The correct website for this service is http://sail.multco.us/. That redirects to desktop and mobile versions. It needs Silverlight and may not work on some browsers.
This used to not work so well. But now it does for me!
Each Oregon County keeps records of land surveys and assessor ownership information. That ownership and taxation data is shared with the Portland Maps website https://www.yelp.com/biz/portlandmaps-portland.
I have heard in the old days that to see this information in Multnomah County (and probably many still) you had to drive to Gresham and there were drawers of printed surveys on 3' by 4' pieces of paper.
No more! We are in the age of electronica!
For Washington and Clackamas Counties, you will need to consult their systems.
Survey data is unique. If you own a home or considering purchasing a home, this website needs to be in your #websitesquad!
SAIL has a mapshot of every survey since 1850 recorded with Multnomah County. Surveys of land divisions start with big blocks. They are divided and divided resulting in #yourlot.
When you look up a survey, you can see the surveyor drawings. IRF is "iron rod found". IPF is "iron pipe found".
When a surveyor surveys and marks property lines and corners, they may drive a 1/2-3/4 inch diameter metal marker, in the old days a pipe, today a piece of rebar, to mark it.
But over time land moves or the vicissitudes of survey start points may make that iron rod "3.1 inches West and 4.2 inches North" of the actual corner, in surveyor speak. That detail you really, really need to know is what you will find on SAIL drawings, and nowhere else.
So you need to know that. Srsly.
SAIL has digitized 166 years (as of 2016) surveyor drawings and notes. A surveyor you hire will consult these before surveying and consult them after the survey before filing a new survey. There are many things a surveyor needs to do which you cannot do.
But it is easy to see if there are survey points - IRF's - in SAIL before you hire a survey. You may not need a new survey if points are already there and you can find them. You can rent a metal detector for survey rods and dig around with a shovel to find them.
The surveyor though is a much deeper source for interpreting SAIL. So if you need a surveyor, I have reviewed mine. https://www.yelp.com/biz/chase-jones-and-associates-portland
By law, you are not supposed to remove survey markers. They took a lot of knowledge to place them. And by law, believe it or not, you are not allowed to drive in iron markers at property corners because they might be mistaken for a marker professionally placed by a registered surveyor. That is what SAIL lives for, separating the maturity-placed wheat survey markers from the lesser chaff survey markers.
The County Assessor's Office at the corner of Hawthorne and Grand can show you how to use SAIL - they have terminals there. That office also has all the filed deeds and easements. Having those online in SAIL would be a great improvement.
SAIL is an online source of surveyors' data which anyone can view for free. If you need it, your really need it! Did I say it was free? Yes it is free! read more