Why it is important to have the property surveyed before you close (so an eagle-eyed surveyor can spot the problems):
Two years ago, commercial site, I’m busy surveying and I ask one of the honchos what he thinks they bought. He waves his arm and indicates the entire site. I gently break the news that I’ve read the deed three times and it absolutely does not include the parking lot. Consternation reigns as they contact the seller and the title company.
Yesterday, residential site that I know well. They need a survey on the property that closed that day because they aren’t sure about the fences. I ask, innocently, if they bought just the land the bank foreclosed or did they also buy the separate strip that was never subject to the loan and therefore the bank didn’t acquire. Oops. Mad scramble to find out what they actually did buy. I haven’t heard back yet.
True stories.
Even in a simple lot inside a modern plat it can be worthwhile, I worked on a job where a real estate agent had informed the buyer that the woods to the south were protected and could never be developed. They were not, if asked a surveyor could have helped the buyer become more informed about their purchase.
Buddy of mine paid around 250K for a lake lot, existing big house, extra garage. I checked the deeds for him and it turned out he got title to a 120 square foot triangular piece of swamp across the street with no frontage. All the original owners are gone. Title company has been bleeding for two years to fix it.
A couple of years ago a real estate agent called in a panic. Lake home was selling and they just figured out it was on two seperate land owner's properties. The home site was made up of a 3 parcels. The home was added on to so the 3rd parcel was added for extra parking and 10 feet of additional home. No financing was involved in the addition of the house so no one cared that the house ran over the parcel line. 5yrs later they divorce, split the assets and the wife ends up with the 3rd parcel and husband with the two parcels the house originally sat on. Husband borrows money on the house (without a mortgage survey) and goes bankrupt. Real estate agent is trying to sell the house for the bank and gets a MLS which shows the problem. MLS surveyor says he's too busy to mess with fixing the problem so he bails. I tell the agent that they have two choices 1) buy the entire 3rd parcel 2) buy a piece off of the 3 parcel which wasn't buildable in the first place and would have to be sold off to an adjoiner anyway. Was told ex-wife wouldn't sell any portion, she was getting her revenge on the ex-husband by not letting everything get settled so he'd know what he was going to have to pay off. I told them they had a 3rd option which was to tear off the addition. They didn't like that one either so they hired me to split parcel 3 to give them enough ground to sell the house. I got paid by the bank, they are still sitting on it because they can't get the ground. That township doesn't require you to get a survey to join your parcels all together before you build across the lines. I kind of understand why the other juristictions require it now.
Performed an ALTA survey for an industrial site where the owners of the building created a seperate company that bought the parking lot across the street. Deal fell through because the survey showed the new owners wouldn't own the parking and the old owners refused to "throw" in the parking for the cost of the building lot. They wanted to negotiate an additional price for the parking lot or a lease.
> Even in a simple lot inside a modern plat it can be worthwhile, I worked on a job where a real estate agent had informed the buyer that the woods to the south were protected and could never be developed. They were not, if asked a surveyor could have helped the buyer become more informed about their purchase.
Or they could just read the recorded plat of their subdivision...
Lady I know, bit of a whackadoo but still quite likeable (for the most part), owned a Government Lot. She decided to subdivide it to sell off part to finance her new dream home. Being a rather, ummm, penny wise, pound foolish individual, she opted to go with the lowest possible price to get the land subdivided and had a paper plat done. The lot she created gets sold and she proceeds to start building. I get a call from the lady who bought the other lot asking if I could come by and give her an idea of where her property lines are, but mind you she also doesn't want to have to pay for a survey either. I recover a couple controlling monuments, one of which is a section corner and using a compass and tape, proceed to walk the line. It's at this point that I notice whackadoo is drilling her well a good thirty feet over onto the new lot she created and sold. The foundation for her new dream home sits smack in the middle of a 33' section line easement. When I call this to her attention, she becomes quite irrate and says 'I had this surveyed! I know where my corners are!' I pointed out to her the note on her plat where is says, 'No field survey was done for this plat'. What a mess. I'm so glad I didn't get involved beyond just calling it to her attention. Another surveyor friend eventually got involved in straightening out the mess and had a heck of time getting paid.
> Or they could just read the recorded plat of their subdivision...
A plat map is gibberish to most people.
> A plat map is gibberish to most people.
Now, don't you suppose that depends on who made the plat map? I mean whether it was made by Leon Day or by Kent McMillan for instance?
> Now, don't you suppose that depends on who made the plat map?
Perhaps to some small degree. A picture is worth a thousand words. But if it were made for the property owner it would take a very different form. It would look more like a Mortgage Location Sketch.
> mind you she also doesn't want to have to pay for a survey either.
If she didn't want to pay for a survey, why did you even go there? For a surveyor, going out and finding corner monuments is surveying.
The lot was on the perimeter of the plat, the piece to the south got platted later.
It was a trade for a bunch of beekeeping equipment. Y'know, that old barter thing? She wanted a rough idea of where her lines were and she had a bunch of hive equipment I needed. Besides, it was year or two before I got my license and I wasn't going to agree to do a survey for her for that very reason. Pulling out a rag tape and compass does not constitute a survey in my book and I made that very clear to her. I don't think you need a license to find monuments.
Was that bad Steve?
Use of a tape and compass is not necessarily surveying, but being paid in any fashion for finding boundary corners is, whether or not you have a license.
At least its that way in Alabama.;-)
> Use of a tape and compass is not necessarily surveying, but being paid in any fashion for finding boundary corners is, whether or not you have a license.
> At least its that way in Alabama.;-)
You say "finding boundary corners". As far as I know at that point you have simply found further evidence than what is visible above the ground.
Can you dig up the markers but not define them as property corners and explain that you would need to conduct a boundary survey to confirm whether the marks you found constitute actual boundary or not?
Live and learn. Truth be told, I wished I'd never agreed to help them. I was treated as a villain when I told them they were setting themselves up for an expensive mess and advised them to hire someone with a license and get their lines flagged. Whenever I get a call from someone I know to help them out with a boundary issue, my first instinct is to run as fast and far as I can.
He was paid to recover property corners. Isn't that surveying? Plus he was doing it without a license.
That Sir, is a very serious accusation.
