Why get a survey?
In order to protect yourself in any real estate transaction, your first step is to obtain a survey .Doing this will ensure disclosure of exactly what is being purchased.
Disclosure
It is not rare that some type of problem is found during real estate transactions. Problems that arise can range from minor issues such as a fence reaching over the property line, to major setbacks like the house being in a flood zone. Occasionally, there will be problems found that are irreparable and cannot be resolved. Imagine learning about these things after a real estate transaction.
Peace of Mind
You may think that an old or existing survey will suffice. However, at times there are improvements that have been made over property lines, mistakes that have been made in previous surveys, or the survey may reflect inaccurate data due to the usage of older equipment or methods. Getting a survey will give you the peace of mind in knowing the location of everything on your property.
Title Insurance
If a buyer secures a survey of the property and owner’s title insurance on that property, the title company will insure for any surveying issues that may arise. Without a survey the owner’s title insurance policy will exclude coverage for anything that a survey would have disclosed. Getting a survey is very well worth the price for the protection it provides to the buyer.
Property Value
If a buyer elects to avoid the expense of obtaining a survey, any related property issues that could have been revealed by a survey will be the sole responsibility of the buyer. Many of these problems can be extremely costly and cost many times more what a residential survey would. For instance, a fence that is over the property line must be replaced. A driveway over a property line, will need to be cut and re-poured. Although it may initially seem small, a boundary problem can quickly become complicated and expensive. For example, if a house is over the property line, nothing can be done to correct the situation unless the buyer negotiates with the neighbor to buy a piece of their property. The value of the property can be greatly reduced when encountering problems such as the ones described.