Using an app to determine proposed boundry lines

[Mtsoxfan]

I want to purchase roughly 12 acres from my neighbor, who sold me the property we built on. It's in an open field abutting mine and runs along a town road. There are very few surveyors in area, I think there are only two in 1 hour drive. Seller doesn't want to pay for a survey, it's $5k plus add ons. And they are about 8 months out. His health is failing, family doesn't want it to live on. I told him last year I felt safer with a survey, for various reasons. I would keep it ag taxed, to save him the 10% charge to transfer it to residential. I have absolutely no plans to build, just want to keep others from doing so and ruining part of my view that we so love. My feelings on the survey are changing, as I want the property.
I've mapped out on Google Earth Maps, but don't know if I can pinpoint exact locations which would serve as a written point to be used in bill of sale. (or whatever they call it) I've used a compass app, which I can get those pinpoints, but am not sure of their accuracy.
Is anyone familiar with any apps (free would be nice) that would give me an accurate pinpoint I could use on title? The whole property that is next to me is too many acres for me to afford, which would make it so much easier to pinpoint, as I would use all the existing borders. I thought all property transfers had to be surveyed, but searching online gave me mixed answers, most likely outdated, but no articles have dates...

Thoughts/suggestions?

 

[LittleBill21]

none are accurate enough, I wouldn't settle for anything less then a RTK Based System.

 

[CalG]

I want to purchase roughly 12 acres from my neighbor, who sold me the property we built on. It's in an open field abutting mine and runs along a town road. There are very few surveyors in area, I think there are only two in 1 hour drive. Seller doesn't want to pay for a survey, it's $5k plus add ons. And they are about 8 months out. His health is failing, family doesn't want it to live on. I told him last year I felt safer with a survey, for various reasons. I would keep it ag taxed, to save him the 10% charge to transfer it to residential. I have absolutely no plans to build, just want to keep others from doing so and ruining part of my view that we so love. My feelings on the survey are changing, as I want the property.
I've mapped out on Google Earth Maps, but don't know if I can pinpoint exact locations which would serve as a written point to be used in bill of sale. (or whatever they call it) I've used a compass app, which I can get those pinpoints, but am not sure of their accuracy.
Is anyone familiar with any apps (free would be nice) that would give me an accurate pinpoint I could use on title? The whole property that is next to me is too many acres for me to afford, which would make it so much easier to pinpoint, as I would use all the existing borders. I thought all property transfers had to be surveyed, but searching online gave me mixed answers, most likely outdated, but no articles have dates...

Thoughts/suggestions?

Is there a useful description of the parcel at the town office? Meets and bounds works pretty well until you go to break up an existing parcel.

I have use Gaia to walk my lot, It's very repeatable. And falls within reasonable distance of the flagged pins. (less than a foot)
I'm sure accuracy is enhanced with many satellite references.

But I doubt the "lines" would hold up in a dispute.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

Maybe i should just throw a number at them. They want me to buy the land, would prefer I bought the whole parcel. I've asked him to think of a number, and if I can afford it, I'll buy, otherwise I'll just buy the 7 acres they agreed to sell at the price we agreed on.

Some descriptions are " corner by the apple tree, running to stone wall, then to cow barn". Very rural around here. 500 people in my town.

 

[Jstpssng]

Have your deed written to the monuments rather than a metes and bounds description. Then you can have it surveyed when you have the money and the surveyor has the time.

Better yet, use the bearings and distances from your app but have it written so that the mons hold sway over them.

 

[ponytug]

How about buying the whole parcel, and give hime a right of tenancy to a carve out for a time period? That way, you won't be messing with or dependent upon surveys.

All the best, Peter

 

[newbury]

You are only safe with a fully legal official survey. Land in your neck of the woods has been handed down since the colonial days.
My Father and Grandfather bought a parcel near Jericho about 1960. They THOUGHT they were buying "20 acres, more or less". The boundaries were easy to find, good well maintained fences on the north and south, a county road on the west and a cliff all along the back. We built a duplex on it, with ponds. It was lovely. I called it home until 1978 when I got out of the Army.
It was still "20 acres, more or less" and that's what they were taxed on.
My Dad sold it about 1981, after surveying it was 30 acres. That's a pretty good growth rate for land.

Bought my first house in Alexandria, Va ~1979. In the suburbs 12 miles south of the White House. Land is expensive there. County redid road with sidewalk and better gutters, messed up placement of driveway apron. I was renting the house out at the time, the renters didn't notice it. The apron came about a foot on my side where it was at the street. When I complained it was "sue the city, you'll pay thousands", according to my wife the lawyer. The actual hard concrete parking area is all on the neighbors land by inches.
The neighbors house was bought by a "flipper". He started to widen his driveway, which was too narrow to allow a pickup to pass between our houses without coming on my lot. Luckily I caught it. He disputed it. I had a survey. He got a new survey (cost him a pretty penny), agreed with mine.
Let's just say he was aggravated.

I was buying land & house in Mississippi in 2011. The land was supposed to be "70 acres, more or less", got it surveyed, turned out to be 67 acres. Price adjustment.

A good survey is worth it, defined boundaries make good neighbors.

Now if the land is not worth the $5K for survey that's one thing. But if the 12 acres you are looking at are worth say $40K a good survey might be money well spent.

 

[Streetcar]

Does Vermont require survey for new parcels

 

[EddieWalker]

First thing I would do is talk to your Title Company to see what they require. You could go to the courthouse, but in my opinion, the Title Company is going to be more helpful.

From what I'm told, and what I've seen in my area of the country, the online GPS apps and programs all rely on County Records for boundaries. Those are pretty accurate to know who owns the land, but horrible at figuring out where the property line is since they are not done by a surveyor. My guess is they are drawn on their office computer by the secretary who doesn't have a clue about these things. Fortunately, it clearly states on their website that the boundaries are not accurate and should not be used for determining property lines.

Another thing to consider is if you don't get a survey done now, how much harder and more expensive will it be in the future? Nothing gets cheaper, and you never know what regulations will come up in the future that may make it harder to get a survey.

There are too many unknowns that will probably happen in the future to not have everything done perfectly today.

Find a surveyor, pay whatever it costs, and wait however long it takes. It will save you money and grief in the long run.

 

[dodge man]

I am a land surveyor and you are generally getting good advice. You need a real survey by a land surveyor. No app or any other source is good enough.

A good alternative is to agree to purchase the land at so many acres. You could even get an aerial photo and highlight the area and say “exact description of the land to be determined by a survey”. I personally would even close on the property based of a future survey but a title company can advise you the best way to make it happen.