When Should You Hire A Professional Residential Land Surveyor For Your Property Boundary & Title Issues?
Avoid Issues When Purchasing Property . When Do You Need to Hire a Professional Land Surveyor in Property Transactions? Are You Vulnerable to Hidden “Gotchas” on Your Property Purchase? How to Avoid Potentially Major Problems . When is it Necessary to Hire a Surveyor for Your Property Transaction ?
In some states a survey is required before close of escrow . Unfortunately, California does not require surveys before close of escrow . Surveyors literally receive calls every day from clients who have serious title issues . In the majority of cases it would have been preferable to have rectified title issues prior to the close of escrow. There is a very real NIMBY attitude in California, and property title problems can create the worst emotions on all sides when a new neighbor moves in and tries to make things right .
Residential Surveys:
Your land is usually your single most valuable asset and you will probably hire a professional land surveyor only once in your lifetime. A professional surveyor takes the time to understand and define your concerns so you can pick the right approach and product .They work with you to very carefully define the scope of work that is needed . Their extensive education, experience , training and equipment help them to define and meet your needs saving both time and money .
Examples of Property Boundary and Title Issues — Typical problems include:
- Fences may not be correctly placed on boundary lines
- Ingress/Egress issues – road is not in an easement
- Incorrect acreage (square footage)
- Encroachments (by others onto your property or vice versa)
- Conformance with setbacks and current zoning that will affect future additions
- Easements of record may limit/ affect current and future use
- Easements that should be of record but are not
- Slope Restrictions
There are a few good reasons to hire a well educated and experienced California Professional Land Surveyor (PLS). A good PLS should help you save money and time while helping to maintain neighborly relations. A PLS can help isolate, understand and correct title issues . A PLS can provide a myriad of technical solutions to resolve title problems including Easements, Lot Line Adjustments , Certificate of Compliance, Mediation Support and Records of Survey , and if a case absolutely must go to court, they can appear on your behalf as an Expert Witness Surveyor. Most issues can be resolved out of court by working with a team composed of Client, PLS, Title Company and in some cases a Client Attorney. In a few cases a survey will reveal title issues that no one knew about .
If you have heard of an ALTA Survey, these issues are exactly what it prevents. ALTA is the American Land Title Association and an ALTA survey is a specialized boundary survey that meets specific standards for detail and accuracy to verify the property boundaries for title insurance purposes. Both Residential and Commercial Property Surveys can be done to the ALTA standards. The larger the dollar value of the transaction, the more it makes sense to conduct an ALTA survey to make sure there are no unknown problems that could prove costly later.
There are many issues a professional land survey can help resolve or prevent . Before you complete a real estate transaction, consider whether any of these factors could be a problem in successful completion of your transaction
- Boundary including:
- Dispute Resolution
- Record of Survey
- Corner Record
- View Issues
- Court Exhibits
- Site Planning Survey
- Topographic Survey
- Landscaping Survey
- Easements
- Lot Line Adjustments
- Construction Surveys
- FEMA certificates
- Subdivision Survey
- Feasibility Studies
- Certificate of Compliance
Although it may be tempting to think that engaging a surveyor is not essential, consider the fact that the cost of a professional survey is very cheap insurance against potential lawsuits or other disputes which might have very large costs that could have been avoided .
