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GIS map discrepancies on acreage

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My wife and I are looking at a property in her home town back in NC. Can't move there yet, but doesn't mean we can't buy the right property now. 

 

It's being advertised as a 30 acre property, and when I look it up on the county's GIS, it does say 30 aces. However, it also has a calculated acreage that says 26 acres. If you draw on the property using the tools on the site, it does say 26 acres.

 

Anyone know the reason for this discrepancy? Would I be getting 26 or 30 acres?

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Unfortunately, there's something weird with the deed since this same family has owned the property since at least 1894. This is where the lawyer at the closing comes in. I plan on making the offer contingent on favorable results from a soil scientist and survey, but it's going to cost a lot for a property that large. If it's on the GIS site, there must be a reason for them to have 2 acreage amounts on it.

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Zeke all property distances are horizontal.

 

I think you need to have the current owner perform a real metes and Bounds survey to locate the property Corners with either monumentation or at least a number 5 or number 6 rebar with a cap on it. If your deed is that old it's probably going to have distances and chains and links that have to be converted into decimal feet. Just remember back then you were lucky to get within one or two degrees of accuracy with today's equipment even with the total station that I own I could get Within almost 0.01 degree. On a large property you can be off by many acres.

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Not trying to create a theory. Just a thought. Not sure why in any event.  Just passing possibilities....

That's only a feature if the same acres are un-taxable. Good luck with that theory!!

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I appreciate all the thoughts.

 

It looks like this family owned a much larger, perfectly rectangular property at the start, and has been slowly selling 10 acre pieces off over the years. It would make sense that an older measuring system could've been off by 4 acres on say a 60+ acre property.

 

It used to be a farm so it's relatively flat. There's a non-full-time creek on the property that a previous soil scientist marked as unbuildable for a house, but it doesn't add up to the 4 acres.

 

The property is currently in the hands of a trustee who wants as little to do with it as possible (though not in a hurry to sell), so I would have to fork out for the survey. The quote was around $5k, which I don't want to dump into the property before having an agreement in place.

 

I'm going to call the county and see if someone knows the answer. If it's a measuring issue, I may try to make an offer on like 20 acres, which would be legitimately carved out of the whole so the discrepancy stays with the current owners.

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Give you a little hint here. You are not buying the property, you are buying a deed.  The reason I say that is, it is what is in the deed, not on the county maps.  With that in mind, get a copy of the deed from the courthouse. That is what describes the property. Now get a copy of the deed to all the properties that touch this property, that describes what they own.  Now believe it or not they will not match.  This is common.  So what happens is they will make  your property fit within the confines of the other properties deeds when it is re-written to be recorded when  you purchase it.  This is how they correct errors made over time. Happened to me when I purchased my land.  You can press the issue and try to force it, but everybody will fight you every step of the way. Lots of expense.  You could make the sale price contingent on the results of a survey to adjust the price, but the seller does not have to agree.  Yes, the survey expense is on you. so a lot of negotiating is key.  Also, make sure you get the building envelope depicted on the map to see where you can build.  If a septic system is required, you'll need a perc test too before buying otherwise you'll just own a lot a farm land you hope you can lease to a farmer, otherwise raw land taxes can be high.  Hope this helps.

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You could make the sale price contingent on the results of a survey to adjust the price, but the seller does not have to agree.  Yes, the survey expense is on you. so a lot of negotiating is key.  Also, make sure you get the building envelope depicted on the map to see where you can build.  If a septic system is required, you'll need a perc test too before buying otherwise you'll just own a lot a farm land you hope you can lease to a farmer, otherwise raw land taxes can be high.  Hope this helps.

Definitely helps. Thank you.

 

My offer will definitely be contingent on the survey, but I want to feel >99% sure before I drop the dough. Soil scientist for septic is another grand. I wasn't aware of getting the building envelope on the map so will have to make sure that gets done as well.

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