Buying a brand-new home can be a very exciting time! When we think of the word “new” we think of words like perfect, without error, unblemished, etc. These types of words have absolutely nothing to do with whether you need a survey or you don’t. There are a few factors that can contribute to answering this question.
- Title insurance policy.
Most title companies are issuing an insurance policy when you purchase your home to testify that you are indeed purchasing property and can have legal rights to that property free and clear. The type of insurance that you receive will be dependent upon whether you have a boundary survey performed. If you have a survey performed, you will receive a more comprehensive insurance from your title policy. If you do not have a survey performed that state, there will be exceptions on your policy the title company will not ensure any defects that would be disclosed by an accurate survey. Those defects could be minimal items such as a fence being built over a property line or be very impactful such as a portion of the garage being built over an easement area. The type of insurance that you receive is your decision based upon your decision to get a survey or not.
- Building improvements on the lot.
If you plan to make additional improvements to your property such as adding a deck, or installing fencing around the lot, then a survey may be in your best interest. Most municipalities and planning and zoning departments require a survey to obtain a permit to build improvements. In this case a survey would be needed.
- Survey monuments.
In many instances in new construction areas, it is common for survey monuments to be clearly marked and visible. The item that needs to be considered is that not only are the corners for your property marked, the corners for all your neighbors’ properties are also marked. Frequently you will share a corner with your neighbor and have a single monument denoting the location of that corner. However, not all properties align perfectly and there can be instances where there are multiple survey monuments located within a 10-foot radius. Unless you have a survey performed, it is difficult to know which corner is yours. If you feel it is important to know which corner is yours and to know where your property is located, then a survey would be needed.
As with many major purchases that we make throughout the course of our lives, it can be very important to know all of the details about the decisions that we are making. Having a survey performed helps educate the property owner about what they do and do not own and the items that are and are not located on their property. A survey is needed to make it known what you own.
###
Cardinal Surveying would like the opportunity to earn your business. They service the greater St Louis Metro area, have been rated A+ with the Better Business Bureau since 2003, have surveyed over 35,000 properties and are a family owned company who prides themselves on producing accurate results with exceptional customer service. They can be contacted via email at [email protected] or phone at 636.922.1001. They look forward to working with you for all your land surveying needs.