Property Lines ?

I am going to be putting up a chain link fence soon and need advice to find the property lines. I live in a subdivision that is about 10 years old (bought house 3 months ago). I have a good idea of where the property lines are based off of tarred lines in the sidewalk that were put in by the builder to roughly mark the property lines. I would like to find the property pins to make sure I am within my property when I install the fence. I've read here that metal detectors work well to find the property pins. Is there a good place that will rent metal detectors?

I have talked to 1 surveyor and he wants to either be paid $280 up front and will spend 2 hours of his time trying to find the property pins (SOL if the 2 hours runs out before he's done), or he will do a property survey (which I assume will be a significantly more than the $280). I would not imagine it would be that hard to find the property pins with a metal detector since I have a pretty good idea of where they should be. Is there any other way to find them without a metal detector besides just digging around where you think they will be? Also, a 10 year old home should have property pins, right? Thank for for any advice.

 

Metal detectors work great for finding metal pegs. They almost always use a length of rebar to mark the boundries. I don't know if you can rent one or not but making a call to your local tool rental should let you know.

Unless they have been dug up the pegs should be fairly easy to find although often they get buried an inch or two [over the top] With a little luck you can rake around and find them.

If you can't rent or borrow a metal detector, buying a cheaper one would still be a lot less than paying a surveyor

 

I personally would hire the surveyor. $280 is a cheap price to be right. Do you know what a property pin looks like ? Maybe the pin you find may not be the correct pin. I have seen corners where there are 4 or 5 different pins over a foot apart. A licensed surveyor will find the correct ones. Thats only $70 a corner. Now when you build your fence you will have the correct lines. If anyone ever disputes you, you can have them call your surveyor. Just my thoughts. Thoughts from someone who uses property pins all the time. Good Luck

 

We just moved into a subdivision and talking to the neighbor about a fence, he told me that the developers used wooden stakes to lay out the entire subdivision. The only metal stakes are in akward corners. 90% of the lots are rectangles of simular size.

Lucky for me, my neighbor replaced one wood stake with a pvc stake and spray painted a line on the edge of the street for the other two( he has a corner lot). Since I have a subdivision survey plot, and know where the neighbors marks are; I can figure where my approx property lines are. I have to leave a 5' easment outside of the fence so approx lines sould be good enough.

 

I hate to argue with your neighbor, but they are wrong. Federal law requires every subdivision since 1900 or earlier, that is divided into residential lots be marked with a steel pin. The pins are there. Once in awhile one gets dug up, but are usually replaced right away. The wooden stakes your neighbor is talking about are called marker stakes. Marker stakes just mean that there is a property pin close by. They are not legal markers. So this is how it really is. What you do is up to you, but these are the facts. That is why I would have the surveyor check the pins. Just my thoughts. Have a good day.

 

Thanks for the replies. I am still undecided as to what to do. I know a surveyor would be the best way to go, but the $280 is for 2 hours of work...so he's got to be able to find them during that 2 hours (though I don't know if he'd count that towards an actual property survey if he needed longer). The fence materials are going to cost about $1600 (vinyl chain link), so spending $500 on a survey increases the total cost quite a bit. I'll probably also call other surveyors and see what they can offer.

 

You have a copy of your own lots survey, yes?

If so, it will show the general location of pins, and should also show the ID # of the pin marker, a plastic cap placed on top of the pin that has a number on it that keeps one pin from being confused with another.

If you don't have your own survey, you should get one.

 

Find a copy of your subdivision plat. It should be on file in the Register of Deeds Office at your county seat. Check the street widths and right-of-way measurements. You will probably find that the pins are located a few feet back from the street. There is usually a public right-of-way between the street and property for sidewalks and utilities such as water and sewer lines.

I would make the effort to find the pins and then confirm with a survey. This will save the surveyor time and perhaps save you some money. Good luck with your project.

 

There may be missing or no pins.

With many different contractors working and the grading being done late in the job, marker stakes can be destroyed. After that, a decent piece of equipment can mistakenly remove pin and it could be hauled away mistaken as scrap.

Try to find the pins with a metal detector. Anything you find can be used to by a surveyor to set the missing points and reduce the time and cost.

Dick

 

I can't imagine buying a property without a survey being made beforehand. Sort of like buying a car without driving it. But locating the plat is the next best thing. That, along with the physical description on the purchase contract will give a good rendering of what the property looks like.
But I concur with Jack in that the surveyor does it for a living and it should reduce the possibility of problems later on.

 

Look at it this way. If you are wrong on your guesses, your neighbor could force you to remove the fence or claim it as his own. Usually the fence must be set back from the property line by a given distance. Guesswork may cost far more than doing the job right. Some areas require a permit. Check with your local government to see if they issue and enforce permits.