Why a Land Survey? |
There are numerous good reasons to get a land survey done, but my favorite one is pride of ownership. Responsible owners know where their boundaries are so that they may be a good steward of the land as well as a good neighbor. There is no such thing as a piece of property without neighbors. Someone always owns the property on the other side of your line.
“Good fences make good neighbors” - Proverb often attributed to Robert Frost
“…starting with it being in the right place.” -Common Land Surveyors’ Axiom
At its core, a land survey helps to identify the location of property on the ground and transfer that information to paper or to transfer the information on paper to the ground. This must be done in a way that is repeatable by both the original surveyor and by others, even many decades later. That means that the survey must be done both accurately (with the correct numbers and information) and with precision (in a way that is consistently repeatable). By locating the boundaries of legal rights on the ground, neighbors can build fences in the correct location to help reduce existing or potential conflicts with those neighbors. Surveys can be used to ensure that existing or new improvements are really on your property and not on your neighbor’s property. Some surveys are used to meet government requirements when doing things such as creating subdivisions or building commercial buildings and still others are used to help accurately transfer property rights through deeds and easements. Check out my general listing under Types of Surveys.
By performing a survey and recording the results, you put the public on notice of the results of the survey. Typically this means that you improve the value of the property when you go to sell it and have a more convenient way of explaining to potential buyers where your property is located as well. real estate agents like having surveys to show buyers so they don't have to try to explain where the property lines are, potentially getting themselves into trouble for offering an opinion that they are not qualified to answer. It also provides notice to your neighbors that this is where your lines are, providing a way to prevent some claims of adverse possession or easements by prescription.
When I bough my house, I surveyed the property and discovered that none of the fences were on the property lines. The fences on the sides are on the neighbors' property by up to two feet and the back fence is on my property by about a foot. It is good to know that going into a new place. As soon as it was practical, I went around to my neighbors with spare copies of the survey and told them what the survey revealed. In my case, I just told them that I was alright with the fences where they were, just that whenever they get replaced, let's work together and get them back on the lines. I got to meet my neighbors, this stopped potential claims of adverse possession and my neighbors now think that I am a pretty reasonable guy. It also set things up so that when fences are worked on, we can have a reasonable discussion of what needs to be done.
“Land surveyors: helping to keep neighbors from shooting each other for millennia.”
– Jonathan Cole
“Good fences make good neighbors” - Proverb often attributed to Robert Frost
“…starting with it being in the right place.” -Common Land Surveyors’ Axiom
At its core, a land survey helps to identify the location of property on the ground and transfer that information to paper or to transfer the information on paper to the ground. This must be done in a way that is repeatable by both the original surveyor and by others, even many decades later. That means that the survey must be done both accurately (with the correct numbers and information) and with precision (in a way that is consistently repeatable). By locating the boundaries of legal rights on the ground, neighbors can build fences in the correct location to help reduce existing or potential conflicts with those neighbors. Surveys can be used to ensure that existing or new improvements are really on your property and not on your neighbor’s property. Some surveys are used to meet government requirements when doing things such as creating subdivisions or building commercial buildings and still others are used to help accurately transfer property rights through deeds and easements. Check out my general listing under Types of Surveys.
By performing a survey and recording the results, you put the public on notice of the results of the survey. Typically this means that you improve the value of the property when you go to sell it and have a more convenient way of explaining to potential buyers where your property is located as well. real estate agents like having surveys to show buyers so they don't have to try to explain where the property lines are, potentially getting themselves into trouble for offering an opinion that they are not qualified to answer. It also provides notice to your neighbors that this is where your lines are, providing a way to prevent some claims of adverse possession or easements by prescription.
When I bough my house, I surveyed the property and discovered that none of the fences were on the property lines. The fences on the sides are on the neighbors' property by up to two feet and the back fence is on my property by about a foot. It is good to know that going into a new place. As soon as it was practical, I went around to my neighbors with spare copies of the survey and told them what the survey revealed. In my case, I just told them that I was alright with the fences where they were, just that whenever they get replaced, let's work together and get them back on the lines. I got to meet my neighbors, this stopped potential claims of adverse possession and my neighbors now think that I am a pretty reasonable guy. It also set things up so that when fences are worked on, we can have a reasonable discussion of what needs to be done.
“Land surveyors: helping to keep neighbors from shooting each other for millennia.”
– Jonathan Cole