Potential buyers always seem to understand the importance of home inspections to look for structural defects in a property, yet often underestimate the value of a property survey. By completing this important step and combining it with the benefits of a title search, many important pieces of information can be obtained, protecting the future ownership rights and uses of the land by a buyer.
What Is a Land Survey and Who Can Perform One?
A survey involves the determination of the boundaries of a tract of land by a licensed surveyor or civil engineer. Based on the survey, a map or plat of the property is drawn, and if title insurance is being ordered, the surveyor will also complete a certificate or report to disclose information about the property and improvements on it.
The North Carolina Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors has established standards of practice and ensures a detailed approach. Today's technology now allows an advanced computerized approach with unprecedented accuracy; current surveyors must undergo extensive training and utilize equipment such as GPS systems for data collection, analysis, plotting, imaging and generating boundary descriptions that will remain accurate even when physical markers and improvements (such as buildings or other man-made changes) disappear.
The survey helps to create a "legal description" of the property, which will be reviewed by an attorney in real estate law for creation of the opinion of title and title insurance. The attorney will also review the history of deeds and recorded plats adjacent to the property as well as the current survey of the property to find any discrepancies that may affect true ownership. The real estate broker should never venture an opinion on property boundaries, and an owner should not consider this opinion as legal or final. Only a surveyor can guarantee a formal review.
What Property Information Is Included in a Land Survey That Helps a Future Owner in Real Estate?
- Boundaries of a tract of land or lot
- Location of buildings, fences, and other improvements
- Location of utility easements and right of way easements (areas of land that are reserved for the use of utility companies and passing power lines, for example, and cannot be built upon even though contained inside the property boundaries)
- Location of water bordering or located on or running through property
- Acreage confirmation
- Access (to public roads and rights of way, locations of driveways)
- Correct parcel or lot (for legal identification on documents)
How Is This Property Information Useful for Ownership Rights and Potential Use of Land?
The boundaries are precise and will include each corner. It is wise to request these corners to be marked on the property by the surveyor for future use (such as when a property owner decides to build a fence to avoid an encroachment issue or when an improvement crosses over the boundary line and can affect both owners when they later try to sell). The surveyor will also compute the area of the tract so the purchaser can verify the amount of land being purchased. This will avoid future disputes during closing, and a recent survey can be very useful to show buyers a seller's true property size.
The survey will also confirm if buildings and improvements comply with local zoning "setback" requirements from property boundaries, as well as restrictive covenants and regulations of private property home owner associations. This can be very important when buying a home in a neighborhood with an HOA and when the previous homeowner has completed add-on projects such as an enlarged deck, extra room addition, sunroom, or garage. If these rules were not followed, the future buyer will avoid unnecessary problems. Also, if encroachments exist from a neighbor's current structures (i.e. fence) onto the property considered for purchase, they will be discovered as well.
Easements are also important to understand, as they limit the development and potential use of land. If an easement is present along a highway for future projected widening of the road or along a railroad or power line, the lost usefulness of that portion of the land should be a consideration in the purchase price and in the future plans of the property. Usually improvements such as a building or parking lot cannot be completed in the area of an easement.
Water boundaries are important to determine if a future home owner has "riperian rights" related to a waterway, a form of access and ownership. The survey will identify locations of creeks, rivers, lakes, ponds, and other bodies of water located on the property.
Acreage confirmation is essential to adhere to minimum lot size requirements in neighborhoods, as well as confirming an appropriate price for a transaction when the price is based per acre.
Finally, surveys are usually an essential requirement in real estate transfers involving mortgage financing based on lender's closing instructions and title insurance requirements. Whether reviewing issues related to purchasing undeveloped land, buying an existing home in a developed neighborhood, or a potential commercial property is involved, the survey is an essential element of planning and protection that should not be omitted. Real estate is a large investment, and a survey will confirm the legal boundaries and potential complications of a purchase in many ways.
Sources:
- North Carolina Real Estate Manual, 2010-2011, published by the N.C. Real Estate Commission
- Chapter 89C of the N.C. General Statutes, "Engineering and Land Surveying"
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