You did the right thing by getting a boundary survey and yet it seems to have done nothing but create a headache for you as the survey drawing is showing an easement running right through the middle of the metal building on the property. How in the world did this happen and why did the surveyor have to show it?
When you hire a surveyor to perform a boundary survey and locate the improvements, we show the results of the field work regardless of how it affects the property. You are paying us, in essence, to tell you everything that is right and wrong about the property. And even though you may find the results to be frustrating today, they would be even more frustrating to find when you go to sell the home and you lose a potential buyer or have the value of the property be affected.
When you look at the question of how “did this happen” there are dozens of situations in which an easement could be created. Most easements are created when property is split into multiple lots as planning and zoning has ordinances in place which demand the use of each lot for utility companies to run their lines within. This is obviously a benefit to us as property owners as we all want water, electricity, gas, sewer, etc. to be accessible by our homes.
Several times a year we run into situations like this example, where an existing utility easement runs through a building. It is unknown exactly how this happened but looking at the history of this parcel of land it looks like the parcel was split into two lots. After the house was built it appears that the property line on the left side of the house was moved to provide a greater side yard distance between the house and the property line. The easement along the original property line was not vacated and was not moved to the location of the new property line. When the metal building was built the location of existing easements was not taken into consideration.
So yes, a survey may provide you with a situation that you were not planning on dealing with. But keep in mind that just because an easement exists on paper and exists on the ground does not mean that it is being used. In a situation like this there are likely no utility lines located within the easement and the easement could be vacated. It is a lengthy process to get all the utility companies to vacate, but it can be done.
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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.