Have you ever wondered where your property line starts and ends legally? Sometimes, like in property line disputes, it’s helpful to have paperwork showing where your property starts and ends. The legal boundaries of your plot of land are one of the most important things for property owners to know. This guide will help you learn how to easily find your property lines.
How to Find Property Lines
You may need to know how to find your property lines for several reasons. Examples of some of these reasons include:
- Determine the value of a house that you are buying or selling
- Discover if you can construct buildings in your yard or near your home
- Find out if you can make changes to your landscaping. This could include removing a tree between your house and your neighbor’s or planting a hedge as a fence.
You may not need to know for any particular reason, other than just being aware of this information for your own sake. No matter what the reason may be, if you need to know how to find them, but you aren’t sure how to do so, then you’re in the right place.
What is a Property Line?
Before we jump in and explain how to find your property lines, let’s explain what it actually is. Knowing your property line is important because it is a legal boundary for a piece of land that separates it from surrounding pieces of land.
Legally speaking, they distinctly denote who the rightful owner of a piece of land is. Property lines divide the land into clearly defined plots and parcels.
In some situations, obvious boundaries serve as a property line, such as fences, roadways, streams, and rivers. However, in other cases, property lines aren’t visible. Therefore, you’d need certified legal records that document the property lines in order to prove where your land begins and ends.
By knowing where your property lines are, you will be able to determine precisely where your property line sits. This will give you a better understanding of what type of building or home improvement projects you can complete. This is essential to avoid property line disputes with neighboring owners.
Resources to Find Property Lines
With the following tips, you’ll be able to find and determine where your property begins and where the surrounding property ends.
Use a Plat Map
A plat, or a property line map, is a drawing that details the boundary lines of your property. Typically, drawings will include an array of environmental elements that could impact your property lines. This could include:
- Bodies of water
- Elevations
- Tree lines
In some situations, a plat includes maps of neighboring land if the property lines are being shared.
Assess Your Property Deed
You can also review the deed to your property to determine where your property lines are. The deed is the legal document for your property. It includes a description of the legal boundaries of your land, what the property includes, and such.
While a description of the boundaries is included by default, some property deeds don’t feature these details. If this is the case for you, your deed should reference an older deed for the same property. Property surveys are public records and you can request a copy from your county.
Do a Property Line Survey
You could also complete a property line survey. Hire a professional surveyor to take a precise measurement of the legal boundaries of a piece of land. In some situations, property line information may come with your plat or property deed.
If you don’t have one, you could hire a licensed land surveyor to create one for you. As a result, you will have it on hand in the future.
Helpful resource: Douglas-Omaha Geographic Information System
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