Land Survey

[foodfisher]

Re: Land Survey

Old outhouses can be treasure caches.

 

[idonthaveaname]

Re: Land Survey

A few thoughts.

10 acres isn't much land. I can see you and your house from the street.
Any architect worth their salt will not work without a survey.
Don't cheap out now for something that can (and probably will) come back a bite you in the rump later.
The city, or county, or state will have rules, regulations, and permit requirements. One thing I have learned...just cuz you paid for the land doesn't mean you do whatever you want. I was watching that hoarders show once and a guy that owned over 500 acres had a bunch of run down cars on it. The county (or city) made him clean it up. Heck! You couldn't tell anything was there by driving by, but they still had the authority to enforce.

Another story for ya... A friend comes to me and says he has to go back home to talk with some people that want to build a fence and apparently it crosses his land that he apparently didn't know he owned. Years back, his grand parents and parents were sharecroppers and lived on a bunch of farm acres near Huntsville, AL. I mean A BUNCH! Seems that the owner of the land took a liking to them and GAVE THEM the land saying, you can live here as long as you want. They figured they could just live there, the owner MEANT, he was giving them the land. Over the years the family lived and raised the kids, grandkids, etc., eventually moving away. Apparently they weren't too bright. Now, years later, the field had become a shopping mall, restaurants, housing (a couple of thousand), parking lots, etc. and apparently smack dab in the middle of town and worth millions. How did this all happen since there was a real title certificate? Who knows...the lawyers are figuring that out. Needless the say, the guy and his family are "worth" millions and millions of buckaroos. If they will ever settle and collect? Who knows. So, should you have a survey?
Probably.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Land Survey

I wish it was law that all land sells included a legal survey of the property....when I bought my first home I insisted on a survey as part of the deal since all they had were sketchs ....split the cost with owner....down the road it came in very handy....had a ***** of a neighbour..when we went away on hoildays he installed a fence about 5 feet in on our property and was adiment it was his property....even he got a lawyer telling me not to cut it down......well I fired up the chainsaw with the survey in my back pocket and cut the friggin fence up in no time....he came out and said he was going to sue for damages .....well he got educated real fast when he saw {pun} the survey .....it was firewood

 

[mommicked]

Re: Land Survey

Most folks have never heard of "Adverse Possession" but it ALONE should encourage all land purchasers to have a survey done or updated at the time of the sale, esp. larger farm type tracts. Lots have used this w mallice IMO, to take property from the rightfull owners. Look it up if you dont know about it. I believe the rules vary from state to state. It can allow historical users of land or roads/paths they don't own to continue to use them as they please or outright take the property involved from the landowner or new buyers of unsurveyed property. I would also take anything most realtors say about (the location) of unsurveyed property lines and corners to potential buyers, w a grain of salt.

 

[MolsonCanadian]

Re: Land Survey

Most folks have never heard of "Adverse Possession" but it ALONE should encourage all land purchasers to have a survey done or updated at the time of the sale, esp. larger farm type tracts. Lots have used this w mallice IMO, to take property from the rightfull owners. Look it up if you dont know about it. I believe the rules vary from state to state. It can allow historical users of land or roads/paths they don't own to continue to use them as they please or outright take the property involved from the landowner or new buyers of unsurveyed property. I would also take anything most realtors say about unsurveyed property lines and corners to potential buyers, w a grain of salt.

Most, of not all of Ontario at least is on the Title system, and Adverse Possession (Squatters Rights) is no longer an issue. I am not sure how the US works, but I am sure its similar.

 

[mommicked]

Re: Land Survey

Most, of not all of Ontario at least is on the Title system, and Adverse Possession (Squatters Rights) is no longer an issue. I am not sure how the US works, but I am sure its similar.

I'm no expert or PLS and am not familiar w other US states or other countries laws/rules but I have personally seen instances of Adverse Poss. used In my state in the last 20yrs. Most involved older fences encroaching on forgotten, poorly defined or witnessed property lines. The end result was sometimes the loss of the fenced area to the owners when newer surveys proved the encroachment and the fenced area had been improved and cared for by the fence builder for x years. 15' x 2000'+/- is alot of property to loose or pay for because you didn't get a survey before the purchase. The legal battles or fear of, can and do prevent some properties from being purchased also when discovered pre-purchase by a Surveyor. I recall locateing 3 different old fences running roughly parellel over 1000', ( +/- 75' apart at times) through mature woods. One corner was lost, washed out of the creekbank, 3 old, meandering fences came to the creek, the old Deed called for "the run of the fence", some experts studied the old living trees used as fenceposts, the cedar posts, and even the old rusty barbwire to try to determine which ancient fence was 1st or there at the time of the original vague survey because neither of the adjoining tracts boundaries closed by calls because of errors typical of OLD surveys.