Country Places, Inc.

GPS handhelds have become increasingly popular recently. They have dropped in price and increased in capabilities. I figured since more and more people have these devices I'd write a little article about how it can make visiting a piece of property much easier. If you've ever gone to look at rural land, you've probably pulled up to the frontage... pulled out the survey and said "where does this thing start." Many rural tracts lack clear property lines and many have faded survey markers... this is where a GPS will save you a ton of time and confusion.

A GPS isn't 100% accurate but it has consistently placed me to within 30 feet of very hard to find property corners. They also make it much easier to convey to my customers where we are on the land since I can just hand them the GPS and they see a little arrow where we are standing and an outline of the tract. This is usually when the customers who say they have to have "at least 20 acres" back down on that requirement... Since they feel like they've been hiking long enough to be at the end of the property but they see that they're only 1/4 of the way back.

If you have access to a GPS, then I strongly recommend that you take it with you. If you're planning to visit a property you can contact me first and I can give you the coordinates near the major corners. If you're familiar with hooking your GPS up to your computer, I can also send you a perimeter file as a "route." When you get to the property, you simply choose to follow the route I send you and it will outline the tract for you. This outline makes it really easy to know where you are on the property (to within 30 feet or so) and helps you get back to your vehicle.

You don't have to have a special handheld GPS either. Many of the car based models (as long as they're removable and have a battery) can be used as well. On most units it's pretty simple to navigate to a corner. You simply select "where to" (or similar), choose to enter the destination by coordinates, type them in and hit go. The GPS will then tell you how far away the corner is and which direction to start walking. When you get back home you can also upload the data and share your hike with friends (this was with a Garmin unit but I think other brands can upload to the site as well).

I hope this introductory info has been helpful and let me know if you'd like GPS info about any specific property that you'd like to visit.

Thanks,

Andy Halavonich

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