7 Ways to Find Your Home Lot Size

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Determining the lot dimension of a property you own or are looking to purchase gives you a clear understanding of value and what you have to work with. Knowing the lot size opens the door to various possibilities such as expansion.

Knowing your lot size is also highly recommended for those who intend to research construction sites and parcel valuations or determine areas on a farm that will require spraying or invoicing.

Finding out your home lot size may seem difficult, but it is not. Some simple mathematical calculations should help you get the results you need.

There are many easy-to-use online tools that can assist you in determining the size of your lot.

Table of Contents

What Is a Lot Size?

Lot size is simply the dimension or measurement of a property. When conducting a land valuation, you are given information such as the actual square footage, the size, and the lot dimensions.

When a person wants to determine a lot size, they often want to know if an expansion will be possible. Knowing the lot size is also important for people looking to sell or buy a property.

7 Easy Ways to Find Your Lot Size

Here are some easy places and methods you can use to determine your lot size, depending on the resources available to you.

Property Deed

This is probably the easiest way to determine the size of your lot. If you own your property, all you need to do is read your property deed.

This document should have a description of your property boundary as well as the size of the lot.

Measure Map Application

This application allows people to precisely measure perimeters, distances, and areas.

It can be utilized for both small and large area measurements. You can also share the results using any sharing app on your device.

The surface area of buildings, plots, floors, or forest areas can be determined in your absence. It also works for physical measurements. All this can be done from the comfort of your tablet or Smartphone.

Property Plat Map

If you are a property owner, you will have received a plat map at the property closing. This map shows a plan of your lot with some basic information.

The plat map includes the lot layout, the boundary dimensions, and tax parcel identification number. The lot information should also include the area of your land plot.

This figure should be an accurate indicator of your lot size. As long as the plat map was designed by a professional surveyor, the information should be authentic.

Lot Area Calculator

These digital applications can be downloaded to smart phone devices.

They will give you information about the lot dimensions or the size measurements. You will also get the lot perimeter measurement.

Professional Survey Services

Asian couple checks the work of a contractor for building a house

This method may be the most expensive option for determining your home lot size.

Hiring a professional survey service for your property is also the most accurate option for obtaining the lot size.

The property deed may already include an accurate size of your property. The preparation of a professional survey plan is needed if you do not believe that the property deed is correct.

Pacing

Pacing is the least accurate method of determining a lot size. Pacing is quick and easy when trying to get a quick estimate and when accuracy is not required.

This method involves measuring the length of one of your steps. You then measure the number of steps it takes to cover the site length and the site width.

After taking all the necessary measurements and doing some basic math, you can calculate the site area.

Measuring Wheel

A measuring wheel allows you to measure the distance on land through a wheel. To use this device, you roll it over the area you wish to measure and record the results.

With this method, you may have to buy a measuring wheel. But your measurements are more accurate than the results you’ll get from pacing.

Just like pacing, some basic math is involved. You have to calculate the area of your lot after the measurements have been taken.

Construction hardhat and measuring tape measure on the window of a house under construction

How Lot Size Is Calculated

To calculate your lot size, you need to know its value in square feet. After determining this, convert the plot size into acres and compare it to other land plots.

Here are the basic steps to calculating lot size:

Step 1

If the land plot is square or rectangular, the first thing to do is measure its length and width in feet.

If the plot is triangular, you can divide it into a series of right triangles. Once divided, measure the height and base for each right triangle.

Step 2

To get the area of a rectangular plot in square feet, multiply the length and the width.

For example, if a rectangular plot has a length of 115 feet and a width of 120 feet, the lot size will be 13,800 square feet.

For triangular areas, multiply the base and height from Step 1 for each triangular section. Divide by 2. Then add the result for each triangle together.

For example, a triangular plot is divided into right triangles A and B. A has a height of 40 feet and base of 20 feet, and B has height of 30 feet and base of 40 feet.

Area of A = (40 x 20) ÷ 2 = 400 square feet

Area of B = (30 x 40) ÷ 2 = 600 square feet

Total area of the triangular plot = 600 + 400 = 1000 square feet

Step 3

Divide the number obtained in Step 2 by 43,560. The number 43,560 is a constant used when converting square feet to acres.

From the above rectangular plot example, 13,800/43,560 would give you a lot size of 0.32 acres.

For the triangular plot example, 1000/43,560 = 0.023 acres.

Converting Square Feet to Acres

The conversion of square feet to acres is straight forward. All you need to do is divide your lot size in square feet by 43,560.

For example, if you to convert a 19,300 square feet lot to acres, you would calculate 19,300/43,560 = 0.44 acres.

Final Thoughts

There are various methods for determining your lot size. Some methods require more work than others, while some methods are more expensive than others.

The method you choose can depend on your budget, the relevance of accuracy, and whether you own the property.