5 Tips to Getting the Most of Your Land Survey

How to Hire a Land SurveyorA land survey is meant to detail the finer points of a homebuyer's potential new property. There are a few different kinds of surveys, but most will list the boundaries of the property as well as any pertinent features of the home that may affect a buyer's decision. So if the water manes are located in a precarious position, a buyer has a chance to back out of the sale before they buy land that poses a potential hazard (or have the seller fix it before they move in.) Here are five tips to ensure buyers end up on the right end of the stick.

Walk the Property

The land surveyor will be able to point out not just the key topographical markers on the grounds of the property, but also potentially important markers on the surrounding property as well. If the buyer takes the time to walk the land with the surveyor, they have a chance to ask questions and clarify facts. So if the neighbor's tree roots are likely to spread in the next ten years to the gas line under the home, a homeowner has that head's up before moving in.

Mark the Boundaries

Property boundaries are often contested because they were never formally established in the first place. If the land surveyor uses vague terms such as 'around the mailbox', then it will be difficult to figure out the exact extent of the property. A land surveyor should be using permanent fixtures such as iron pipes or rebar to mark where each property begins and ends to ensure there are no future disputes of ownership.

Check the Equipment

Apart from the standard licensing requirements, it's helpful for surveyors to have modern equipment to make their job a little easier and a lot more precise. Everything from standard navigational software to complicated CAD (Computer Aided Drafting) programs will give owners additional peace of mind about how their boundary limits are established. Buyers should ask surveyors what equipment they use before making a final decision.

Confirm Their Insurance

Land surveyors who work on the land are liable if they make a mistake when on the job. So if they damage a pipe while they're poking around, they'll need to have enough liability insurance to pay for it. This is especially true if building a new home because a land surveyor may give advice about how to set up the drainage or other foundational components of the building. If they're wrong about sewage or water flow, it can potentially harm both the grounds and the physical building.

Look at Their Reviews

A land surveyor is just one professional of many that need to comply with a Cameron Station homebuyer's requests before they can officially take control of the property. A land surveyor that's constantly going out of town or can't quite seem to return phone calls may cause bigger delays than people realize to the timelines of their escrow. Checking on a surveyor's reputation is a good way to see how they respond to disputes and how professional they are when on the job.

Land surveyors typically do their job correctly without a lot of drama, but there are enough unknowns that homebuyers may want to consider the matter with a more careful eye. The right surveyor is professional, experienced, and able to effectively communicate with their clients no matter what they find.

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