\u00a9 2023 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. Open the tool from the toolbar, then select a coordinate format. The arrows shown on the plan indicate that a measurement next to that arrow relates to the space between the occupation (fence, shed etc.) Figure it's a box with 6600' sides. 4 degrees of error down one side of your parcel equates to about a 460' error in where you think the property corner should be. On the far left of our example, you can see an arrow pointing to "Shed 0.58" and another pointing to "Fence 0.11". The number and name of the subdivision that your land is in will also be included on the plat map. Views - Ticor usually provides a 'Close -up' view of the lot, along with a larger view. This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Megaera Lorenz, PhD. Plats ensure lots comply with zoning rules and restrictions. CourthouseDirect.com does not warrant the information contained herein. Enjoy! "This helped me understand a lot about longitude and latitude. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. A map is easier to understand. A. Assessor's Book Number. The map will show the size of the land, any nearby streets, boundary locations, easements on the land, and possible flood zones. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. Youll also see the tract number and often the name the builder has given (if its a subdivision). An indication as to whether the property is zoned for residential or commercial use. Check out the examples page to see some of the property line maps we have produced to help our clients. We have a sample for you here, where you can see that 'Access' is shown on map, by. For example, you could end up with 32205N, 1201412E as your coordinates. Process to purchase a county owned property that will be declared as a surplus property. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. Longitude lines run from north to south and are perpendicular to the equator. NW: Subtract angle from 360. NE: Use angle as is. Then, take the numbers you got for the latitude and longitude of your point and put them together. If any of these items are missing, the survey may be viewed as legally invalid. Discussion in 'Mapping & Navigation' started by Gert, Apr 5, 2007. The first character is the y coordinate (a through z). I wish I was eligible for the Egyptology courses. You can search by Township/Range or Section, County, Lease Number, Lessee Name, Property Name or Lat/Long coordinates. Determine whether there are any buildings, additions, or improvements that encroach onto adjacent properties. The corners of your plat map will have the book and page number. A plat map can consist of an extensive amount of information, which can be very difficult to read if you dont know what youre looking at. Learn more A property survey -- also known as a boundary survey, plat survey, or land survey -- is an essential document if you are purchasing a residential or commercial building or land parcel. These descriptions will include distances, directions, and various physical features of the overall geography. It may be worth memorizing the following numbers. Part 1 Understanding Latitude and Longitude 1 We use cookies to make wikiHow great. Latitude graticules are marked along the east and west edges of the map. In 2017, she graduated with her PhD in Egyptology from The University of Chicago, where she served for several years as a content advisor and program facilitator for the Oriental Institute Museums Public Education office. You should also see private and shared driveways, as well as any roads with easements. The boundary lines, or "legs," are often denoted in feet and listed directly below or after the bearing. Map Coordinate Systems. As a convention, the pair is typically represented easting first, northing second. Thanks wikiHow!". Last Updated: February 15, 2023 One can gather the following information from a plat map: Learning how to read a plat map can help you during tasks such as buying or selling real estate, building additions to your property, taking on renovation projects, investing in solar power, and protecting your rights as a landowner. If this happens, the only way for you to know about the easement before purchase is by taking a look at the plat map. For example, the North Pole is at 90N, meaning it is 90 north of the equator. If you dont want anyone else to use your land, knowing if there are any easements could play a big part in whether or not you select the property. This was very, "Well done in unraveling a mystery subject into an easily-understood, usable map-reference system. Plat Maps, Property Lines, and Land Ownership View a free map of ownership boundaries delineated by tax parcel property lines. Use a ruler to make a line going up and another one going to the side of the point to mark the measurements for your location. Reading a plat map is a straightforward process if you know what youre looking for. The following will talk about what a plat map is, how to properly read one, and why you should know how to read one. The APN is a number the assessor assigns out of the Assessors Book Number. Step 2. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. A plat is typically . During GIS-based research consultations, I often help people understand the importance of coordinate reference systems (or spatial reference systems if you prefer, aka "map projections"). To copy the coordinates automatically, left click on the latitude and longitude. Anyone can immediately ascertain the size and shape of the land and usually its location relative to landmarks such as roads or rivers, or other parcels. GPS coordinates converter. When a buyer performs a title search, the title records will include a plat map, which allows the buyer to be confident that the seller is advertising their home properly. Start with a line segment if there is one. Latitude and longitude are measurements of location on the globe. the default coordinate system used in most GIS systems (WGS84) will be suitable 99% of the time. Once you have the basics down, learn how to identify latitude and longitude markers on a map and pinpoint exact locations. On your computer, open Google Maps . By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. The map's scale tells you how detailed your map is. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. In order to read latitude and longitude correctly, you must first understand the basic concepts behind these measurements. - Hover over a property to instantly view details. "Metes and bounds" refers to the surveyor's measurements of each portion of the property boundary. You read an old plat from the 40's with metes and bounds rounded to the nearest degree. When you purchase a home, one of the documents you receive is typically a plat map; reading it can help you make the most out of your investment. 15 seconds is one quarter of a minute or 0.25 minutes 30 seconds is one half of a minute or 0.5 minutes When you want to build a solar power array for your home, knowing the orientation of the land can be useful for you. License Number 01991628. This Web site is not the official Web site of Compass. The map will show the size of the land, any nearby streets, boundary locations, easements on the land, and possible flood zones. These maps are updated every night. As a homeowner, knowing where these easements are located may be able to put your mind at ease if you spot someone else on your property. While property lines can easily be obstructed or covered by plants, buildings, and other forms of development, the land wont need to be resurveyed as long as the plat map can be accessed. Once youve accessed the most recent plat map of your property, get the most out of reading it with a few additional tips. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. The county must sign off on the land survey to make it part of official public record. This may affect future development of the property. The three groups of numbers are readily separated by a hyphen. All you have to do is provide your location below and submit. Among the most notable aspects of a plat map is the inclusion of property lines, which will show you the exact boundaries of the property youre getting ready to purchase. Please do not submit your actual street address, just a city, town or regional location. First, find out if you canfind your plat map online. The map should also indicate where the latitude and longitude depicted are relative to the equator and prime meridian, respectively (e.g., North or South, East or West). We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Use your plat map to double-check the information you received during the transaction of a property. 2. Enjoy! Method 1 Getting Your Bearings 1 Identify the survey parts. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Coordinates, not usually easy for laypeople to decode, help to pinpoint the parcel using lines of latitude and longitude. Most plat maps have these numbers in feet. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. The small numbers along the bottom of the parcel is the width, and the number along the right side of the parcel is the depth. The unit is based on Gunter's chain, a metal chain 66 feet long with 100 links, that was formerly used in land surveying. Parcel boundary data, map viewers and ownership records are maintained at the county level, usually by the recorder's, assessor's or land surveyor's offices. The book number is 025 and the page number in the book is 13. A plat map displays how a large area of land is effectively separated into lots. Always shown in a circle on the plat map. Understanding the concept of the global positioning system is the first step to learn how to read and write coordinates of longitude and latitude correctly. When youre ready to put your knowledge to the test, pick the location youre interested in. Sample Report Madison County, IA 91N 34W - 31, 32 States Alabama Parcels 1,636,112 Arizona Parcels 1,064,477 Arkansas Parcels 1,274,959 These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. In this case, several readers have written to tell us that this article was helpful to them, earning it our reader-approved status. CourthouseDirect.com is committed to providing fast, accurate and affordable courthouse documents and research by using the potential of the Internet to cut costs and save time associated with obtaining public records and thereby eliminating inefficiencies and revolutionizing the delivery of courthouse information nationwide. For example, studying the plat map could show you that the house you bought sits on 10,000 square feet, not 6,000 as the previous owner thought. If youre a homeowner, this map can be useful if ever you have a dispute with your neighbor about the borders of your land. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. Verify that the survey is signed, dated, and embossed with the surveyor's official seal. Some deeds will instead use geographic references to detail the shape and size of a property, which means that it has yet to be platted. If youre thinking about creating a storage shed in your yard, a plat map will be essential during development. The City of Glendale would be in T. 2 N., R. 2 E. To see the divisions between the townships, we have to zoom in to the edges of the map area and look for the red text. I have it somewhere, and have used it to locate the boundaries fo large rural properties. The large number in the middle of the property, the one underlined, bolded, and/or italicized, is the parcel number. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Email notifications of recently filed Oil & Gas related documents including Leases, Mineral Deeds, Royalty Deeds, Pooling Agreements, etc. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 300,048 times. To read the coordinates of any location, start with the number of degrees on the latitude line, and clarify whether it is in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere. Along the right side of your plat map, youll see where the information came from typically a county assessor. Its used for very specific pieces of property wherein the deed assigns a subdivision lot number to the property. To read a plat, first locate the North arrow. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. Not just anyone can come up with a plat map. Later, real estate agents use plat maps in transactions as part oftitle searches. "I've never been curious enough to learn about map coordinates, but we just bought some land; it seemed to have the, "I just wanted to understand how latitude and longitude worked. A link is exactly 66100 of a foot, or exactly 7.92 inches. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. For example, N 38 03' 09" E would translate as 38 degrees, 3 minutes, 9 seconds from the north to the east. Some plat maps will provide geographical information of the property, such as exact latitudes and longitudes. If you need help buying or selling your Los Angeles County or Ventura County home, contact Nicki & Karen Southern California Luxury Real Estate today to find out more about what these processes entail. There are five main types of plat maps you might encounter upon purchasing a piece of land: Learning the type of plat map that youre looking at will give you a good foundation as to what you might expect the map to tell you. Each township is divided into 36 one-square-mile sections.