What Will a survey tell you?

In a nutshell, a survey will identify the property boundaries and any visible structures (including the home, pool, and fencing) along with any invisible easements or encroachments located within the property boundaries.  What is located underground might be much more critical than what you can see at the surface.  But keep in mind, a surveyor has no way of knowing whether something is buried unless it was properly recorded in the controlling jurisdiction.  If it was, the location should appear on the survey.

Most people would want to know if they are buying a home on a lot with a water line located beneath it, not to mention the 10' easement to go with it?  Same goes for an underground gas or electric line.  You don't want to build or plant something in a drainage easement if it isn't allowed because you might have to remove it all.  Who wouldn't want to know about an easement for a possible road expansion? Or a fence that was built 6" onto the property you are buying?  Those are all things that should show up on a survey if they have been recorded properly. 

why surveys are so important

Besides the fact that your lender and title company are going to require a survey, the second answer to the question is ... "Because you never really know what's there until you have the property surveyed".  I am always surprised when buyers try so hard to make a questionable survey work just to save a few hundred dollars. Buying a home is probably the biggest financial purchase you will ever have.  Why scrimp on something as important as a survey?

Like many Realtors, I have had my share of experiences selling properties with encroachment and easement  issues.  More often than not, those sellers actually already had a survey which identified the issues, but they never really looked at it when they bought their home.  Only after they their home went under contract again and a new survey was ordered did they find out they had a problem.

Who Should pay for the survey, the buyer or the seller?

One of the decisions a buyer and seller will have to make on a typical Texas real estate contract of sale is whether a) the seller is to provide the buyer with a copy of their prior survey (if they can find it) in the hopes that a new survey will not be required b) the buyer will pay for a new survey or c) the seller will pay for a new survey.   If the seller agrees to the first option (to provide the buyer with a copy of their original survey) and, for whatever reason, the title company will not accept it, they then have to decide who will pay for a new survey. 

A seller might take the position "This is going to be your home so you should pay for your own survey".  However, a buyer might consider a survey the seller's responsibility and cost.  After all, the buyer is relying on the seller  to show them exactly what they are buying from them.  And much of that can only be determined by a survey.

There are no hard and fast rules on whether the buyer or seller should pay for the survey.  Like many parts of a contract, it is a negotiable item.  If the buyer is getting a great deal on the home, you can usually count on a seller asking the buyer to pay for the survey.  And if the buyer has made a fair offer on the home, the seller might concede and agree to pay for the survey.  

What happens after a seller gives the buyer a copy of their prior survey?

If the buyer has agreed to accept the seller's prior survey in lieu of a new survey, a couple of things will happen.  First, the title company insuring the property will look at the survey for any obvious issues.  If the survey looks good, the title company will then have the seller sign an affidavit affidavit stating they have made no changes to the property since the survey was drawn.  That affidavit must also be notarized.

This is actually one of the preferred ways to buy a home because it saves the buyer or seller from having to pay for a new survey.  But is it the smartest way to buy a home?  Let me play the devil's advocate here.

• For whatever reason, the seller fails to mention an improvement they made to the property and signs the affidavit.  Sellers often sign the affidavit without giving much thought to it.  If they have owned the home for many years, it's easy to forget about an improvement they made eight years ago.  Maybe they poured some concrete for additional parking and forgot about it.  Or built a small workshop tucked away in the back corner of the property near the property line they didn't think about.  They might have built a fence along a property line and it looked like it was on their property just by the way the vegetation changed.   

If the seller signs the affidavit stating they have not made changes to the property since the last survey, and they have, they have falsified a document.  Unintentionally, of course, but it happened nonetheless.  Nine times out of ten nothing is going to happen, but let me set up a nightmare scenario for you.

Let's say you purchase a home and agreed to accept the seller's survey along with the affidavit stating they had not made improvements to the property since it was surveyed when they bought it.  You become great friends with your new next door neighbor.  You've never had a problem one. 

Then, one day your neighbor decides to move and their home goes on the market for sale.  When the buyer for your neighbor's home orders their survey, they find an encroachment of yours onto the property they are wanting to buy.  You might not even have done it.  It might have been done by the seller of your home and wasn't disclosed on the sellers affidavit through an oversight. 

You never knew about the encroachment because you relied on your seller's survey.  If you had elected to get a  new survey when you bought your home, it would have shown up and would have been your seller's responsibility to take care of it.  But now, the problem is all yours.

If that encroachment is preventing your neighbor from selling his home, your friendship is going to take a back seat to his desire to sell his home.

• Just because your seller said they hadn't made improvements to the property since the seller's last survey doesn't guarantee a neighbor hasn't  done so without your seller's knowledge.  Who's to say a neighbor hasn't built a fence, part of a building, or poured concrete onto the property you are buying?  It might have happened long ago even before you even moved in.  Your seller might not have known about it either.  Again, that encroachment would have been picked up if you had ordered a new survey when you bought your home rather relying on an old survey.

The same goes for you when you are ready to sell your home.  If your potential buyer objects to your neighbor's encroachment, you might have to ask them to remove it.  Again, another tense situation which could ruin a friendship or even get nasty if they refuse to do so. 

Survey affidavits

Even though this might sound trifling, having a document notarized in a short period of time can be a challenge for some sellers.  Not many sellers know a notary or even where to look for one.  Sure, the title company will be happy to notarize the affidavit for the sellers, but that means they each have to go to the title company. 

If both the husband and wife are working late hours, they are not going to get to the title company by closing hours.  And if they office far away from the title company, or if one of the sellers is out of town, they can't just stop by at lunch.  This just adds more stress to the sellers and they are usually stressed enough already.

Are Survey's Required?

Although I have never known anyone to do it, I guess you could buy a property without a survey if you didn't need it insured or financed, but why would you?  It just makes sense to know what you are buying before you sign on the dotted line.

How much does a typical survey cost?

Surveys on properties we handle typically cost somewhere between $400 and $500.  That's for a home on a typical lot within a subdivision.  I am not talking about raw, undeveloped tracts of land which can really inflate the survey pricing. 

All in All, it's best to just order a new survey

The survey will be current, the buyer will know exactly what they are getting for their money, and there will be no surprises for the buyer down the road.  The cost is usually insignificant when compared to the price of the home.  It also takes the burden and stress off the sellers in having to sign an affidavit or find a notary.  In my opinion, it's a win/win situation for both the buyer and seller. 

Tom Grisak Estate Homes Realtors, Inc - Texas License # 0329533