Property Surveys

Do We Really Need Them?

Ever hear one like this before?  Recently, a Real Estate agent advised her cash buyer to get a new survey with property markers, because the buyer was going to install a fence.  At the walk through inspection, the evening before the closing, the agent and her buyer discovered that the garage was located on a parcel of land that was beyond the property markers.

When confronted, the listing agent apologized for not having disclosed that there were two parcels being sold.  Closing was postponed and the closing company did a title search on the second parcel and, thankfully, the seller did own it.  Without the survey and the property markers, the sale would have closed on only the first parcel and the buyer would find out years later that she did not own the garage.

Wondering whether a new survey really is necessary is an age-old question.  Often, buyers weigh the value of a new survey against its cost and decide to use an existing survey and spend their money elsewhere.  Most often, they make this decision with little knowledge of what a survey is and what it reveals about one of the largest purchases they will ever make their new home.

Surveys show the dimensions of the lot, location of the home and driveway, building setback lines, recorded easements affecting the property, encroachments on the property, and access to a public or private road and bodies of water that may exist.

In the big picture, it may be a bargain for a few hundred dollars.