Would you buy a pair of shoes without knowing what size they are? Of course, you wouldn’t, but plenty of real estate purchasers buy property having no idea how big their plot is and where its boundary lines are located.
If you are buying real estate, you may consider a thorough survey an unnecessary expense, but it is actually very important to establish a property’s boundaries before you buy. Here’s why the title insurance experts at World Wide Land Transfer recommend getting a survey whenever you buy a home or any other real estate.
A Survey Clearly and Accurately Establishes a Property’s Boundaries
As a real estate purchaser, knowing exactly what you are buying benefits you. The square footage of a property can affect its assessed value and property taxes. If the description of the property you are buying is smaller than the actual size of the lot, it could mean its assessed value is lower than it should be. If the description is larger than the lot, it could mean you end up paying more in property taxes than you should be responsible for. While those differences may be negligible, there is one area where the effect of a survey could be significant: encroachments and property line disputes.
An encroachment occurs when a structure on your property crosses a neighboring property line or when a neighboring structure crosses your property line. This commonly occurs with fences, but it could happen with a shed, garage, driveway, or residence. If one of your neighbors conducts a survey and determines that a structure on your property is encroaching on theirs, you could be responsible for moving or removing it to resolve the encroachment.
Depending on the type of structure, it could cost you thousands to move or demolish it, and it could result in you losing the use of that structure. If the encroachment involves a structure that is not easily removed, you might need to hire a lawyer and spend time in court to get an easement allowing you to continue using that portion of the neighboring property. In any case, resolving an encroachment or other property line dispute will not be easy or cheap.
A survey can also help you spot access issues before you buy a property. Many properties across the country have access issues, meaning they do not have access to public roads or utilities without crossing a neighboring property. This could mean that you won’t be able to build a driveway to get in and out of your property or that you won’t be able to connect to public sewers or gas lines.
You can get an easement to resolve these issues, but as we mentioned earlier, it won’t be easy or cheap. With a survey, you can know what you’re getting into before you buy so you don’t run into any unexpected and costly issues in the future. You may even be able to use the survey to negotiate with the seller to cover all or part of the expenses associated with resolving a property line issue.
Protecting Your Real Estate Investment with Title Insurance
While a survey will help you identify defects like encroachments, access issues, and property line disputes before you buy, it won’t be able to spot every type of title defect. Some defects can’t be spotted through a survey or public records search. For example, if a previously unknown will should be discovered that grants ownership rights to your property to another party, you will be responsible for resolving that defect. There could also be a lien attached to the property that was never taken care of; in that case, you would be responsible for paying the lien.
Title defects like these won’t always be discovered before you buy a property, but you can protect your investment by purchasing a strong owner’s title insurance policy. A standard title policy will cover public records errors, fraud or forgery in the title chain, previously unknown heirs, and other title defects. You can also add specific endorsements to your policy covering encroachments, property line disputes, access issues, and other specific title defects. For a one-time premium, your policy will cover you for the entire time you own a property and will even cover your heirs if you choose to leave the property to them after you pass away.
If you would like to know more about surveys, title insurance, and escrow services for buyers, sellers, and lenders, get in touch with World Wide Land Transfer today. Our team will be happy to answer your questions about title insurance, and we work with clients all over the country. Call us right away if you need title insurance in Denver, CO or wherever else it is you call home.
World Wide Land Transfer is a service-oriented PA title company with offices in Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C. With a record of going above and beyond, we are trusted to close everything from complex commercial transactions to residential refinance and purchase transactions.
