Can I Find My Property Line With My Deed?

Need to check your property lines? Will the deed tell you what you need to know?

Your deed shows you the legal description of your property. But when accuracy matters, you’ll need a surveyor to stake the land and confirm the location of your property boundaries.

Let’s take a look at what the deed tells you. Then, let’s look at the best way to confirm the property lines are where you think they are.

Why Look for Property Lines?

Lines could come up in discussions or disputes with your neighbors. Perhaps the people next door or their landscapers are driving over, or encroaching on, your property. Maybe they’ve installed a fixture or plantings that appear to be over the line. Or maybe an online map appears to show something at odds with what you or your neighbor believe is the line.

Perhaps you yourself want to put a fixture or plantings near the line, and need to be sure you’re not encroaching on the other deed holder. You need exact boundary lines to know where you’re legally allowed to install a fixture. Disagreements sometimes arise over possible encroachment, or obstructing an easement the neighbor has the right to use.

A good place to start is, indeed, the deed! Check the legal description on the document for a written explanation of your property borders. The deed might even name natural features and landmarks as reference points for physical measuring.

Granted, a legal description may not be the straightforward answer, because it’s written in technical language and is usually hard to apply on the ground without the aid of physical markers. So, you might also check online maps or mapping apps for a basic idea of your boundaries. And you can do a search for the name of your county, plus the phrase GIS data. GIS mapping is typically on county websites, downloadable at no charge.  

But wait up and read further, because none of the above can be taken as legally definitive.   

Survey Says…

The authoritative guide to your property’s boundaries and corners is the survey. Equally important, the survey shows directions, angles, and distances for precise measurement. Roads, driveways, walls and easements are all made visible in the survey.

So, review your property survey. If you took out a loan to acquire your deed, then the mortgage company will have a copy of your survey. So will the title company that worked on your deed transfer.

If questions persist and you need a surveyor to verify answers, ask the company that issued the most recent survey report on your property to verify the boundaries as stated in their report. A key task of survey companies is verifying the accuracy of your deed’s legal description.

Your deed and the survey work together. The deed can show you the boundaries. A survey will verify them.

Looking up the company that did your property’s last survey can put you in touch with the right professional to hire. A surveyor that already did a past report can stake out the boundaries accurately and efficiently, probably at a lower cost than a new survey company.

This begins with a call to the surveyor, explaining what needs to be staked, and what the purpose is. The surveyor might be able to clarify the matter at hand without doing a full survey report. In any case, the cost of a survey hinges on how much needs to be verified. You’ll also want the surveyor to take the time to tour your boundaries with you. Be sure you can confidently identify your boundary lines once the survey is done. 

According to current figures on Angie’s List (now rebranded as Angi.com), a surveyor’s work costs somewhere in the range of $220 to $450 per hour, depending on how many people come out, and the scope of the work.

If you’d rather hire a different surveyor, other deed holders may have references. Look for a surveyor licensed in your state. A surveyor can be located through your state surveyors’ association (affiliated with the National Society of Professional Surveyors).

What’s at Stake?

On some properties, the past surveyor’s stakes can still be located on the edges of the property. They might be able to solve the problem.

Also known as survey pins, stakes are typically metal rods. With a metal detector, you might be able to locate survey pins that exist on your land. If you’re doing any digging around your grounds, call 811. That’s the call-before-you-dig line. Calling can help you steer clear of doing anything dangerous or hitting and damaging utility systems. You also need to avoid water and sewer pipes, power lines, and telephone and cable gear.

The location of property stakes may appear on your property’s plat. Wait, what’s a plat? When you closed on your home purchase, your documents could have included a map called a plat. Plat maps are drafted by a surveyor. They show all measurements and border lines with precision. Your local county recorder of deeds has the document on file. Also, the plat map might be accessible through an online search.

Finally, your local zoning office may have a copy of your property’s plat map. If you speak with the people in the zoning office, you’ll find that they thoroughly understand boundary issues. Your neighbor’s real estate documents can also help both of you understand your boundaries.

Deed holders can sometimes search online property records associated with a home address at no charge. Find out more about getting a copy of your deed.

When in Doubt, Get the Survey

If you or your neighbors are planning to install a new feature along your property lines, or if you’re just unclear about where those lines are, a survey will shed the light you need on the subject. A survey can uncover:

• Unrecorded easements and areas being used for accessibility, such as encroachment of a neighbor’s entrance gate or driveway. 

• Any areas of fencing that have been moved since the last survey.
• Electric and water lines that must not be built over or obstructed, and might have been installed since the previous property survey.
• Changed boundaries due to natural erosion or changes in streams or other bodies of water.

Boundary lines may have changed for other reasons, too. In some cases, for example, previous owners agreed to modifications but did not record them. No matter what has occurred, the survey produces an up-to-date “metes and bounds” description from on-site measurements, and precisely maps the boundary lines.

Got a neighbor who’s pushing the envelope? Check out our guide to encroaching neighbor problems.

Word to the Wise

For situation-specific guidance with your main questions, call a local real estate attorney. A legal professional can let you know if a survey is needed, interpret your deed and property survey together, and let you know the best ways to avoid liability risks.