Question:
“When I bought my house, I was told the property line is at the fence. Do you think that’s correct? Should I look at a map?”
Answer:
Ever played the kid’s game of “Telephone”?
One person whispers a phrase to the next person, who whispers it to the next person, and so on. The fun is when you find out how much the phrase has changed from the original phrase.
That’s often what it’s like when someone tells you where a property line is, except you don’t even know if the first person was right! So to answer your question:
- You don’t know if the person who told you was correct
- Fences aren’t always on property lines
- You can’t tell where the property line is by looking at a map
The only way to find out the property line is to have a professional survey done. And they’re so rarely done, I’m not even sure what they cost.
I believe in a typical residential area, they cost between $500 and $2,000. Please verify that.
