Though it used to be a customary practice, it seems like it is far more commonplace these days, to just pass on getting one done in an effort to keep closing costs down. I’ve heard numerous times that “we will just get that done later on.” So… why would you get one done if it’s not a required expense? Why Can’t it just wait until later?

    Surveys will help to point out any encroachments, easements, etc. It will tell if there are any easements that will affect the sale and if the home if sitting within property lines. As home additions and renovations happen, it is quite common for encroachments to occur Your neighbor could be encroaching on your property or you could possibly be encroaching some way on your neighbors property.  I recently had  a closing where a major encroachment came into play.

    My buyer was going through inspections when the septic inspector noted that the septic lines were too close to the neighbors fence. Since the neighbors fence came after the septic lines, it made sense that the  fence was placed in error. Another agent and I were able to walk the property off and tell that the property lines were definitely off. The neighbor then had a survey done and though it was an honest mistake, there was an encroachment of 27 feet. Not only was the fence encroaching but the neighbors storage shed was also on the property that the buyer was purchasing. Once the survey was done and everything was rectified, my buyer could not  believe how much larger her yard was.

    Thanks to a very good neighbor who was willing to make things right, this all worked out fine in the end.Had the encroachment not been found until after the sale, it could have been much harder to rectify later and could have required legal action and expenses. It is definitely a good practice to get  a survey done before a sale and it is absolutely the safe way to go.