because the lines are so screwed up. What he was getting at is once solid lines were established, a lot of other landowners would be impacted by it. The surveyors suggestion was if all of the parties involved are relatively satisfied with the lines, continue to live by them and there would be a lot less heartache involved for everyone. Stone walls, fences, tree lines, rock piles, etc..

A paper company who had (since sold to individual) land abutting me had a survey done for a ROW to their holdings. We shared the same ROW. There was a notation that if it were ever found the southern boundary was in dispute, their ROW (66 feet) would move equidistant north with the correction. Not exactly a confidence builder but I guess it offers some level of protection.
 
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