Spending a million dollars on a home is now common. Can you imagine spending a million dollars on anything and not knowing exactly what you’re buying? That is exactly the situation a buyer of real estate faces if they don’t have a recent survey. The buyer is paying a million dollars for a deed that contains a description. How and where that description is exactly located can only be determined by a survey.

Fortunately, most of our clients, upon our advice, obtain surveys or re-certify older surveys before taking title. And it’s good that they do. We estimate that in about one-third of closings, a survey reveals an issue that is easy to resolve before the closing but would be difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to resolve post-closing.

While precisely locating boundaries is the obvious purpose of a survey, in doing so, the survey addresses all of the following:

1. Monumenting Boundaries

The surveyor will place an iron pin or similar “monument” at crucial points where the exact location of the boundary needs to be evident.

2. Identifying Encroachments

A survey reveals if any neighbor’s structures or activities encroach upon your property. Similarly, it reveals if any of the improvements you are buying are located on your neighbor’s property. The smaller the parcel, the more likely this might occur. When buying waterfront property, encroachments become even more likely.

3. Easements and Right of Ways

Your property might either hold an easement over another’s property or be subject to an easement. Our title search will disclose if there is an easement of record and the rights associated with that easement, but rarely do the land records disclose the exact location of that easement. The surveyor searches both the land records and actual use of the property to locate both easements of record and unrecorded uses that could ripen into a prescriptive easement.

4. Improvements

The survey will locate all buildings and other improvements on the property. Should you ever need to apply for a building or zoning permit, your site plan is already in the surveyor’s computer.

5. Zoning and Land Use Compliance

A survey will show whether your buildings and improvements comply with local land-use and setback requirements. Building violations of setbacks do not enjoy grandfathering, and violations follow ownership. What seems a minor violation can have major consequences.

6. Preventing Litigation

If any future issues arise with a neighbor, a survey is the most convincing evidence as to the location of boundaries and any improvements or uses that affect them. Surveys solve potential problems before they bloom into lawsuits.

7. Selling Your House

If it comes time to sell your property, a survey is one of the best sales tools one can have. It immediately gives buyers confidence when making an offer.

While the price of a survey varies based on a number of factors, usually our clients are surprised at how reasonable the cost of a survey is. While we have no direct evidence, it’s our opinion that a survey adds value to the property well beyond its price. Also, we cannot value the peace of mind it affords a property owner.

For these many reasons, the large majority of our clients do obtain surveys if a recent one does not exist. We are always happy to have a surveyor submit a proposal for our client’s review. If you are in the process of purchasing a home in Litchfield County, please feel free to call us to discuss any questions you may have.