Owning a few acres in a rural circumstance is a dream come dead on target for many modern homesteader . With a moment of land , you may run livestock , grow crops or just enjoy the view .
But that piece of heaven comes with countless responsibilities , one of which is keep the property boundary straight .
Are you diffident of your own kingdom limit ? If so , then it ’s clock time to be proactive and have a property survey done to debar potential problems .
Acres?
In a sodding humankind , all land parcels would be square with equal sides . But in reality , land boundaries can be as twist as scroll springs and downright exasperating .
In the original surveys of 150 to 200 eld ago , the lots were neatly divided with 100 estate being the most rough-cut . Over time , all these cautiously measured Acre were break up or added to multiple times .
And just what is anacre ? You ’ll often encounter this terminus , but few people know it appraise 66 by 660 understructure , or 43,560 square feet . Another style of thinking is that an acre is roughly the size of it of a professional football field , more or less .
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Prep Work
Before a study , you ’ll need the deed of conveyance to the parcel of land , which outlines the dimension bounds .
If yours is n’t ready to hand , you are n’t alone . Most folks can line up their tractor manual of arms , the fridge warrant and their firstborn ’s first - grade report card but not their body politic deeds . Lorain Ebbett - Rideout
If your deed is n’t where it should be , see the last tax bill you received for the prop ID number and plenty figure . Every piece of ground has an identicalness telephone number for the county to memorialize who owns it . With this identification number , you may obtain a written matter of the title at the register of deeds office locate at the county seat , which immortalize all land transactions .
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This information will be on computer files and can be quickly access for a fee . Be sure to follow all the regularization in your area when dealing with any land issues , as laws can vary . Do your homework .
solid ground deeds may have any number of article such as ripe - of - ways and easements . An easing is an concord look at with something that came with the property before you owned it . The deed should should stop a thorough explanation .
Easements can be tricky surprises lie in around for decades , then suddenly appearing .
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A right - of - way might be admittance at a predetermined pointedness permitting another political party to reach a part of adjacent holding . hush-hush utility lines , old government highway allowance or forest service memory access roads run all over the countryside .
All too often landowners wo n’t even know about any of these potential problem .
Rods & Chains
sure-enough land human activity can be difficult to interpret , as they are sprinkled with antiquated industry terms . A licensed surveyor can quickly decipher and excuse this jargon , which can still be found occasionally on today ’s act .
I have a copy of the original survey of my ground from the late 1850s . It speaks of rods ( 16 1⁄2 foot ) and chains ( 66 foot ) and mo of angle for the yr .
Rods and chains were length of measuring used by early surveyors . The chain was a real chain of 100 link . the great unwashed pulled chains tight along a compass line to lay out millions of Acre .
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This weathered papers also indicates roads long since gone , along with the favorite of everyone who has any experience with old deeds : the classic “ large tree ” as a corner marker .
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A Pro Knows
Next , you need to employ a professional land surveyor . Someone local is a upright choice as they will have plenty of experience in the district . Ask around , and do n’t be shy about references .
A complete surveyor will :
These days , we are a little jumpy about unknown hotfooting it across the white turnip . So rent your neighbors get laid what ’s happen .
The scientific discipline of land surveying has been around ever since humankind set about divvying up territory . Today , the work of surveyor go on , although the tools have changed immensely .
A modern surveyor expend many discipline , from geometry to purgative and the law . By using GPS satellites with a field computer , they can reach pinpoint accuracy .
Despite the progress , though , foot work is still required .
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Game Day
Before the surveyor get , examine your deed and make note of any items you wish to have excuse . Carefully walk your ground , noting any indications of boundary line or corner markers .
A surveyor will have garner all available data prior to record up and bring a written matter of your deed . But — trust it or not — surveyors also receive your views , area folklore or older relatives recollections .
Accompany the surveyor around the property , pointing out what you see as the boundary , and be fair . Offer to assistant the surveyor with his or her work . There ’s plenty of equipment and tool to express , so help is generally welcome .
Once the land survey for your farm is completed , the surveyor will draft a Modern human activity , which you ’ll have an chance to canvass . If you are unsated , a 2nd body politic sight for your farm may be in purchase order . Disputes do happen , and the final results might not be what you were expecting .
It ’s salutary to realise up any misunderstandings now and not afterwards .
After you are satisfied , a formal land human action will be drawn up and cross-file with the county office . This should be done as before long as possible because , like any document , a belongings deed is only utile if registered . So get it done !
Ownership , be it tractor or teacupful , requires maintenance . Land is no unlike .
Along with keeping the weeds back and the laughingstock corral , you involve to realize intelligibly just where your holding stops and your neighbor ’ begin . A modernistic Edwin Herbert Land resume can clear up any emergence with your farm . Once everything is in order , you may get back to farming , confident that all your corner are squared !
Sidebar: More or Less
A troublesome state deed full term that crops up now and then is the unsettling “ more or less . ” Old surveys are famous for this , and it means that the amount of land may be over or under the land area state .
As surveys were done , some ground features were allowed for , resulting in a 100 - acre piece of land that could really be 110 acres .
Sometimes the survey ran out land for a especial area , result in under the amount posit . This is why a view nowadays is necessitate so you accurately know the truthful amount of dry land you own on your farm .
It ’s like an old neighbor once told me about those long - ago surveys : “ One feller wins , and one feller loses . ” Those are some true words !
Sidebar: Odd Markers
Just about everything from iron bar to a well - set pine tree tree has continue two landowner separated . Even today , countless random object pose silently guarding the bound . Rock cairns were a common marker , but lot of hoary machinery has been press into service . Lorain Ebbett - Rideout
One unpaired marker that I encountered is an old Equus caballus - powered hay rake that sits at the angle of a niche . Who unhooked and send away it so precisely ?
A surveyor once separate me he had a job where it turned out a moss - covered pile of log marked the corner slant square and true . He drove a metal cake into the corner and left the stinking logs , say they were still performing their job so why trouble them ?
Old rock walls were the limit for other pioneers , as were those adorable split - rails fences . Surveyors today still practice these as accurate reference point , a will to those who cautiously ran the belongings lines so long ago .
This article originally appeared in the November / December 2020 issue ofHobby Farmsmagazine .
