\u00a9 2023 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. Click Expand to reveal additional location options. After youve read the legend, use the compass illustrated on the survey so you can orient yourself, which will allow you to find important features like physical boundaries, roads, fences, sidewalks, as well as the structures. Thank you for this article! A Basic Township and Range Grid. If your map shows seconds, find the second closest to where each line intersects the latitude or longitude scale at the edge of the map. To find a location of the map, complete the following steps: In Map Viewer, open the map you want to view. The lot number will be included in the center of each plot of land. Not just anyone can come up with a plat map. A plat map is required if a piece of land is to be. ". Later in the book I will be showing you the exact steps for preparing map data using a desktop GIS. 6 Tips for Reading Plat Maps: 1. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Among the most notable aspects of a plat map is the inclusion of property lines, which will show you the exact boundaries of the property youre getting ready to purchase. Once youve accessed the most recent plat map of your property, get the most out of reading it with a few additional tips. You can input and search maps by gps coordinates on the iphone easily by using the apple maps or google maps applications, as we'll demonstrate in this walkthrough. With a property survey in hand, you can discover the boundary lines, zoning information, and underground utilities on and around your property. How do you use a plat map? Changes in price, condition, sale or withdrawal may be made without notice. If you know how to read latitude and longitude on a map, you can determine the geographic coordinates of any spot on the map. As a convention, the pair is typically represented easting first, northing second. Including Ventura County, Thousand Oaks, North Ranch, Westlake Village, Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Hidden Hills, Lake Sherwood and the San Fernando Valley. Consulting the plat map before you make an offer on a property can help you avoid making a purchase that youll later regret. Process to purchase a county owned property that will be declared as a surplus property. Read The Property Line Map, Or 'Plat' A property line basemap, or a "plat," is a drawing that maps out your property's boundary lines and includes details like elevations, bodies of water and structures. "This helped me understand a lot about longitude and latitude. This tool is all about GPS coordinates conversion.As soon as you modify one end of the data (either the decimal or sexagesimal degrees coordinates), the other end is simultaneously updated by the coordinates converter, as well as the position on the map.. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Not just anyone can come up with a plat map. Step 1. The way to calculate a rectangular area is by measuring the length and width of your area then multiplying those two numbers together to get the area in feet squared. View your land parcel map in the context of "townships" and "forties." The U.S. Public Land Survey System is a grid that divides land into 24-mile tracts that are subdivided into 16 townships of roughly 6 miles by 6 miles, or 36 square miles. A 1:24000 scale, for example, means one inch on the map equals 24,000 inches of real-world terrain. As a newbie (and non-surveyor), I come to this group asking some very basic questions in hopes of learning more about your trade and how to read a basic plat map. Plat Maps, Property Lines, and Land Ownership View a free map of ownership boundaries delineated by tax parcel property lines. So for example: N60E = 30 degrees [30 = 90 - 60] N10W = 100 degrees [100 = 90 + 10] S60W = 210 degrees [210 = 360 -(90+60)] S80E = 350 degrees (or -10 degrees) [350 = 80 - 90] The scale will be the ratio between the distance on the map and the distance of the actual property. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. To do this we can divide 1 (minute) into 60 (seconds). The Public Land Survey System is based on a principal meridian - an imaginary north-south line - and a baseline or imaginary east-west line from which other survey lines are projected. Nicki LaPorta DRE #01233940 / Karen Crystal DRE #01346860Compass DRE #01992628. The number and name of the subdivision that your land is in will also be included on the plat map. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. For the most part, youll find lot and block legal descriptions for platted land, but metes and bounds measurements for unplatted properties. Youll also see the tract number and often the name the builder has given (if its a subdivision). When youre interested in making an offer on a property, a title search can be made by an attorney or title company on behalf of you as the buyer. This way, locations can be found using easting/northing (or x, y) pairs. https://www.statesurveys.com.au/surveying/cadastral/boundary-survey-plan/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6h5yALeMMA, http://www.chastainassociates.com/understanding-surveys.aspx, http://realestate.findlaw.com/neighbors/top-10-reasons-to-have-your-property-surveyed.html, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/read-land-survey-map-1304.html, http://allegiancetitle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/How-to-Read-a-Survey11.pdf. ). Aneasementon your property could mean that others or the public can legally use it as they see fit. Although the plat map can appear daunting at first, it can prove invaluable if you know how to decipher it. Alternatively, to find longitude, look for a series of vertical lines from the North Pole to the South Pole. Later, real estate agents use plat maps in transactions as part oftitle searches. Coordinates, not usually easy for laypeople to decode, help to pinpoint the parcel using lines of latitude and longitude. The small numbers along the bottom of the parcel is the width, and the number along the right side of the parcel is the depth. When you purchase a home, one of the documents you receive is typically a plat map; reading it can help you make the most out of your investment. Plat maps, also called land maps or land survey maps, come in a few different types depending on the purpose of the plat and the situation. As a homeowner, knowing where these easements are located may be able to put your mind at ease if you spot someone else on your property. The large number in the middle of the property, the one underlined, bolded, and/or italicized, is the parcel number. Assessor Parcel Map PDF/DWG locator. When youre ready to put your knowledge to the test, pick the location youre interested in. Persons interested in purchasing a surplus property (county has title to property) must provide a written request to purchase with the following details: a) one single Parcel id and property address b) petitioner's name and mailing address Read more . The map's scale tells you how detailed your map is. A few of the key benefits of engaging a surveyor include: experience in identifying and eliminating errors in old surveys, ability to resolve unclear boundaries and right of ways, legal standing to have the revised survey part of the deed, http://www.gis.state.ga.us/Clearinghouse/FAQ/UTM_Map/utm_map.html, http://platplotter.appspot.com/lib/pp_about.html, http://platplotter.appspot.com/lib/pp_help.html, (You must log in or sign up to reply here. Along with identifying if there are any liens on the property, a title search is an essential processs that occurs with practically every real estate transaction. That Property Line is what is recorded in the book of records. This . All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. How to read a plat map. For example, the description above would be read "The north 1/2 of the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 24, township 32 north, range 18 east." However, the easiest way to interpret descriptions is from back to front (or, right to left). The first character is the y coordinate (a through z). These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Verify that the survey is signed, dated, and embossed with the surveyor's official seal. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. My survey map has the following type of notation under each Iron. The Go To XY tool also keeps a record of recent locations, which you can return to by clicking the Recent . She has also developed and taught Egyptology courses at The University of Chicago and Loyola University Chicago. CourthouseDirect.com is committed to providing fast, accurate and affordable courthouse documents and research by using the potential of the Internet to cut costs and save time associated with obtaining public records and thereby eliminating inefficiencies and revolutionizing the delivery of courthouse information nationwide. These numbers indicate the dimensions of the lot in question. Use a ruler to make a line going up and another one going to the side of the point to mark the measurements for your location. To find GPS coordinates, open the Google Maps app on your smartphone or tablet. This includes Run Sheets, Property Reports and Mineral Ownership Reports. There are five main types of plat maps you might encounter upon purchasing a piece of land: Learning the type of plat map that youre looking at will give you a good foundation as to what you might expect the map to tell you. Sample Report Madison County, IA 91N 34W - 31, 32 States Alabama Parcels 1,636,112 Arizona Parcels 1,064,477 Arkansas Parcels 1,274,959 For an actual compass bearing, note that a compass points at the north magnetic pole, not the true north pole (earth axis). This may affect future development of the property. Plat maps are supposed to provide an accurate description of a section of land, people, access ways, and things on the tract. Once youve looked at the illustrated survey, read the written survey report for additional information and comments from the surveyor. Understanding your land survey. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 250,673 times. These descriptions will include distances, directions, and various physical features of the overall geography. . First time posting here. If youre trying to understand what a plat map is, this type of map: Whether youre looking to buy a home or place your property on the market, having a plat map on hand can prove useful for a wide variety of scenarios that could arise. You should also see private and shared driveways, as well as any roads with easements. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/4\/4c\/Read-Latitude-and-Longitude-on-a-Map-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Read-Latitude-and-Longitude-on-a-Map-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/4\/4c\/Read-Latitude-and-Longitude-on-a-Map-Step-1.jpg\/aid9652570-v4-728px-Read-Latitude-and-Longitude-on-a-Map-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"