Why and how to find your property lines and avoid encroachment.

Today, I’m here to talk about a very important but often underestimated topic: property lines and encroachments around your home. An encroachment refers to any structure or feature that crosses over a property line, either from your property into your neighbor’s or vice versa. 

Some examples of encroachments include fences built on the wrong side of the property and sheds that may be encroaching on a drainage easement in the backyard. These issues can often be easily resolved. Also, they can be uncovered during the title work process when buying or selling a home, which may delay the closing until they are addressed.

“Encroachments can delay the closing of your home sale.”

You can locate your property lines by finding the iron spikes that were driven into the ground at the corners of your lot when the development was originally planned. These spikes are usually located about three inches down on the corners of your property and can be found using a metal detector. 

These can be found fairly easily if you need to put up a fence or something like that. Just know that it is the responsibility of the installer, whether it’s you or a professional company, to find those property lines. Usually, there’s a setback of two or three feet off your property line, so you cannot put something right on the edge between you and your neighbor. 

I recommend getting a metal detector and finding your property lines to make sure you don’t cause any problems when it’s time to sell your house. If you have any questions about this or anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to call or email me. I’m always happy to help.