We often get asked the question, “Should I get a Survey when I purchase real estate?”  It’s probably no surprise that our answer is a resounding, “Yes”.  Having a survey done gives you the confidence of knowing exactly what you are buying.  Most people do research on large purchases before they buy.  Property is a substantial investment, so why not do the research to ensure that it’s a wise investment as well? 

At a minimum, the following tasks will be completed when having a survey done:

• The surveyor will review your legal description to determine if it is ambiguous.  Ambiguous descriptions are descriptions that require decision or assumption to be made in determining the property boundary.  This could lead to multiple locations for the same line depending on the Surveyor’s decision.  
• The exact area of the property will be calculated (Multiple Listing Service (MLS) areas are not always correct).
• The boundary corners will be located and staked so the buyer can do a visible inspection of the property they are buying. 

 If there is a conflict with the legal boundary compared to what is being used, it is often easiest to have the seller involved to correct it.  There are multiple ways to correct these problems.  The easiest is a quit claim deed between the adjoining property owners.    

We hear a lot of horror stories from people who purchased real estate without a survey.  Having a survey completed prior to purchase provides a better understanding of what is being purchased and allows the buyer/seller to correct any title conflicts before closing.