The iPhone compass app came in handy when searching for property boundaries

Armed with a plat map and an iPhone, I was able to find the corners of my property. As a matter of fact, I found the iPhone was more accurate than most consumer level GPS devices when it came to using perhaps the most basic of all navigational tools—the compass!

As mentioned in a previous post, my land originally came with a plat map that showed compass headings and distances between marked points on the property’s boundary. Over the years, many of the original survey markers (steel rebars, spikes, surveyor’s tape, etc) have been covered with weeds and tall grass, blown away, or moved by animals and tractors cutting the grass. Finding the markers again years later turned out to be difficult. But, with a plat map, you have some clues on where they were originally placed.  I learned that ½” rebar were often struck into the ground and marked overhead (usually on a tree branch) with surveyor’s tape that you can view from a distance. Even if the tape blew away you still had the rebar marking the spot. Usually, that rebar is marked on the plat map.

To get from point to point, read the plat map's numbers

To find my boundaries, I had to first find a starting point. According to my plat map’s legend (not shown in example), I learned that 1 rebar was planted near the street and a fence post. Then, to get from that first point to the next point, the surveyor placed some numbers on the boundary line. At first, I had no idea what was meant by 228 00’01″…until it kicked in: 228 is a magnetic compass heading in numerical degrees. We know that West is the same as 270degrees, East is 90degrees, South is 180 and North is 0 (or 360) as shown on a compass. The 228 shown on the map is a compass heading for a South West course (you can ignore the 00’01″ numbers as those are for more precise navigation that is useless with a traditional compass. We’re just trying to get an estimate of where our boundaries lie, so the 228 number is good enough for this purpose).  The 445.06′ means you walk from the first point to the next point at exactly 445.06 feet. You simply stand at the first point, lock in your compass heading (in this case, 228) and walk 445.06 feet. Chances are, that once you get to the end of 445 feet, you can look down and find a marker of some sort. I was able to find mine. Note: In an upcoming post, I’ll talk about how you can use Google Earth to help find your property boundaries, including using the ruler tool to figure out distances between 2 points.

Don’t have a traditional compass? You can use your iPhone! It comes with a compass app under the Utilities icon. Don’t have an iPhone? You can use a GPS…but I found that most of the common entry level GPS systems out there don’t display the compass numbers, only the cardinal directions like N, NW, S, SW, E, etc. What you want are numerical headings like 270, 228, 145, etc. It seems the more expensive and higher end GPS models will get you that, but, there’s no reason to buy a GPS just to use it as a compass when you could just buy a traditional “wet” compass from Walmart or nearly any camping store for next to nothing.

low water crossing

Last weekend I spent a good amount of time surveying the land. The property is part of an old German ranch that was divided into tracts a few years ago. My tract abuts a river on one side and a small ranch on the other.  The remaining boundaries of the tract open into wilderness.

When I surveyed the property’s boundary, I used a plat map provided by the seller to help me locate the steel boundary stakes struck into the ground by the land surveyor.  Never having studied a plat map before, it took me a while to understand how to read it but I got the gist of it. This particular plat map had compass headings with walking distance info from one marker to the other. Furthermore, some stakes had a colored surveyor’s tape to help you spot them from afar. However, not all of my markers could be found. As I got closer to the river, I began to get confused as to where my boundary ended.  With one finger on the plat map and both eyes scanning the ground (watching for snakes was a good idea considering we’ve had no rain for a while), I was on the hunt for my final boundary markers. I did spot a piece of orange tape fluttering on a tree branch overlooking the river. As I walked closer, I began to hear the soothing and peaceful sounds of moving water. I climbed down a small cliff and reached out for the orange tape. Sure enough, according to the plat map, this is my final boundary. I sat there in silence and just took in the sounds of the river. A few small fish can be seen swimming by. On the opposite side of the river was a nice resting spot under a canopy of trees. But, to get there, I’d have to cross the river. I was ill prepared, but rolled up jeans and boots should be enough. Were my boots water proof? I found a few sections of the river that was quite shallow—about half a foot in some parts. To my surprise, the boots kept all the water out and I had dry feet throughout….until I slipped on a large pebble and fell. Next time, I’ll bring an extra pair of dry socks.

I got a good feel for where my boundary was on one side of the tract, but I still needed to find the other side. That’s for another weekend.

On the way to Doss, with goat on the backroads

Had a lead on some “cheap” land way out in the Northern region of the Texas Hill Country and I decided to make a run for it yesterday and check it out. The drive was much longer than I thought–nearly 2 hours from Northern San Antonio to my destination of Doss, Texas. The whole drive was beautiful, but nothing could prepare me for the beauty I would see once I got to Doss.

First off, Doss is 19 miles northwest of Fredericksburg–very isolated from any city. It was founded in 1849 on an old gristmill and distillery on a beautiful creek by German immigrants. In 1960s, the population of Doss was estimated to be 22, but today it’s just a little bit bigger. Today, the “town” still only consists of a small post office, a general store, fire station, and a church.

My destination was just a few miles ahead. I was looking for 30 acres for sale according to a real estate catalog I found that deals in rural land tracts. The price was still out of my budget, but what caught my eye was how lower priced it was compared to the going rate that you usually find in this region of Texas. I decided to drive to Doss because I had never been there before, and interestingly, not one person I talked to has ever been to Doss, much less heard about the place! All kinds of creeks were overflowing and I caught a few white horses crossing the them, as well. I was also greeted by goats and loose livestock on the roads. Wow, no fences?

This was truly like how it was back in the old days. The days when animals were still wild and allowed to roam free.

Horses early morning drink

Well, it was sort of like that. there were still all kinds of fences separating tracts of land. Nonetheless, I finally got to the area that I was looking for and had to make the long drive up a hill on a gravel road. I put the truck in low gear–better traction this way. Once I got to the top, I passed a few small dogs snapping at my truck and saw a shack in the back, I guess they are not used to seeing vehicles pass this way. Once I passed the only neighbor in site, I got took a right at the fork of a road and eventually came to the top of a hill that overlooks the Texas hill country. Breathtaking….but a major problem: The land for sale was rugged–very rugged. Apparently the property is being used as a hunting tract. It was very secluded and isolated. I like isolation and being with nature, but this was too much! Pretty area, but way too much work will have to done to make it liveable and worth the 2 hour trip it took to get there.

I headed back home that afternoon and realized that this was a common theme in real estate ads — when a property is described as “good hunting area”, it means that the area is very rugged and isolated.

“Why is it so hard to find small acreage for sale?”

I think it depends on what you are looking for. Obviously, in the metro areas, you’ll find small lots (smaller than an acre) for sale, or maybe a couple of acres. However, when looking for country land, your objective probably is to get more than one acre, if possible. So, this reminded me of a little story (from the book, Country Property, Dirt Cheap) I read recently about a guy who asked that very same question. I took some liberty and added some authentic Texas flavor to it:

Snobbish City Man (SCM): Hey dude, why IS it so hard to find small acreage for sale in the country?

Texas Rancher (TR): Howdy, well, there are a number of good reasons why any good Rancher worth his salt don’t wanna break off a small part of his holdings.

SCM: Like what?

TR: For one, many people who live in the country don’t want neighbors, they like being away from others, especially city folks.

SCM: Actually, that’s one of the reasons why I am looking for land. I like being out where no one is. I’m tired of the city life.

TR: There’s another thing. State law limits how many times I can break a parcel into small pieces before I have to contend with local sheriff and the subdivision laws.

SCM: I never thought of that.

TR: Then there are the expenses.

SCM: But you’d incur some expenses in any sale, regardless of the size of the land.

TR: True, but with a small parcel, there’s not enough profit. If I sell a large parcel to you for $120,000, I’d make some money. But if I sell a small parcel for $5,000, it’s not worth the time and the trouble. That’s not all…

SCM: Oh no, what else?

TR: Son, much of the land around here has been owned by the same families all the way back since the Texas Revolution. Over the years, a man gets mighty attached to the land. His pop and his daddy–all probably fought and died for it. Just down yonder, in Harper, a mother lost half her children to the Kiowa Indians in 1886. Can you imagine that? You’d think she’d curse the land. Probably want to leave the godforsaken place. But, she sweated and bled so many years trying to make a living off it that she was not going to quit. It becomes almost like a part of the family, your right hand. For instance, take my ranch. In 1892, that’s over a hundred of years ago, my grandpappy built the farmhouse we live in, and he cleared with his own hands the land that we still till. My dad was born in this farmhouse, and I wouldn’t sell off a square foot of this land.

TR: Beautiful country.

TR: A man can still get lost out here, forget there’s people and things that ain’t so simple as this.

TR: I’d die for it. In this day and age, how many people would say that about their home?

SCM: Well, I just wanted to buy a small piece of…

TR: Son, buy a big ranch from someone who is retiring, a ranch with some valuable tillable ground, as well as some rough land or timber. Then sell off the cropland, but keep the timber for yourself. Or, rent out the cropland for a few years before you sell it.

SCM: But I don’t have enough money to buy a big piece of land.

TR: Well, then find someone who has recently bought a large ranch…160 acres or more, maybe. The new owner won’t have any special feelings towards the land, and if he’s already farming or ranching the other land, maybe he wont’ need the buildings. He might be willing to sell off the barns, along with a few acres.

As you can see, it’s an interesting idea. What if you found someone who also wanted to buy a small parcel? Get a group of like minded individuals together and then you can all purchase a big ranch and then split it up. By combining your resources, you could take advantage of the fact that large parcels are easier to find than smaller parcels.

But, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Keep watching this blog and I’ll tell you why it’s actually more difficult in the long run…and a bad idea based on my own experiences running a small business.