Isn’t a property survey just a drawing? Why is it important?

A property survey is a professional drawing and report that shows the boundaries, property lines, building setback lines, structures, and easements of a specific piece of real estate. Basically, it looks like an aerial sketch drawing of your property and defines what’s yours and what isn’t. The surveyor uses metes and bounds and the legal description of the property to measure and map out the area.

A survey can be done on a property at any time. Typically, they are done when selling a home, building, or adding on permanent fixtures to the home.

Who pays for the survey in a real estate contract? This is actually negotiable between the buyer and seller. Typically, in most contracts, I see the seller either has an existing survey or is willing to purchase a new one after they have changed the footprint of the property in some way. Most sellers have an existing survey. However, if the seller has built a structure on the property or changed anything permanent (poured or removed concrete, an addition onto the house, built a deck, etc.) then a new survey will be required by the buyer’s lender.

If a seller is providing an old survey, then they also sign what is commonly referred to as a T-47, which is a Residential Real Property Affidavit (T-47). This T-47 Affidavit accompanies the survey stating that no changes or permanent improvements or fixtures have been made to the property since the survey was conducted.

Just like most parts of a real estate contract, the survey has multiple purposes within the transaction. For the title company, they use the survey to double-check that no portion of the property has been bought, sold, or is owned by another person other than the seller. It’s a key factor in making sure there is a clean title when the property is transferred over to the buyer and acquiring title insurance. For the lender, they need a survey to confirm that the home matches the legal documents and is acceptable collateral for your loan. For the buyer, it will not only give them a better understanding of the property they are purchasing, but it will help them avoid potential mishaps by knowing where boundary lines, setbacks, and easements are located.