The Shortcomings of Property Surveys
Author: 10x Marketing
Category: Home and Family
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Home buying is an exciting yet stressful time as you get all your paperwork in order and make sure you are making the right decision. Usually when you buy a lot with some acreage or a decent amount of land, a property survey will be done when you purchase the home. So, what do you do when the surveying company comes out and tell you that part of your driveway is actually on your neighbors land?
Unfortunately, situations like the above are more frequent than one would think. Usually if the purchase of a home is financed a survey will be done and a copy will be given at closing time to show where the house resides and where all the property lines are. This does not include a full field survey of the property unless you specifically request a surveying company to provide that detailed property survey.
Generally when a survey is done the surveyor will get a copy of what is on file with the county - the property map of your property. What's problematic is the fact that the surveyor may miss already existing problems with the property lines if a complete and thorough survey is not requested and completed. They will basically take the existing map of the property and look for new structures but not problems with what is already on the land. Therefore you may end up with a property you didn't even know was infringing on your neighbors land.
In the East Coast this can happen because so many of the property lines were established many years ago during colonial times. With much less sophisticated equipment there have been many misunderstandings and issues between neighbors due to property line problems. One online article talked of a Massachusetts homeowner to build a pool and later found out it was on their neighbors property. The neighbor kept it. I'm guessing a crushed family was the result when they found that they no longer had that pool on their property. Make sure you protect yourself so things like this don't happen to you.
One common misconception people carry is that the title insurance protects against this type of thing and that is not the case. You can protect yourself by asking questions. Find out what the current owner knows about the property lines and see if they have ever had a full survey or order one yourself before you're locked in. Perhaps you want to talk to the neighbors and find out if any current disagreements already exist. You'd hate to step into the middle of something. You can go to the county and get a copy of the property map yourself so that you can see how things have changed. You may also just consider getting a full survey done instead. This will protect you the most.
Protect yourself from getting into a sticky situation with neighbors and from losing a lot of money if the property lines are incorrect. The money spent on fixing a problem can be much more a problem than getting an initial full survey on the property. Be smart. Protect yourself. Enjoy your new home.
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Keywords: property survey, surveying company
View Count: 186
Date Submitted: 8/17/2009
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