Over the years, Green Hill Land & Timber has helped many clients. Most have very few complications with their land and title to their land. However, we have run across a few problems and would like to make you aware of some of the necessary issues that need to be addressed. GHLT is sharing this article with you for information purposes but wants to be clear that we do not provide legal advice. The important topics addressed below are to stimulate thought and help you ask the questions that need to be answered.
Deeds and Clear Title
First and foremost, do you have legal title to your property? Do you have a clear and marketable title? At some point in your life, title to your property will change hands. It may be when you sell it or when your heirs inherit the property. Make sure you have the deed to your property and legal title in your name/company. If you purchase property, the attorney that closes the transaction will search the title and provided a title abstract to be certain you have a clear and marketable title. The attorney will prepare the deed and record it in the clerk’s office in the county you purchase the property in. You can purchase title insurance just in case there are any title defects missed by the attorney. Most of the problems we see are from heirs’ property. For example, if the landowner passes away without a will (intestate) or the will was not probated, there most likely will be some legal complications or a cloud on the title. The property cannot be sold until the title is clear and free of encumbrances or liens. Wills do not have to be expensive and need to be done. If you think there may be some defect or cloud, have an attorney review the title. We have sold property and when preparing to close, found title problems. Many times the buyer may not wait for you to clear up the defect and your sale is lost. Once you have a buyer for a good price, it is very disappointing to lose them because the title to the land was not clear.
There are other issues that could influence the sale of a property. Are there deed restrictions on the land? Did the seller not want a certain type of use or require a certain specific use for the property? Is it stipulated that the land must be used for a school, church or a subdivision with a certain specification for houses? Conservation easements or preferential use tax covenants and a whole host of restrictions could apply. Another very important factor is access to your property. Do you have deeded access to your land? You may have an understanding with your friend and neighbor, but what happens if something changes, like a new landowner? Banks are reluctant to lend money on rural land that does not have legal deeded access. GHLT is beginning to see more restrictions on rural land that influence land values. Most of the sales transactions are straightforward but we must be diligent in researching the title.
Surveys and Plats
Do you have a current plat of your property? Survey technology and the equipment used today are absolutely accurate. If your plat was completed over 20 years ago, you may want to consider a new plat or survey. GHLT uses mapping software to stand type and measure acres on maps that are geo-registered and to scale. When we map parcels of land, typically they are very accurate, but we have had a couple of incidences that were as much as 100 acres off. One property owner was paying taxes for twenty years on a house and acreage that was not his. Most of the surveys in Southeast GA and SC are metes and bounds and follow a compass bearing and distance around the property. Other areas use townships and sections.
Metes and bounds surveys are marked with corner markers, iron pins and chop marks on trees delineating the lines. The corners get moved or destroyed from logging, plowing firebreaks, people actually moving them and many other reasons. The plat or survey of the property can be recreated and the corner replaced. The problem often is when the landowner forgets or gets confused as to exactly where the line is. Some of the older plats even say the corner is the old gum tree in the center of the creek. Well, the tree died 50 years ago and the creek has been re-routed. Sometimes it is the old fence at the road and many other vague terms. The surveyor must get the old plats from the court house where they are supposed to be recorded in the clerk’s office (sometimes they were not). He will also get all the adjoining plats and will begin checking and recreating the plat. There could be some interpretation involved in determining exactly where the corners lie. Most good surveyors can do this beginning with the oldest plat they can find to date. This takes hours of researching documents in the clerk’s office. Several points are to be made here. You need to know where your lines are so you pay taxes on exactly what you own. The time to find out about a boundary problem is not after you have a buyer ready to close. If you own land, know where your corners are and mark them. If you are not sure where the boundary is, GHLT will be happy to provide you with contact information on several surveyors we have used that have excellent reputations.
Zoning, Transitional Land & Growth
Our rural areas are becoming what we call transitional land. We are transitioning into a higher and better use than the traditional farming, ranching and timberland property. With this transition and increased population comes more regulation. Zoning is something that must be dealt with and should be a good thing if done correctly. Smart Growth is the term used today. Demographics, logistics, traffic counts and planned growth are all creeping into our rural communities. We are seeing our rural land values and population increase. Knowing what you have, where it is, that it has access, clear and marketable title and that you are knowledgeable about your land and timber investment is crucial. Green Hill Land & Timber, LLC is here to help you as best we can with your investment. Our goal is to listen to the landowner, present management alternatives, implement the landowner’s plan of action and make it a good and profitable experience.