Yeah, those online tools can be hit or miss, especially when you're dealing with precise property boundaries or easements. Good call using the county GIS—it's usually more accurate for these things. One trick I've found helpful is overlaying the GIS data onto satellite images in something like Google Earth. Takes a bit of fiddling around, but it gives you a clearer visual reference. Still, nothing beats physically measuring stuff out yourself, tedious as it might be...nice work getting through it.
Yeah, county GIS is usually my go-to as well, especially when accuracy matters. Online tools are convenient for quick checks, but I've definitely run into some headaches with them—sometimes they're off by several feet, which can be a big deal depending on what you're working on.
Overlaying GIS data onto Google Earth is a solid tip. I've done something similar in the past, and while it does take some tweaking, it's worth the effort. One thing I'd add is to double-check the date of the satellite imagery you're using. I've had projects where the satellite photos were outdated by several years, and new construction or landscaping changes weren't reflected at all. That led to some confusion until I figured out what was going on.
Another trick that's saved me some frustration is cross-referencing multiple sources. For example, I'll pull up the county GIS, then check it against city planning documents or even subdivision plats if they're available online. Sometimes you'll spot discrepancies that way and can sort them out early on.
Of course, nothing beats physically staking things out on site. It's tedious for sure, but there's really no substitute for walking the property yourself and getting a feel for the actual conditions. I've caught issues like fences built slightly off-property lines or utility easements that weren't clearly marked digitally. Better to find those early than deal with them halfway through a project.
Sounds like you've got a good handle on it already though...nice job pushing through the tedious bits.
I've definitely run into similar issues. A while back, I trusted an online property line tool for planning my fence and ended up about five feet off—neighbor wasn't thrilled, as you can imagine. After that mess, I've learned to cross-check everything with county GIS and subdivision plats. Plus, physically measuring it out myself saves me from headaches down the line...lesson learned the hard way, haha.
