Property line on19.5 acres

[greasemonkeyok]

So now you know who REALLY does the work in the atorney's office.

 

[Timm250]

So now you know who REALLY does the work in the atorney's office.

I guess it's really not that surprising that they pay someone else peanuts to make them the big bucks!

I have always heard that you will never get rich working for someone else. You have to have someone working for you to get rich.

 

[Jstpssng]

Isn't it frustrating to look forward to this day, then have to wait a little longer?
Ah well, the day you start laying fence it'll all be behind you. :thumbsup:

You've gotten some very good suggestions here... as a forester I've used most of them to "connect the dots" when the line is scetchy. In your situation though 600 bucks is the deal of a lifetime, so long as he is going to mark it good enough for your purposes. The only reason he can do it for that price is because it's based on his previous work... (would you finish a motor job and put your name on it not knowing who torqued the rods down?) I would make sure that both you and the surveyor were on the same page about what he was going to do, and also be there when he does the work so that you can assist when possible and also ask questions.

 

[Timm250]

Isn't it frustrating to look forward to this day, then have to wait a little longer?
Ah well, the day you start laying fence it'll all be behind you. :thumbsup:

You've gotten some very good suggestions here... as a forester I've used most of them to "connect the dots" when the line is scetchy. In your situation though 600 bucks is the deal of a lifetime, so long as he is going to mark it good enough for your purposes. The only reason he can do it for that price is because it's based on his previous work... (would you finish a motor job and put your name on it not knowing who torqued the rods down?) I would make sure that both you and the surveyor were on the same page about what he was going to do, and also be there when he does the work so that you can assist when possible and also ask questions.

This isn't the surveyor that did the division of the property for the estate settlement. This is a guy I have used on a couple of other properties that I needed surveyed.

I wouldn't use the surveyor that divided this property for anything. This property was originally about 80 acres & had about 2000 ft of county road frontage. When he was surveying he tried to force a right of way across my yard to this piece of property because the other 3 heirs wanted all of the road frontage & didn't want to give the 4th heir any of the road frontage.

 

[Jstpssng]

$600 for a fence line survey is a great deal. Most surveyors here will not get out of bed for less than $1000. My neighbor just paid $1400 for a fence survey along 1 side of a 10 acre plot.

This isn't the surveyor that did the division of the property for the estate settlement. This is a guy I have used on a couple of other properties that I needed surveyed.

I wouldn't use the surveyor that divided this property for anything. This property was originally about 80 acres & had about 2000 ft of county road frontage. When he was surveying he tried to force a right of way across my yard to this piece of property because the other 3 heirs wanted all of the road frontage & didn't want to give the 4th heir any of the road frontage.

OK, I'm sorry that I misunderstood. Yet I still stand behind my original statements; even more now, since I assume (shudder) that your surveyor is straightforward. I make my last comment on faith, because I hope that our professional organisations are weeding out the dufuses. (sp)

 

[dodge man]

Since the bush is thick and hilly, your only real option for a true location is to hire the surveyor. $ 600 seems like a deal. Make sure his price includes setting intervisible stakes. These can just be wood stakes. Without a survey you may get the fence on your neighbours property and if he challenges the location, you may have to get it surveyed anyway. Just make it a condition of sale that the seller pays for the survey or make an offer of $600 less than what you were going to pay. Do not rely on any GIS overlays. They can be off large amounts.
Al

I am a land surveyor and this statement is 100% correct. Don't go by the GIS, they are just a fancy picture and are rarely done to any kind of survey standards. Where I work, we charge around $100 or more for a two man survey crew, and just from what you described, $600 sounds cheap. Also, survey grade GPS doesn't work well in heavy tree cover.

 

[dodge man]

I use a GPS to hike all the time. Try this--
Get the coordinates at your two corners with a handheld GPS device. Open Google Earth on your computer. Start at one corner, mark it. Go to the other corner, mark it. Draw a straight line between the two. Now anywhere on that line, google earth with give you the coordinates. Put your mouse pointer on 4 or 5 spots along the straight line. Write down all your coordinates. Now go out and mark each one on the line untill you have enough points to be able to see your line all the way from corner to corner.

Not going to work and probably not going to even get close. First off the photos on google earth don't have any kind of ground control when they take the pictures, second, handheld GPS is going to get you within 10 feet at its best.

 

[Timm250]

Not going to work and probably not going to even get close. First off the photos on google earth don't have any kind of ground control when they take the pictures, second, handheld GPS is going to get you within 10 feet at its best.

The plan is to have the surveyor lay out the line & put in t-posts about every 100 ft or so. Some can be farther apart where they are in the field but some will have to be closer because of the rolling hills & woods/thick brush.

 

[dodge man]

That sounds like a good plan!

 

[foreman Etexas]

The plan is to have the surveyor lay out the line & put in t-posts about every 100 ft or so. Some can be farther apart where they are in the field but some will have to be closer because of the rolling hills & woods/thick brush.

I am getting into the same but on about 5,00ft I have a survey from a company and neighbor is having his own done again today,the thing is,this fence has been there 30yrs and we are on him just alittle at the begining so going off just the pins and making a straight line isn't good at all cause you may not be straight,this is what my great grand dad and neight done 30yrs ago and this new owner of two years,we are having disagreements about now. I just spent 7grand on dozing it out. I have heard thou if its been there over 15yrs the old fence is the boundary,this true dodge man?

 

[dodge man]

If the fence has been there for 15 years, its the boundary? Best answer I can give to that is maybe? Adverse possesion kicks in after so many years, depending on the state. The problem is its very hard to prove. As a surveyor, I worry about small fractions of a foot, but in the real world, thats not the case. How close does a fence have to be to the boundary line for it to be the boundary line? A inch, a foot, two feet? There is no correct answer. If it swings 100 feet away from the boundary line due to poor fence building, you can't call it the boundary, but if its within a inch, I'd think you could call it the boundary. I would just say in a rural area, over ground that might not be flat and open, any fence within a few feet of the line would be the boundary line in my view. The courts tend to call ancient fences the boundary lines in many cases.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

... I have heard thou if its been there over 15yrs the old fence is the boundary,this true dodge man?

No responsible surveyor or attorney is going to answer that definitively because the question assumes only one fact, the location of the fence. Too many other variables to get an answer, even from a lawyer.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Why you doze out a line fence that was in question?

 

[foreman Etexas]

Why you doze out a line fence that was in question?[/QUO.
To answer your question so could build a new fence,so didn't have problems keeping cows in,I mean I could have patched the old one.

 

[Ken45101]

I have heard thou if its been there over 15yrs the old fence is the boundary,this true dodge man?

That tremendously varies depending on individual state law.

 

[foreman Etexas]

That tremendously varies depending on individual state law.

Yeah I'm going to move it over anyways,will be right from now on,so kids have peace mind...

 

[Gale Hawkins]

There is only one way to handle this kind of matter I learned after dad almost lost his life.

He and the neighbor correctly got a surveyor involved after the neighbor dozed out a line fence because he trusted the neighbor. They set the fence based on the surveyors pins and all was well until the neighbor sold and told the other guy that the fence was over on his side too far. Dad's mistake was not getting the initial surveyor's work recorded at the courthouse and a quit claim deed signed by him and the neighbor.

Line fences are often ABSTRACT and not something that can be determine by a surveyor hence the need for a Quit Claim deed that is is nothing more than a legal handshake.

I have determined if I ever doze out a property line without a written and signed legal solution that I will be the fool in the matter.

 

[foreman Etexas]

That would be me the fool for just going off the fence. But now you get into well we move the one right,now do I do the other stretch and move that fence right? I mean his barn is there and its over on me several feet,if we are making things right now,why do one and not the other,its not in the best shape either.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

In my younger years I was more left brained.

Property lines I later learned are living organisms that can move over time base on usage. An old known is better than a new unknown when it comes to property lines. The law supports property lines by usage as strong if not stronger that property lines on paper.

 

[bobm6996]

Purchased 15 acres last fall and we found out when it was surveyed that our property and another adjoining property have overlapping deeds. There is a tree line with a fence embedded in it that most everyone agrees is the property line, but based on the deed for the property we bought our property actually extends 53 feet to the south of the tree line. The surveyor noted the entire property line on all sides about every 200 ft. where we stood. The fence line on the south side is pretty close (within inches) of the fence until you get to the dog leg that is the 53 feet of overlap. He told us that we should talk with the adjoining property owner and give him a copy of what the survey, which I have done. We agreed for now that the tree line is the property line and we are not asking for the 53 feet. The surveyor advised that if it went to court the adjoining property owner would probably be able to keep the 53 feet because of the historical records being so difficult to make a decision. He is an older gentlemen so this still may end up in court some day, i hope not. We are fine with the agreement that the tree line is the dividing line. If we ever sell the new owner may want to pursue.