If Both Properties Have a Backyard Privacy Fence

• 1). Grab a measuring tape and head out to the privacy fence. The fence posts are the clearest designation of property divisions, as those are predetermined by the city planning commission. If fences and posts are under construction, look for the nearest survey marker. Survey markers will be designated with a orange flag, on top of a metal or wooden post, and be close to ground level.
  
  
• 2). Measure the distance from the edge of the neighbor's property to the fence post or survey market closest to the midpoint in between the two properties.
  
  
• 3). Locate the fence post marking the distance at midpoint between the two properties. When standing, facing a home, anything west of the fencepost nearest your own home is your property, while anything east of that marker belongs to the neighbors.
  
  
• 4). Mark a line down the middle of the property with the measuring tape when placing planters or doing landscaping to ensure that you are not encroaching on your neighbor's property.
  
  

If Neither Property Has a Backyard Privacy Fence

• 1). Locate the utility box for the water company. This is located in between each property, and is often used as a unit of measurement for the service provider, real estate agents and homeowners. The box is typically located in the front of a property, nearest the street, and has a green covering, marked with the logo of the local utility provider.
  
  
• 2). Measure the property line using the edge of the utility box that lies closest to your property. Where the edge of the utility box ends on your neighbor's property, yours begins. If you have a neighbor to the other side of you, then your property line ends on that side, where the utility box does.
  
  
• 3). Validate the measurements using your survey. A survey is part of a closing package and should be with the closing paperwork from your home. If it is not, the details and the survey itself can be obtained from the county clerk's office, for a fee.