When researching deeds/maps, how far back do you go? I know the official answer is to the origination of the parcel...but around here we have subdivision maps from the mid 1700's under British rule and lines that date 350+ years to dutch times (try reading those...it's fun).
I personally don't go anywhere near that far back unless I really have to (I always get maps though). I generally go a minimum of 5 transactions back and a minimum of 50 years. Sometimes I find 20 transactions in 50 years other times I have traced maps pack to the orignal patents from the king (good story about the "Great Rock").
If I have any issues, unanswered questions or uneasiness with what I have found there, I go back further until I am confident.
Thoughts?
Tom
> When researching deeds/maps, how far back do you go? I know the official answer is to the origination of the parcel...but around here we have subdivision maps from the mid 1700's under British rule and lines that date 350+ years to dutch times (try reading those...it's fun).
>
> I personally don't go anywhere near that far back unless I really have to (I always get maps though). I generally go a minimum of 5 transactions back and a minimum of 50 years. Sometimes I find 20 transactions in 50 years other times I have traced maps pack to the orignal patents from the king (good story about the "Great Rock").
>
> If I have any issues, unanswered questions or uneasiness with what I have found there, I go back further until I am confident.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> Tom
I'm in a colonial area also, luckily English only.
Your last 4 words that I bolded sum it up for me.
When you're talking about parcels of that age, the physical evidence has been there so long that it would be absurd for anyone to argue that they have not recognized and or acquiesced to the line location(s). Even if the original evidence from 300 years ago was destroyed and replaced 200 years ago, well, evidence is still present.
And for some reason I usually am able to find that ancient evidence (stone wall, wire, etc.) on those 200+ year old parcels more readily than on a subdivision from the 1950's.
There is no real number of years or transactions for me to give in answer to your question.
You must research into the past far enough to satisfy yourself that you have found everything necessary to finalize the survey.
Being in a metes and bounds world, I always want to see the original description to know if anyone has made changes prior to the present.
The same for the adjoining properties.
😉
Ab initio!
Always, every time, without fail!
BUT, I work in the Great Basin, where things don't really go back much more than 150-160 years.
Loyal
The town in which I do most of my work was settled in 1639. Now, most of it was carved up into subdivisions in the time frame of 1850-1950, so in general that's how far back I go. Have I gone back further? Yes.
If i find a previous survey on a piece of property, then I can stop at that survey. But usually I go back a little farther,
ah, I always like to see at least the origination of the description in my deed and one further back.
Far enough.
Back to the operative document.
My parcel ....
and ALL adjoining parcels until I am satisfied I have put the jig saw puzzle together properly. Sometimes that's 1 year to a recent subdivision plat. Sometimes that's 300 years.
My parcel ....
:good:
That's it!
Texas says you gotta
go back to the instrument that establishes junior/senior rights. It really doesn't cost much to do so.
Texas says you gotta
1850's to mid 1860's. Prior to that it was all Indian lands. I get to deal with three Indian Treaty boundaries back to about 1830. Otherwise it is all GLO-type stuff.
Most of our non-subdivision work ties directly to patents issued shortly after the original surveyors' work. Fences and field lines have been around since at least the 1870's. County roads running along the section lines date from the same era in many cases.
The short answer to the base question is: IT DEPENDS. For most town lots, I will follow the entire history of ownership to determine when the individual lot first existed as a single lot. Many times the first buyer would purchase the entire block, sell off three or four lots as a lump, then later someone might parcel off the single lot away from the remainder. If transferred to a relative, I will keep looking for apparent transfer away from the family. Too many times we have found family situations where something like "the west half" actually meant that part of the lot not currently occupied by buildings.
Curious, Do they have Title Reports in your state? We typically will not survey any piece of property without a title report from a title company. They provide all of the documents (deeds) except the surveys and plat maps as those area all public record for under $300.