how much of the land you have the deed to do you actually own?

Question

do you own the surface and up or how much below the surface do you own. and then a less philisophical question, can you build a thirty story house above the ground or 3 story basements below the ground.

Answer 1

there are all kinds of ownership types in all corners of the world.

Answer 2

If your going for philosophy then you own nothing because you will die therefore the earth actually owns you.
If you are going for a technical question then apply for mineral rights to own the ground and be able to tape into the resources below. Also that comes with restrictions, like you have to have the ground surveyed,sampled, tested, etc. to see if there is any natural waterline, pipeline, water line, telephone, power, etc. under the ground before you tape into it, because of pollution, and damage to those systems.
You have the right without mineral rights to build a home as deep as possible but you will have to still get the above things checked out before you can do that.
also with the above structure it would depend on airway rights, you will need permits to build higher than a certain height, because of airplanes and etc.

Answer 3

Randy and MAry are both correct.

As for your 30 story house...it would depend on the zoning regulations for the city/county you lived in. Inless you own a parcel downtown in some large city, you probably have a limit as to what kind of structure you can build.

Answer 4

If you have the "mineral rights" you own it all. As deep as you can go. If you don't have the mineral rights, you own the surface land, as deep as is needed to stabilize the surface. In other words, the person who retains the mineral rights could start a mine next to your property, and actually tunnel under it. But he could not destabilize your house or buildings on it.

Answer 5

Unless there is mineral or air-right restrictions, you own:

Down to the center of the earth...and upwards to infinity.