# Can this be legal?



## JohnL751 (Aug 28, 2008)

Just how much land is 8+ acres. There is nothing in these papers that gives exact measurements.

Add: It is only one side where the proptery line is not set. The other three sides have been set for many years.


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## oneokie (Aug 14, 2009)

An acre is 43,560 sq. ft.


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## JW Parker (Sep 4, 2008)

That + just means you have at least 8 acres. Could be 8 1/2. Check the discription of the property next door.


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## Home Harvest (Oct 10, 2006)

Around here it's legal. We see it all the time, ads reading 10+/- or something like that. I understand it means it hasn't been surveyed in a long time, and they may not know exactly where the lines are. Something may have changed since the last survey. Usually neighbors have worked out the lines using fence rows, creeks, roads, etc.

Buyer beware!


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

That's the way it's done here in Southern Missouri, too. Having a survey here would cost over $2000, so it's not done. Much of the land here hasn't been surveyed since the 1880's.

The deeds say 100, more or less. Drive me nuts at first, too.

Just make sure the existing fence lines stay marked.


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## jirwin (Dec 3, 2007)

Check with the county auditor, they may have a web site, with GIS - geographic information system, giving an over view of property even maybe satelite pics.


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

We see it here a lot when one of the borders is a creek or similar feature, or has a pulic road crossing it. It means that it has at least that much acerage, but the exact amount either can not be easily measured or one border may have moved (creek for instance) or expanded (road ROW) since the last survey.

I looked at a piece of land recently that was 17+ acres. When the new owner had it surveyed, it was a bit over 20.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

rose2005 said:


> It means it's a good idea to have it surveyed before you buy as you may be getting more or less than you bargained for.
> 
> Rose


Actually, the legal description recorded with the latest deed for the property will describe the parcel. Regardless of whether the property is staked or a new survey is done, the dimensions will be the same as in the recorded legal description.

A quick phone call to the assessor's office will be sufficient. The county will assess the property partially on the basis of acreage, so they'll know right off when the exact acreage of the parcel is, at least down to the nearest 1/10th acre.


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## francismilker (Jan 12, 2006)

It's not uncommon to see an add that reads something like: 8 acres MOL (more or less) It just means that due to road easements, property line deviations, and agreed upon borders by past neighbors there could be more or less acreage than the original platted amount on the county roles. It's very common and the only way to know is to have it surveyed by a certified land surveyor and then file it at the county assessor's office. Note: If it ends up being more than the original platted land, your taxes will go up!


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

JohnL751 said:


> Just how much land is 8+ acres. There is nothing in these papers that gives exact measurements.
> 
> Add: It is only one side where the proptery line is not set. The other three sides have been set for many years.


You can go to the court house and do your own research if there is not a current abstract. Search for records of previous owners of the property you are looking at, and the property bordering the open side. You might get lucky and find a legal description in the history of the 8+ acres, if not, then the bordering property might give you the line. 

It's not hard to do the research. Usually someone at the court house will be helpful enough to point you in the right direction to get you started. 

Anyone who owns land and has known survey stakes needs to get a GPS reading of them and keep that record. It won't be totally accurate, but it's better than stomping out acres of ground in search of lost survey stakes.


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## francismilker (Jan 12, 2006)

Spinner said:


> You can go to the court house and do your own research if there is not a current abstract. Search for records of previous owners of the property you are looking at, and the property bordering the open side. You might get lucky and find a legal description in the history of the 8+ acres, if not, then the bordering property might give you the line.
> 
> It's not hard to do the research. Usually someone at the court house will be helpful enough to point you in the right direction to get you started.
> 
> ...


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

In Michigan, nearly everything was surveyed into mile square sections over a hundred years ago. They are often not square. One section might be 60 feet short on two sides or 60 feet longer than a mile. The next property measurement is the quarter section, 1/2 mile on each side, but id the section was short 60 feet, the quarter sections will be short 30 feet each. Quarter section is 160 acres, more or less. As the parcels get divided into smaller pieces, like a south west quarter of the north west quarter of Section 16, the extra or the shortages get divided equally.


Problems crop up when a parcel gets split up into even smaller parts and the owner puts lengths and widths on each piece, assuming that he has a 1320 feet (quarter mile) square parcel. Those discriptions will read like: the west 100 feet of the NW quarter of the SE quarter of section 16. The next piece may read: the east 100 feet of the west 200 feet. That makes it just east of the first piece. Then it would be the east 100 feet of the west 300 feet. Then the east 100 feet of the west 400 feet. When he gets all the way to the end, he may have a 120 foot piece or he may have more. He might have less.

Even when you know the width, you still need to know the depth. Is this piece being divided really 1320 feet (quarter mile) deep? If the dividing started from a Sectioon that's short 60 feet, the pieces cut from a "square 40 acres, quarter mile square, will be 15 feet short. The shortage is divided equally among the quarters of the quarters in that Section.

Don't forget, in most places you own to the center of the road or highway, so you start measuring out in the road.

I think I have my geometry correct. If you know three sides of the 8 acre rectangle, you can draw a line across the ends of the known lines to get your final line.

If you meant you know three of the four corners, a survey is needed. Just a few years ago, doing a survey in a wooded area meant a lot of brush chopping to get a line of sight from one corner to the other. Now days a good surveyer will have the GPS equipment to find your corner within an 1/8 of an inch. Amazing.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

An old surveyer I knew would carry a pouch of wild blue iris tubers when he went into rempte locations. He'd plant the flowers next to the stake. They'd live for hundreds of years and were east to spot when in bloom.


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## suzyhomemaker09 (Sep 24, 2004)

I can pretty much guarantee that the tax assessors can provide you an exact map of your property and exactly how much property is included.


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## rider (Feb 11, 2003)

an acre is roughly the lize of a football field this might help you with a visual


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## Lyra (Sep 15, 2009)

Depends on the state and how old the house is. In this state it is not uncommon for older deeds in rural areas to have no measurements and only a physical description of the land. And yes, that is legal.


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## mistletoad (Apr 17, 2003)

suzyhomemaker09 said:


> I can pretty much guarantee that the tax assessors can provide you an exact map of your property and exactly how much property is included.


Ours can't. I am forever sending them corrections.


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## DoubleBee (Nov 13, 2006)

Ours can't either. They always list a building on one property where there is no building and no building on one where there is one. I had them re-assess it once and they still didn't fix their error, so I let it go. It probably would make a bigger mess if they tried to fix it.


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