\u00a9 2023 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. Once youve accessed the most recent plat map of your property, get the most out of reading it with a few additional tips. 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. It is drawn to scale and records the land's size, boundary locations, nearby streets, flood zones, and any easements or rights of way. If your property is currently listed for sale this is not a solicitation. . This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. How to read plat map coordinates : The Plat May Also Show Any Storm. it will give you the lat/long coordinates of that point. To do this we can divide 1 (minute) into 60 (seconds). References. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. . Find the location you're measuring on the map. If youre buying or selling a home, you need to peruse the plat map. 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. Then, draw a vertical line from your location to the north or south edge of the map. 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. Open Google Earth. Any other property improvements that may have occurred since the latest survey on file. For example, if your latitude line falls about 5 above the 3220N line, your point is at a latitude of approximately 32205N. Then you need to know what UTM zone you are in in order to setup yur receiver. DWF or DWG files: Due to compatibility issues we have decided to focus our support efforts more toward the Adobe's PDF file format, we still do provide access to Autodesk's DWG and DWF file formats. 2. Longitude graticules are marked on the north and south edges. Were committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Move the pointer to a location on the map and view the coordinates in the Location window. Assessor Parcel Map PDF/DWG locator. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. I did it primarily for trying to make sense of real estate listings, but I think it should be good for recreational land by sticking the output in a GPS. The first quadrant N-E is from 0-90, the second quadrant N-W from 90-180, the third quadrant S-W from 180-270 and the fourth quadrant S-E from 270-360. Report inaccuracies to the surveyor for immediate correction. You can measure this angle from a central point with a protractor. 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. The legend is usually located in the corner of the survey and contains icons and labels to indicate their meaning so youre able to read the survey. If you've got a smartphone, you can go to Google Maps and find your exact coordinates. While a plat map can be highly beneficial for a homeowner, it can also be useful when accessed by a prospective buyer. Compass does makes any representation or warranty regarding any information, including without limitation its accuracy or completeness, contained on this Web site. The way to calculate a rectangular area is by measuring the length and width of your area then multiplying those two numbers together to get the area in feet squared. First, find out if you canfind your plat map online. It is a legal document that a professionalland surveyor must createafter establishing boundary lines and assessing the property. For instance, there may be a Graticule marked at every minute within a degree instead of every degree (e.g., 320, 321, and so on). If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. Parcel boundaries shown on the maps and the GIS data sets are approximate. the plat. Office of the recorder of deeds. For example, you could end up with 32205N, 1201412E as your coordinates. Review the documents so that to avoid any problems in the future. # Tracking and Navigation # Pin your desired location on the map to start navigation. You must be logged in to your SurveyorConnect account to submit your location to the map. A lay person may be overwhelmed by all the text, lines and symbols presented on a survey plat. The first character is the y coordinate (a through z). This will orient you to the property's actual location on the ground. I have a really old plan I'm trying to figure out. Once youve accessed the most recent plat map of your property, get the most out of reading it with a few additional tips. Plats ensure lots comply with zoning rules and restrictions. Disclaimer: We do not claim ownership of any media used in our blog posts and we do our best to use only royalty-free stock photography, content licensed from other third party apps or social media, and content that we've produced in order to provide our visitors with the best possible user experience. You miss figure the declination from the magnetic bearing shown on the plat by 2 degrees. These are slightly different than the ones posted by QOCMike, but they're pretty close (138 feet) to his first point. If your map shows minutes, but not seconds, then you can estimate your latitude or longitude to within 6 seconds by dividing the space between each graticule into 10ths. On your computer, open Google Maps . Fill the address field and click on "Get GPS Coordinates" to display its latitude and longitude. Degrees, minutes, and seconds are the units of measure for property survey bearings. As a newbie (and non-surveyor), I come to this group asking some very basic questions in hopes of learning more about your trade and how to read a basic plat map. The scale of your plat map will be in the maps legend. The report will also indicate if these improvements meet the code standards set up by the local building department. When youre interested in making an offer on a property, a title search can be made by an attorney or title company on behalf of you as the buyer. All measurements and square footage are approximate. Now that you know why you should read a plat map and the basic elements youll find on a plat map, youre ready to hone your skills with a few pro tips. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. The antimeridian is at 180 either east or west from the prime meridian. The point of beginning shows the location where the metes and bounds legal description of the land begins. For . When you purchase a home in Texas and most other states, youll receive an official plat map, complete with several numbers and fine print. You can search by Township/Range or Section, County, Lease Number, Lessee Name, Property Name or Lat/Long coordinates. When youre about to sell your property, this map contains the property dimensions and divisions that you will need to know when listing your home. Another tip is when in doubt, pay for a land survey. When you want to build a solar power array for your home, knowing the orientation of the land can be useful for you. The large number in the middle of the property, the one underlined, bolded, and/or italicized, is the parcel number. If you're using the map view, you'll need to long-touch and select an unmarked location until a red pin appears. The information on a plat map serves as a legal description of the specific parcel of land, which can be helpful in a variety of situations. From Survey Markers to GPS Coordinates. This article has been viewed 300,048 times. Latitude coordinates should be between -90 and 90, and longitude coordinates should be . For example, the description above would be read "The north 1/2 of the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 24, township 32 north, range 18 east." However, the easiest way to interpret descriptions is from back to front (or, right to left). Step 3. The Public Land Survey System is based on a principal meridian - an imaginary north-south line - and a baseline or imaginary east-west line from which other survey lines are projected. In this concept, you will learn how to use coordinates to locate a place on a map. 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. 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 old (now changed) parcel number. Most plat maps have these numbers in feet. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. For information about how to understand the property boundaries, read on! These maps are updated every night. Views - Ticor usually provides a 'Close -up' view of the lot, along with a larger view. 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. You should also see private and shared driveways, as well as any roads with easements. We have a sample for you here, where you can see that 'Access' is shown on map, by. The Go To XY tool also keeps a record of recent locations, which you can return to by clicking the Recent . Here are the best places to start your search for your local plat map: County clerk. The boundary lines, or "legs," are often denoted in feet and listed directly below or after the bearing. By using our site, you agree to our. in Texas and New Mexico. Youll see the parcel boundary as a straight or dotted line marking the dimensions of the piece of property, as well as separating it from adjacent parcels. Note any unclaimed gaps of land between properties. Each lot of land thats located in the subdivision will have a house number thats assigned to it along with a parcel number. For example, the North Pole is at 90N, meaning it is 90 north of the equator. For example, N 38 03' 09" E would translate as 38 degrees, 3 minutes, 9 seconds from the north to the east. Unplatted lots are not recorded subdivisions. At the largest scale (1:24,000) these maps show section (and quarter-section) corners (and, implicitly, most meander corners) and section lines; all sections are numbered, and towns and ranges are labeled. The coordinates are along the edges of the map. Whether youre a homeowner or prospective buyer, these maps can be used to your benefit. For instance, the tract orientation will be listed, which displays the directional orientation of the property in question. To find latitude on a map, look for a series of evenly-spaced horizontal lines with numbers along the edges. This may be (probably is) a very stupid question, but I know nothing about map coordinate systems etc. Use periods to indicate decimals. Step 1. 1401. The following will talk about what a plat map is, how to properly read one, and why you should know how to read one. "I found the bearing explanation very helpful. Here's an example for your 1000 acre parcel. To find GPS coordinates, open the Google Maps app on your smartphone or tablet. How do you read latitude and longitude on a map? "This helped me understand a lot about longitude and latitude. They also have importance and affect legal rights to the focused land. You can type in a ZIP code and the location and name of that location will show up on the map. The map's scale tells you how detailed your map is. Once youve looked at the illustrated survey, read the written survey report for additional information and comments from the surveyor. How to read a plat map. Keeping in mind a few easy conversions between seconds and decimal minutes will help when working with maps that use degrees, minutes and seconds. 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. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. % of people told us that this article helped them. 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. Seeing an easement in a plat map could influence your decision to purchase a property. Before you fork over the cash for a new survey, there are a few ways you can find your property lines for free. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 250,673 times. A plat map shows a piece of land, drawn to scale, with details such as nearby properties, boundaries, land size, flood zones, the surrounding neighborhood, easements, and monuments. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. 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. Establish the physical address on the your deed and compare it to the address on the survey illustration. NW: Subtract angle from 360. A. site plan is a drawing that is a bird's 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. Is that a measurement? from the File menu. Check out the examples page to see some of the property line maps we have produced to help our clients. How to find a coordinate. The GPS coordinates are presented in the infowindow in an easy to copy and paste format. Reading a plat map starts with learning the different types of plats. To get a more in-depth look at a property, hire a land surveyor. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but has not been verified. the default coordinate system used in most GIS systems (WGS84) will be suitable 99% of the time. Reading a plat map is a straightforward process if you know what youre looking for. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. You Should Check Any Third Party Involvement In The Land. To find the GPS coordinates of an address or a place, simply use our latitude and longitude finder. The plat map that you receive for a title search or when you buy a home will include a significant amount of symbols and numbers, which are used to set the boundaries of property lines, trees, geography, and utilities. 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