Do you want to know how much land comes with your house? Maybe you plan a big garden. Perhaps you want to build a fence. Or you need to know for taxes or selling your home. Knowing your yard size is helpful. Can you find out how big your yard is just by using your address? Yes, you absolutely can! Many easy ways exist to find this info. This article will show you how to find your property size by address. We will look at simple steps you can take right now.
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Why Knowing Your Yard Size Matters
Your yard size, also called lot size, is more than just a number. It tells you how much land you own. This is important for many things.
- Planning: If you want to add a shed, build a deck, plant many trees, or put in a pool, you need to know how much space you have. Your yard size tells you this.
- Fences and Projects: Knowing your property lines is key before you build a fence. You don’t want to build on your neighbor’s land. Yard size helps you understand the space within those lines. Finding your property boundaries is a big part of this.
- Property Taxes: The size of your land affects how much you pay in property taxes. The tax assessor property size is used to help figure out your tax bill.
- Buying or Selling: When you buy or sell a home, the lot size is a main detail. Buyers want to know the acreage of my yard if it’s large. Sellers must give correct info.
- Neighbor Issues: Sometimes, knowing exactly where your property ends helps avoid disagreements with neighbors about boundaries or shared spaces.
- Rules: Local rules (zoning laws) can say how much of your lot you can build on. Knowing your lot size is the first step to following these rules.
So, finding your property size by address is useful for many reasons. Let’s look at simple ways to do it.
Finding Your Property Size in Public Records
One main place to find how big your yard is is in public records. These are official papers kept by the government. Usually, the county government keeps these records.
What Are Public Records?
Think of public records as the official history book for land. When land is sold, taxes are paid, or property changes, the government writes it down. These records list details like who owns the land, what buildings are on it, how much it is worth for tax reasons, and its size.
How to Access Public Records
Today, finding public records is often easy. You can do it online.
- Go to Your County Website: Find the website for the county where your property is located.
- Look for Property Information: Search the website for terms like “Tax Assessor,” “Property Appraiser,” “Land Records,” or “Clerk of Court.”
- Search by Address: On the property search page, type in your property address. This is how you get your property size by address.
- Find Your Property: The site should show a list of properties. Find yours and click on it.
What You Will Find in Public Records
The page for your property will have lots of details. Look for these common terms to find your yard size:
- Lot Size: This is the most common term. It will give the total area of your land.
- Land Area: Another term for the total size of your property.
- Acreage: If you have a larger yard, the size might be listed in acres. This is how you find the acreage of my yard.
- Square Feet: For smaller lots, the size is usually in square feet. There are 43,560 square feet in one acre.
- Dimensions: Some records might give the length of each side of your property. This is like plat map lot dimensions, showing how long the front, back, and sides are.
- Parcel Number: This is a special number for your property. It’s like an ID number for the land. It helps find the right record.
- Maps: The record page might link to a map. This could be a simple drawing or a more detailed GIS property map. These maps show where your property is located and might show estimated boundaries.
This information is usually free and easy to get online. It’s a great way to check lot size online from an official source.
Good Points and Bad Points
- Good Points:
- It’s official data from the government.
- Usually free to access online.
- Easy to find using just your address.
- Provides the tax assessor property size.
- Bad Points:
- The information might not be perfectly current or updated right away after a change.
- The size listed might be slightly different from an exact, recent survey.
- Maps shown might not be perfectly accurate for finding property boundaries on the ground.
Using public records online is a simple and reliable first step to find your property size by address.
Checking Property Listings Online
Many popular websites list homes for sale. These sites are also a quick way to get an idea of your property size.
Popular Websites
You have likely seen or used sites like:
- Zillow
- Redfin
- Realtor.com
- Trulia
- Local real estate company sites
These sites are made for people looking to buy or sell homes, but they have info on most properties, even if they are not for sale.
How They Get Information
These websites collect data from many places. They get info from public records (like the tax assessor’s office) and from real estate agents when a house is listed. They combine this information to show details about a property.
What They Show About Your Yard Size
When you type your address into the search bar on one of these sites, you will go to your property’s page. On this page, look for details about the lot or the land.
- Lot Size: The size is usually listed here. It will often say “Lot Size” or “Land Area.”
- Units: The size will be in square feet or acres. This is the real estate website yard size.
- Maps: These sites often show a map of the property. This map might have lines drawn on it that look like property lines. Important: These lines are usually estimates. They are drawn based on data, but they are not always perfectly matched to the real property corners on the ground. Use these maps for a general idea, not for finding property boundaries exactly for building.
It is very easy to check lot size online using these websites. Just type in the address.
Good Points and Bad Points
- Good Points:
- Very fast and easy to use.
- Often includes a visual map.
- Good for getting a general idea of size quickly.
- Bad Points:
- The information comes from other places and might have errors.
- The size listed is an estimate, pulled from public records or listings.
- The boundary lines shown on maps are usually not exact and should not be used for building fences or determining legal property lines. They don’t precisely help you find my property boundaries on the ground.
Real estate websites are handy for a quick check, but they are not the most accurate source for detailed or legal information about your property size or lines.
Looking at Official Plat Maps
For a more official look at your property size and shape, you can find a plat map.
What is a Plat Map?
Imagine the first time your neighborhood or subdivision was planned. Someone drew a detailed map showing all the lots, streets, parks, and shared areas. This map is called a plat map. It divides a larger piece of land into smaller pieces (your lot). It is recorded as an official public record.
Plat maps are important because they show the original layout and measurements of each lot. They often include very precise plat map lot dimensions.
How to Get a Plat Map
Plat maps are kept by the county government.
- County Records: Go to your county’s website or office. Look for “Land Records,” “Surveyor’s Office,” or “Clerk of Court.”
- Search: You might need the subdivision name or the plat book and page number (sometimes found in your deed or the tax assessor’s record). Some counties let you search by address or parcel number.
- View the Map: You can usually view or download the plat map.
What You Will Find on a Plat Map
A plat map is different from a simple online map. It’s a technical drawing.
- Lot Dimensions: This is a main feature. The map will show numbers along the edges of your lot. These are the exact measured lengths of your property lines. This is how you get precise plat map lot dimensions.
- Lot Area: The total area of the lot might be written on the map itself or in a table that goes with the map. This confirms the property size by address as it was first created.
- Property Lines: The lines drawn on the map represent the legal find my property boundaries.
- Easements: These are areas on your property that others have the right to use for a specific reason (like utility companies needing access for pipes or wires). Plat maps show these.
- Setbacks: Rules about how far buildings must be from property lines might be noted or referenced.
Good Points and Bad Points
- Good Points:
- Very accurate for the original planned size and dimensions.
- Shows legal property lines and easements.
- An official record.
- Direct source for plat map lot dimensions and find my property boundaries on paper.
- Bad Points:
- Can be hard to read if you don’t know map symbols or terms.
- May not show changes to the property (like added land or parts sold off) that happened after the plat was made.
- Doesn’t show you where the boundaries are on the ground.
Looking at a plat map is a good step if you need more detail than just the lot size number. It helps you see the shape and dimensions planned for your land.
Exploring Interactive GIS Maps
Many counties offer interactive maps online using GIS technology. This is another strong tool to find information about your property by address.
What is GIS?
GIS stands for Geographic Information System. Think of it as a smart online map that can show many different kinds of information in layers. It takes location data and links it to other details. For property, it layers things like property lines, aerial photos, zoning areas, flood zones, etc., onto one map.
How to Use a GIS Viewer
Your local county or city government likely has a GIS portal.
- County/City Website: Go to the website for your local government.
- Find the GIS or Mapping Section: Look for links like “GIS,” “Online Maps,” “Property Viewer,” “Interactive Map,” or “Mapping Services.”
- Search for Your Property: Most GIS viewers let you search by address or parcel number. This is how you use the GIS property map tool to find your property.
- Explore the Map: Once you find your property, you can usually zoom in, zoom out, and move the map around. You can often turn different layers of information on or off.
What You Can Do with a GIS Map
A GIS property map is very visual and powerful.
- See Aerial Photos: You can often see a clear photo of your property from above.
- View Estimated Boundaries: Property lines are usually shown on the map, often laid over the aerial photo. This helps you see where your yard might end. This is a way to visually find my property boundaries.
- Get Basic Information: Clicking on your property often brings up details like the owner’s name, parcel number, and sometimes the listed lot size (property size by address).
- Use Measurement Tools: Some GIS viewers have tools that let you measure distances or even calculate the area of a shape you draw. You could potentially use this to estimate the area within the drawn boundary lines, giving you a sense of the acreage of my yard or square footage.
- See Other Layers: You can turn on layers for zoning, flood zones, soil types, and more, which can be helpful context about your property.
Good Points and Bad Points
- Good Points:
- Very visual and easy to understand the layout of your property and its surroundings.
- Combines different types of information (aerial photos, boundaries, data).
- Often includes tools for measuring.
- A good way to get a general check lot size online with a visual.
- Bad Points:
- The property lines shown on the map are typically estimates based on recorded data, not the result of a precise, recent survey. They may not line up perfectly with physical markers on the ground.
- The user interface can sometimes be a bit complex if you’re not used to online mapping tools.
- The accuracy depends on the quality and age of the data the county uses.
A GIS map is a great tool for visualizing your property and getting estimated boundary locations, along with the listed property size by address. Just remember the lines are usually for reference, not perfect accuracy.
Estimating Size with Area Calculators
Sometimes you might need to calculate the area yourself if you have the dimensions but not the total size. Online area calculators can help, but they don’t find your size by address.
What is a Lot Size Calculator?
An online lot size calculator is a simple tool. You tell it the shape of the area you want to measure (like a rectangle, square, or triangle) and the lengths of its sides. The calculator then does the math to tell you the area in square feet, acres, or other units.
How They Help (and How They Don’t for “By Address”)
These tools are helpful after you have found the dimensions of your property from another source, like a plat map that lists the length of each boundary line (plat map lot dimensions).
- How they help: If a plat map says your rectangular lot is 100 feet wide and 150 feet deep, you can put these numbers into a rectangle area calculator (Area = length * width). The calculator would tell you the area is 15,000 square feet. You could then convert this to acreage of my yard if you want (15,000 / 43,560 = about 0.34 acres).
- How they don’t help for “by address”: You cannot just type your street address into a simple online lot size calculator and expect it to tell you your property size. These calculators don’t look up addresses or access property records. They are just math tools. They are not a way to check lot size online directly from your address alone.
Good Points and Bad Points
- Good Points:
- Useful for doing the math once you have the boundary lengths.
- Helps convert dimensions into total area.
- Often free and easy to find online.
- Bad Points:
- Does not find your property size by address.
- Requires you to already know the dimensions of your property.
- Only as accurate as the numbers you put into it.
Use a lot size calculator to work with dimensions you find from other sources, not as a tool to find your property size by address on its own.
Locating Your Actual Property Boundaries
While online records give you numbers and estimated maps, finding where your property ends on the ground is another step. This is part of how to find property lines.
Why Find the Lines?
Knowing exactly where your property lines are is crucial if you are:
- Building a fence
- Adding a structure near the edge of your land (like a shed or garage)
- Putting in a driveway
- Planting trees or large bushes near the edge
- Trying to settle a dispute with a neighbor about where your land ends
Online maps and records give you the numbers and estimated lines, but they don’t show you the real line on the ground. This is key to truly find my property boundaries.
Professional Survey
This is the most accurate way to find your property lines.
- What it is: You hire a licensed land surveyor. They use special equipment to measure your property based on the official records (like plat maps and deeds).
- What they do: The surveyor finds the official corners of your property as described in the records. They will often place or find physical markers (like metal pipes or rods) at these corners. They provide you with a new survey map showing the exact dimensions and any structures on the land.
- Why it’s needed: A professional survey gives you the legal definition of your property lines. It is necessary for many building permits and is the best way to resolve boundary disagreements.
Physical Markers
Sometimes, you can find the property corners yourself.
- Look for Pins: Property corners are often marked by metal rods, pipes, or concrete markers put in the ground by surveyors. They are usually near the corners of your lot.
- Where to look: Check near the edges of your property, especially at corners where property lines meet streets or other properties. They might be buried a little bit.
- Using a Metal Detector: A simple metal detector can help find buried metal pins.
- Caution: Finding markers yourself is not always easy. Pins can be missing, moved, or hard to identify. They might also mark something other than your corner.
Interpreting Documents
You can try to read your property deed or the plat map (plat map lot dimensions) to understand the written description of your boundaries. Deeds often describe boundaries by listing distances and directions (“starting at the oak tree, go north 100 feet, then east 150 feet…”). This is part of how to find property lines using old records. However, following these descriptions on the ground can be very difficult without surveying tools and training.
Good Points and Bad Points
- Good Points:
- A professional survey gives the most accurate and legal how to find property lines and confirm your property size by address.
- Finding physical markers shows you the real corners on the ground.
- Bad Points:
- Surveys cost money (can be hundreds or thousands of dollars).
- Finding old pins yourself can be hard and might not be certain.
- Reading old deeds or plat descriptions requires skill.
For definite boundary lines and accurate property size by address on the ground, a professional survey is the best option, especially for construction or disputes.
A Simple Plan to Find Your Yard Size
Here’s a step-by-step way to find out how big your yard is, using the tools we talked about.
Start Online
This is the fastest way to get started.
- Use a Real Estate Website: Go to a site like Zillow or Redfin. Type in your address. Look for the lot size number. This gives you a quick check lot size online and the real estate website yard size. It’s easy, but remember it’s an estimate.
- Check County Records: Go to your county tax assessor’s or property appraiser’s website. Search using your address or parcel number. Find the official tax assessor property size or lot size listed. This is a more reliable number than a real estate site estimate. You can also look for the acreage of my yard here if you have a large property.
These first steps give you a number for the size and are usually free.
Dig Deeper if Needed
If you need more details or a better idea of the shape and lines:
- Look for Plat Maps: Search your county records online for plat maps of your subdivision. Find your lot on the map. Look closely at the lines and numbers. These are the plat map lot dimensions and show the intended find my property boundaries from the original plan. This requires a bit more effort to read the map.
- Explore GIS Maps: Find your county’s online GIS map viewer. Search for your address. View the GIS property map. Look at the aerial photo with the estimated property lines drawn on it. This gives you a visual idea of the shape and location. You might even find measurement tools here.
These steps give you more visual and dimensional information.
Confirm Boundaries on the Ground
If you need to know exactly where your property ends for a project or other reason:
- Look for Pins: Try to find physical property markers (pins) near the corners of your lot. Check areas near the street, between your yard and neighbors, etc. Use a metal detector if you have one. This is part of how to find property lines physically.
- Consider a Survey: If you can’t find pins, are unsure, or need legal certainty for building or a dispute, hire a licensed surveyor. They will find or place the markers for you and provide an official map showing your exact find my property boundaries. This is the most certain method.
By following these steps, starting with simple online searches and moving to more detailed maps or even a survey, you can find out how big your yard is by address and understand where your property lines are.
Getting the Right Number
You might notice that the size number is slightly different from one source to another. Why does this happen, and when do you need the most accurate number?
Why Numbers Might Differ
- Source Data: Real estate websites get data from various places. County records are official but might be older or based on original platting rather than a recent measurement.
- Measurement Methods: Original surveys for plat maps used certain tools. Later surveys might use more modern, slightly more precise tools.
- Changes Over Time: Rarely, property lines can be changed slightly over time due to agreements with neighbors (lot line adjustments) or sales of small strips of land. If these changes weren’t fully recorded or updated everywhere, different records might have different sizes.
- Rounding: Sizes might be rounded differently (e.g., 0.50 acres vs. 21,780 sq ft which is exactly half an acre).
For most purposes, the size listed on the county tax assessor’s site or a reliable real estate website is good enough. It gives you a solid estimate of your property size by address.
When You Need a Survey
There are times when an estimate is not enough, and you need a precise, legally recognized size and boundary location:
- Building: If you are building a house, adding a large addition, or putting up a garage or shed, especially close to property lines, you will likely need a current survey. Building permits often require one.
- Fencing: To avoid building on your neighbor’s property or having them build on yours, get a survey before installing a new fence along a boundary line. It helps how to find property lines exactly.
- Selling Part of Your Land: If you plan to sell a piece of your property or buy a piece from a neighbor, a new survey is required to create a new legal description of the land.
- Boundary Disputes: If you and a neighbor disagree on where the property line is, a professional survey is the way to settle it based on the legal records. The surveyor will physically mark the find my property boundaries.
For everyday knowledge or planning within the clear middle of your yard, online methods are fine. For projects near the edge or any legal matter involving the boundary, invest in a survey.
Reading the Size Numbers
Yard sizes are given in different units. Here are the most common ones.
Square Feet (sq ft)
This is common for smaller lots, especially in cities or suburbs. It tells you the area as if you covered it with many 1-foot by 1-foot squares. A lot might be 5,000 sq ft, 10,000 sq ft, or 15,000 sq ft.
Acres
This unit is used for larger properties or when describing the acreage of my yard. One acre is a good amount of land. It’s 43,560 square feet. Think of a football field without the end zones; that’s roughly an acre. Lots might be listed as 0.25 acres (a quarter acre, about 10,890 sq ft), 0.5 acres (half an acre, 21,780 sq ft), 1 acre, 5 acres, and so on.
Other Units
Sometimes you might see:
- Square Meters (sq m): Used in countries using the metric system.
- Hectares (ha): Also used in the metric system for larger areas. One hectare is about 2.47 acres.
Converting Units
If you see a number in one unit and prefer another, you can easily convert:
- To go from Acres to Square Feet: Multiply the acres by 43,560.
- Example: 0.75 acres * 43,560 = 32,670 sq ft
- To go from Square Feet to Acres: Divide the square feet by 43,560.
- Example: 20,000 sq ft / 43,560 = about 0.46 acres
- To go from Hectares to Acres: Multiply hectares by 2.47.
- Example: 2 hectares * 2.47 = 4.94 acres
Knowing these units helps you understand the property size by address no matter how it is listed.
Common Questions About Yard Size
Is the size on Zillow accurate?
The size listed on Zillow and other real estate websites is usually pulled from public records or past listings. It is generally a good estimate for a quick check lot size online, but it is not a guarantee and should not be used for exact building plans or legal matters.
Will the tax assessor site have my acreage of my yard?
Yes, county tax assessor or property appraiser websites are official sources. They will list the size, often in square feet or acres, especially if your property is large enough to be measured in acres. This is the official tax assessor property size.
How can I use a lot size calculator?
You use a lot size calculator after you have found the dimensions (lengths of the sides) of your property from a plat map, deed, or survey. You input those lengths into the calculator for the shape of your lot (like a rectangle or triangle), and it calculates the area (square feet, acres). It does not find your property size by address by itself.
How much does a survey cost to find my property boundaries?
The cost of a professional survey varies a lot. It depends on where you live, the size and shape of your property, how much searching is needed for old records or markers, and how complex the land is (hills, trees). It can range from a few hundred dollars for a small, simple city lot to several thousand dollars for a large or complex property.
Can a GIS property map show my exact property lines?
A GIS property map shows lines that represent the estimated property boundaries based on recorded data. They are a great visual aid, showing where the lines likely are relative to aerial photos and nearby properties. However, these lines are often not precise enough for building right on the line. They should not be treated as a legal survey of your exact find my property boundaries on the ground.
In Summary
Finding out how big your yard is by address is something you can easily do. You don’t need special tools or training to start.
- Begin with quick online searches. Check real estate website yard size on sites like Zillow for a fast look. Then, go to your county’s tax assessor website to get the official tax assessor property size and check lot size online. These steps give you a number quickly.
- For more detail, explore your county’s online GIS property map. This lets you see aerial photos with estimated property lines. Look up the official plat map to see the original plat map lot dimensions and understand the exact shape planned for your lot. These methods help you find my property boundaries visually or on paper.
- If you need certainty for building, fencing, or legal reasons, consider hiring a professional surveyor. This is the best way how to find property lines accurately on the ground and get a precise measurement of your property size by address as it exists today.
Knowing your yard size helps with planning, projects, taxes, and more. Use the methods above to find the information you need about the acreage of my yard or square footage. Start simple, and go into more detail if your project requires it.