Before You Buy Rural Land: Confirm The Acres

Survey only exact way to know

Here’s an interesting fact:  most rural Alabama land has never been surveyed. The fact is, without a survey, no one really knows exactly how many acres are in a tract. For example, the deed may say 160 acres because the property is 1/4 of a Section (a perfect Section is 640 acres), but the tax assessor may say 155 acres. Each have their reasons, but without a survey neither should be viewed as exact.

Survey or “rough check”?

Because surveys are expensive ($0.40 to $0.80 per foot), most land buyers make a “rough check” on acres and live with the ambiguity. Examples of “rough checks” include:

• plotting the boundary lines (as indicated by the tax map) on a topographic map or aerial photograph with known scale
• pacing the boundary lines (assuming they are visible on the ground), which is also a good way to check for encroachments by your neighbor (a loss not covered by title insurance) on your Alabama property.

Getting some help

Your forester can help you do this and may have a GPS which is also a good “rough check”.  Sometimes a lender, seller or buyer will require a survey.  Unless there is reason to suspect a problem, a “rough check” will find serious errors and save a lot of money if you can live with a little uncertainty.