I’ve run into the same thing—those GIS maps are great for a ballpark, but I’ve seen them miss fences and even entire driveways. When I’m working on a remodel, I always double-check with the county records, then compare that to what’s actually on site. Out of curiosity, has anyone tried overlaying plat maps onto the GIS data? I’ve found it helps, but sometimes the layers just don’t line up...
DIGGING INTO PROPERTY EASEMENTS—ANYONE ELSE FIND ONLINE TOOLS CONFUSING?
Yeah, I’ve noticed the same thing with GIS layers—sometimes they’re spot on, other times it’s like they were drawn by someone who’s never set foot on the property. I’ve tried overlaying plat maps onto GIS data a few times, especially when I’m dealing with older parcels. It’s hit or miss. One project, the plat map was scanned at a weird angle, so when I tried to line it up, the lot lines were off by several feet. Ended up having to go out with a tape measure and some stakes just to be sure.
Honestly, I don’t trust any of these tools 100%. They’re great for getting a general sense, but I’ve seen too many cases where a fence or even a shed is technically over the line because someone relied on the online maps. County records help, but even those can be outdated if there’s been an unrecorded change. At this point, I treat everything as a rough draft until I can walk the site myself.
