Had the same headache last year when I was trying to figure out where a utility easement actually ran on my lot. The county’s online map had it cutting right through my planned garage—turns out, after talking to a local surveyor, it was about 30 feet off. Makes you wonder how many folks have built fences or sheds in the wrong spot just trusting those tools. Anyone else ever find the “official” lines don’t match up with what’s actually staked out?
Title: Digging into property easements—anyone else find online tools confusing?
I ran into something similar with a fence project last summer. The city’s GIS map had one of the easements running right up against my back porch, but when I compared it to the plat from my closing documents, it was off by at least 15 feet. Ended up paying for a survey just to be sure, which wasn’t cheap, but I didn’t want to risk having to move the fence later. Feels like these online maps are more of a rough guide than anything you’d want to bet your savings on.
Feels like these online maps are more of a rough guide than anything you’d want to bet your savings on.
Couldn’t agree more. I’ve seen GIS data be off by a surprising margin—sometimes it’s just outdated, or the aerial overlays don’t line up with actual survey pins. Plat maps are better, but even then, nothing beats a real survey if you’re building anything permanent. It’s frustrating how much guesswork is still involved when the tech looks so slick on the surface.
Honestly, I’ve had county GIS maps show my fence running through my neighbor’s garage—definitely not the case in real life. If I need to be sure, I’ll dig up the old survey from closing, then cross-check with the plat and walk the lot myself. Those online tools are nice for a quick look, but I wouldn’t trust them for anything more than ballpark info.
Yeah, those GIS maps can be way off sometimes. I’ve had one show a driveway that doesn’t even exist on my property. When it comes to easements or boundaries, I always rely on the original survey and title docs from closing—never just the online stuff. It’s just not worth the headache if you need something official.