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Posted almost 7 years ago

A discussion of surveys with regard to easements and encroaching

Long after our most recent closing, I called to order a survey. Because we didn’t buy with conventional financing, we no longer needed a survey at close of title. However, the neighbors tell me that one neighbor has encroached upon our boundary line. About the time that I made my appointment, the seller's Realtor came by with old copies of a survey that was conducted in the 1980s. I notice that the survey company I called up had also conducted the last survey. I believe we can ask for an update to that survey, rather than a completely new one. Having the landscaping cleared will enable this crew to get to all parts of the property.

 Normal 1497152040 Survey

When we were younger, we had a house with an easement. This agreement gave the landowner behind our property permission to use a sewer line that ran under our land. This landowner operated a seasonal RV park. At some point in the off-season, we received a letter from their lawyer requesting they renew their ten year lease of access to our land for a very small sum of money. Years had passed since this prior agreement had been in place, and we decided that a 10 year lease should have some value so we requested a higher price. They countered with “No." Our neighbor was a plumber, and suggested at the expiration of our current agreement, we turn the sewer line off. This was now high season for RVs, and I can only imagine the situation in which they found themselves. Soon, we received another agreeable letter from their lawyer, saying they were very happy to present us with a larger sum of money for a ten year easement across our land. This is one of many reasons why you want to know what your particular survey says.

The survey at our present house showed us that the dog yard fence put in place by the previous owners actually encroaches upon the neighbors' land. Sometimes, a neighbor will need access to your driveway, or you need to provide right of way to utility or fire trucks. A survey will identify these issues.

Lastly, a survey will identify where power or water lines are placed. When we dig a giant hole for our future swimming pool, we know that there is a nice clean swathe of land with no underground hazards of which we need to be concerned.

Next time you make a real estate purchase, you will better understand this component of the process.


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