So whats at the end of that polypipe I mentioned a few posts back? This:
I walked a bit of the property using onX GPS/maps. OnX, as well as the Mt Cadastral, it appears, assuming the borders were accurate, that this little watering station is about 30-40 feet on the inside of the border of the property. This leads to a whole pile of questions…
If, and this is a key ‘if’, the borders shown on the Onx/GPS are correct then there needs to be an easement for this thing. If there’s not an easement, that opens up the possibility of a ‘mutual agreement’ that lets him not have to move the thing and gives me some access to that water. Or, if there’s no easement, it could just go from 0 to 60 and become an adverse possession issue or some such. So…I need to absolutely confirm the location of the property border to see if this thing is on their side or ‘my’ side, and I need to find out if theres an easement. Even if there is an easement, does that easement include putting a watering station on the property vs. just having a pipe running across it?
It appears gravity fed. I GPS’d the elevation at the watering station, and then I GPS’d the elevation of where I’d likely build. A difference of about 40 feet with the watering station being lower. In theory, as I figure it, this means that there could be gravity feed to a nearby holding tank or cistern and then the water pumped the last 40′ to the site. Need to think that one through.
So, one mystery solved and several more made.
For a rare video, thanks for not making it go Blair Witch Project on us. Depending on if the current owner/s did a survey when they bought it, would your surveyor or you be able to get a hold of a previous report? I thought surveyors were like 50% map and compass, 50% lawyer going over the plat maps. Looks cool though!
Do not rely on county/township maps or ARC/GIS systems, they are approximations. If you can find a previous actual survey and find the corner pins, you may be able to shoot a relatively accurate azimuth between two of them for the item in question. Relying on the county map cost an organization I’m affiliated with a bundle. If you buy the property, get a survey and set the corner markers in stone or concrete.
This. The only way to be sure is with a legitimate survey.
When I bought my current property I discovered the fence line (the assumed property line) was about 8′ into my property. The neighbor was not amused. Nor did I care. Now, he’s died and I’m still around so….who cares?
From personal experience, even surveys can be wrong. I discovered this the hard way when I got a letter from the US Forest Service telling me that new fencing (installed many years ago, so “new” means replacement for the decades old fence) saying that we had fenced some of their property where the road on one side of our place makes a bit of an s-curve. Bordered on three sides by USFS property, when we bought it nearly thirty years ago I paid for a survey and our survey and the USFS survey did not line up. Long story short, they were right (it was a minuscule bit of land), we were wrong and they were totally cool about it. We installed a gate and double-locked it (our padlock to theirs) and they gave us a letter saying we were good. So, at least two points here. 1) Find yourself a local attorney that is familiar with real estate law, and; 2) Have your purchase contract state “Contingent upon new survey confirming property boundaries.”, and; 3) Have the lawyer help you to confirm and all easements, confirm the law on your property rights, etc., and; 4) Get that survey done yourself. Just pay for it even if you don’t buy. You have some serious issues to contemplate and you want it done right before you commit to buy. I can easily see this turning into a neighbor war before you even get out of the gate, so I really caution doing your homework.
Check the deed records for a metes & bounds legal definition of the property. The starting point is supposed to be an easily identifiable “monument”. From that starting point the first corner is located, and so on around the perimeter until the boundary is “closed” The surveyor has to “close” within certain plus/minus dimensions horizontally AND vertically for the survey to be valid. What you *can* do if you obtain the metes and bounds description from the deed records is overlay that onto a GIS map. That should be “close enough” for your initial assessment.
You probably already know the state water rights division may have the ownership and claims information on the spring available online. Perhaps you already looked into that.
Always good to have a water supply end at a Shell Oil tank. It is always good to get to know potential neighbors before disturbing long ago agreements. And sometimes a legal decision is not a win you want to pursue with the wrong neighbors.
Good luck!
the water barrel did look sketchy, looks like a good candidate for a bio sand pre-filter followed up with a Berky before drinking.
I would just pass. Who wants potential neighbor drama. Gotta be land remote enough to not have neighbor drama somewhere.