Map/deed check program

Every one of these I've tried has been a frustrating waste of time.  I recommend using what ever cad program you have now to draw it up. That will show you the closure and the area and give you a pretty picture to show people.  If you don't already have one,  Designcad is a cheap simple cad program. Turbocad is a lowpriced, fairly simple one. Autocad is a bloated monster.
And good luck.

AutoCAD is not a surveying program it is a basic drafting and design software. It is also not a bloated monster. In order to use survey software you must in most cases combine AutoCAD to enable it. Autodesk, the company that makes AutoCAD has survey and civil software available and you may chose to use it or not. Just because it does things that surveyors do not do is not a reason to call it names. I do not know of any free surveying programs that do the task that you describe. I use Autodesk software for civil and survey tasks with great satifaction.

Please lets not hijack Mr Hambright's thread.
"basic drafting and disign software" is what I meant by 'cad program'.
Can you aquire Autocad legally for under $2,000?
Out of the box, can you label a bearing with it?
I stand on my opinion as originally stated, but I admit it's just one man's opinion.

Now back to the original question.
Anyone know a good deed checker?
My favorite one is to see if the surveyor next door will do it for free.   :)

If we are talking about free software then why even mention AutoCAD? Everyone should know by now that it is not free. You are simply taking and underhanded approach to bashing AutoCAD. My point is that AutoCAD has no capability as a stand alone program to produce a report of precision and map closure. AutoCAD was never designed to be a panacea for land surveyors. AutoCAD is a generic design and drafting program. It is you who are straying from the subject of the question.


Your opinion is unsolicited. There is nothing in the original question imploring others to state whether they like or dislike AutoCAD.

Good point. Free cad includes Google Sketchup and Doublecad. And there's a website called Freecad.com
The original post is about good free deed checkers. I personally don't know of any besides hard work. Do you?

No. I know of no free software that will check a deed.

It is possible to use a spreadsheet to check deed closure. Most people have that software available to them anyway. Hard work to get the spreadsheet to parse deed language though.

I found that entering the quadrant to identify the bearing was easier than writing code to parse the quadrant (eg. 1 vs. North by East.)

Ooooh, good answer!
I haven't used a spreadsheet type method since college, but it's a genuine alternative to drafting. You still have to know what you're doing and it's a heck of a lot of work, but it's worth shot. And qualifies as close to free, since it probably came with the computer.

One little question I've always wondered about deed closure though. What do you do if it doesn't close? Do you, um, rely on the field monuments?  :)

Not a little question. Our state has minimum technical standards for the practice of land surveying. Monuments are to be checked in the vicinity of any survey. Monuments are only part of what is checked in a survey by the minimum technical standards. Whether the monuments are relied upon is a matter of judgment after all things are considered.

Each survey is a separate case so there is no way to answer your question without knowing the circumstances of an individual case.

Our minimum technical standards do state there is a required precision (closure) that is expected for a lot drawn as a part of a survey and there is also a requirement for precicision in setting the property lines. So if you are thinking of closure in terms of three to five hundredths feet (0.03' to 0.05') then the minimum technical standards are satsfied.

uh huh.

Back to Deed Checkers. Has anyone checked out this site?
I just did a couple of quick google searches to find it.
http://www.downv.com/Windows-software-download/deed-plotting

I have an excellent Excell spreadsheet for checking closures. i can email it to you if you are interested.

Greenbriar is a fairly simple, easy-to-learn program I've used.

I don't think you will find a great deed checker for free.

You might take a look at DeedPlotter http://www.deedplotter.com. Not much $ ($200), lots of nifty features relating to offsets, tracts, easements.

The tool where it suggests possible errors has saved me some real time looking at client's descriptions. 

Disclaimer: Mike Johnson, who is an excited reseller of this product, is one of my closest personal friends.

Mark

I use Map Check With Plot in Wild Volume C. 

Try COPAN for windows available from  support@underhill.ca.

Procogo is cost effective but it requires an annual subscription.
mrm

The Title Company Examiners always seem to have some simple program to check our map closures. You might contact a few of them. I'm sure it has to be a simple program. It's real good at closing surveys to 0.00001' even though the boundary is in the wrong place.

G.P.

"Try COPAN for windows available from  support@underhill.ca."

Actually, you can get Copan -- which is free, and does map checks and lots more COGO -- from http://www.underhill.ca/Software/Copan/Windows/CopanWin.php

(The above email is for sending questions about Copan.)

We in SOZ have a check program where enter plan data and it gives closures and areas of parcels before submitting plan .

Drop me an email and will send link to program.  If you do not have 360 bearing system will need to change your quaint plan presented bearing system .

RADU

dgreen:

I have an excellent Excell spreadsheet for checking closures. i can email it to you if you are interested.

I would appreciate a copy of your Excel spreadsheet for checking closures.  Thanks!
JTDavis@jtafla.com

dgreen,

If you don't mind, I would like a copy of the spreadsheet as well. I'd like to see how you set up the cells. I am just scratching the surface of what excel can do.

Thanks!

email in my profile is good (jcsurvey@netzero.net)

Randy

I use BENCHMARK - does all the cogo , dxf and lot description files

do not like cogo inside the cad software - never had a good feel for it

john

I would appreciate a copy of your Excel spreadsheet for checking closures.  Thanks!

lihira644@yahoo.com