Property Line Discussion

frankenyoter

frankenyoter

No Rain, No Rainbow
Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Location
DARK CITY
Basically, I've got a property line that was adjusted when I bought my house. Pull a string and we'll is split on line.

House is for sale and sellers agent was just asking for me to let them use the well. These are in town half acre lots.

I'm inclined to ask for a money and shared access to well and deed it in, but when it craps out there will be no modification of that well or further access along my line. If a fella did that, what should the cash value be? Property is distress due to elderly owners being gone since just before I got ithe 8 yrs ago.
 
Be careful. Some counties require you to meet community water standards for a public water service if multiple users are attached to a single well.


I wouldn't let anyone hook to my well. If it's their well on the property line, then you have much bigger issues. You will need to verify the property irons and property lines meet the deed and what is recorded. I've seen surveys that don't match deeds.

There may already be deed language that addresses this well.
 
From what people told me.. never let someone "use/rent" your property like that. You may look like a douche now, but 15 years from now you won't have a headache over a good deed back in the day
 
1st-If you didn't have the adjusted property line surveyed and/ or recorded, it was never adjusted.

2nd-unless the well is on both properties, or is deeded as a shared well they have no rights to it. Keep it that way.

3rd- if you let them use it they own half of it after a certain time. Along with access rights to location of well.

4th- that would be 2times as much water coming out of your well. Could run dry faster, pump go out, ect.

5th- resale value. If you ever plan on moving that is a red flag to some buyers having a shared well.

6th- what happens if you end up not getting along with them down the road....
 
shawn said:
And conflicting deeds on adjacent properties. :rolleyes:
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Good rule of thumb have a survey done when you buy a property, and if anyone is selling there's make sure your survey isn't older than 7 years. If a large tract of land is being sold adjacent to yours resurvey your property and have it recorded. A generic survey of a small lot with house isn't recorded, but still have value in court. Most deeds that are older than the 90's are not very accurate (inch or 5) when it comes to surveying. Even older deeds can be worse. Follow the river to the fork turn and the old stump go till you see a rock ect.. and they didn't have digital tech to tell them bearings and distances. They used an old school compass and a chain. Many old farms end up having their lines changed and old original wire fences become the new line location.
 
I got a survey when I purchased in 08. It's recorded and legit. When the survey process started we found out the house next to us was actually in my yard. We (seller and neighbor) exchanged land on road frontage to reflect actual County offsets.

On the adjacent property plat/deed there is no mention of a well on them ever. Nothing was recorded about a well when new survey was done either. To be honest, I didn't know there was a well there until several months later. It's below grade and simply has a brick wall that's almost flush with grade and a metal "lid".

I'm the last on the street to have city water. Well is on the line, roughly 50/50 or maybe more on me and the only way that house can get water without drilling another well. Adjacent house (as is mine) is on septic and since it's a half acre lot there is little room to accommodate septic repairs and new well. I doubt it's even possible, but I'must no expert.
 
rolling_down_the_hill said:
Good rule of thumb have a survey done when you buy a property, and if anyone is selling there's make sure your survey isn't older than 7 years. If a large tract of land is being sold adjacent to yours resurvey your property and have it recorded. A generic survey of a small lot with house isn't recorded, but still have value in court. Most deeds that are older than the 90's are not very accurate (inch or 5) when it comes to surveying. Even older deeds can be worse. Follow the river to the fork turn and the old stump go till you see a rock ect.. and they didn't have digital tech to tell them bearings and distances. They used an old school compass and a chain. Many old farms end up having their lines changed and old original wire fences become the new line location.
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Your survey is irrelevant if the deeds conflict. I've seen deeds with metes and bounds spelled out that meant that chunks of land were claimed by both neighbors.
 
When you get a survey done they look at the deeds. If there is a gap/overlap/conflicting information it is resolved by locationing adjoining properties until the error is resolved and re-recorded. If they don't resolve the issue they didn't do a correct survey. Deeds change and are adjusted, if they couldn't change or be corrected half of Charlotte sould be built on the wrong persons property. deeds can also be wrote wrong. Humans write them, and I've never met a person who hasn't ever made a mistake.

shawn said:
Your survey is irrelevant if the deeds conflict. I've seen deeds with metes and bounds spelled out that meant that chunks of land were claimed by both neighbors.
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rolling_down_the_hill said:
When you get a survey done they look at the deeds. If there is a gap/overlap/conflicting information it is resolved by locationing adjoining properties until the error is resolved and re-recorded. If they don't resolve the issue they didn't do a correct survey. Deeds change and are adjusted, if they couldn't change or be corrected half of Charlotte sould be built on the wrong persons property.
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No, they don't. It all depends on the scope of work and what you are seeking from the surveyor. I've had many a properties surveyed and each one was surveyed differently because I sought different info. If I'm looking to verify a property line and confirm with the deed description, then yeah, he will look at the deed description. If I just want to mark my irons and create a visual point of reference for my personal use, then a surveyor typically isn't going to look too far into the deed and he sure isn't going to compare the property deed description with each surrounding property.
 
Having a property corners marked is not having a survey done. But they still pull the deed or plat so they can find the corners. You are correct in the fact they are not going to check all of your ajoiners bearing or distances if it is only a property line stake but they should verify at least one ajoiners common line. A real survey involves mapping by a licensed surveyor or someone working under a surveyors license. The licensed surveyor will put their stamp on it and review it. You do not have to have a license to mark corners, since there is no map being produced. Plus if it is a good company they will still verify the bearings and distances when marking your line.but again a property line stake is not a survey. If the survey company you are using doesn't verify the info they are giving you, I recommend finding a new one. I'm sure you have had a lot of surveys done on your properties but I have surveyed thousands of properties for over a decade. No, I do not know everything there is to know about surveying, it's impossible with the change of time. How a property was surveyed 20 years ago is different from today. Alta standards have changed in the past year. FEMA requirements can change yearly. Requirements differ from state to state. but I know more about that than I do when it comes to welding, carpentry, being a lawyer, or another career that I don't do daily.
 
Like I said. It depends on the scope of work. $ also has a lot to do with it as well. A surveyor can easily spend 2-3 times the hours tracing down deed descriptions than actual field work. But it's not always necessary or warranted for the customer.
 
Talking about moving property lines, be aware that a survey map in and of itself will NOT move your property line. You must record a deed or instrument of recombination to finish the property transfer.
 
rockcity said:
No, they don't. It all depends on the scope of work and what you are seeking from the surveyor. I've had many a properties surveyed and each one was surveyed differently because I sought different info. If I'm looking to verify a property line and confirm with the deed description, then yeah, he will look at the deed description. If I just want to mark my irons and create a visual point of reference for my personal use, then a surveyor typically isn't going to look too far into the deed and he sure isn't going to compare the property deed description with each surrounding property.
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Just finding and flagging irons is not surveying and while some surveyors will do that sometimes, they will have no liability if a survey was not done to prove the corners are where they should be. I never flagged irons on any older lot w/o surveying it first in decades and my employers would never allow that.The only time I personally marked/flagged stakes w/o surveying the lot was in new subdivisions that I set the corners on and only for the contractor who was building the houses. 98% of the time the stakes were taken out but the irons were still in the ground and undisturbed. I've seen homeowners remove and/or reset property corners many times, most of the time it was after they built a fence w/o getting a survey done and they found out later their fence was across the line on the adjoiners property.
 
When I bought my house 3 years ago, we paid for a survey/mark lines. 3 corners were dead on with an OLD iron. One of the front corners had 4 different irons within a 5' radius. Surveyor pulled deeds/plats for adjoining property and marked the CORRECT iron. I pulled the rest of them up.
 
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