What method is often used to identify property boundaries and detect encroachment?

The method used to identify property boundaries and detect encroachment is a boundary survey. A boundary survey involves a detailed examination of the land's corners and lines using specific tools and techniques to accurately define the property's perimeter. This process often includes reviewing legal documents, such as property deeds and previous surveys, which helps in establishing the exact dimensions and locations of property lines.

Conducting a boundary survey is essential for determining whether any structures or improvements, such as fences or buildings, cross over the defined property lines, which is what encroachment refers to. Surveyors are trained professionals who use their skills and technological equipment to ensure precise measurements, making boundary surveys a reliable and authoritative source for property boundaries.

While legal documentation, easement assessments, and property appraisals are important in real estate, they do not specifically focus on the physical dimensions of property lines or on identifying encroachments in the way a boundary survey does. Legal documentation provides the written aspects of property ownership but may not reveal physical infringements, whereas easement assessments concern rights of way, and property appraisals focus on valuing the property rather than defining its lines.