Everything You Need to Know About Getting a Land Survey

Land surveying is one of the key activities to perform when getting a new piece of land. Sometimes, it is just a precautionary measure; other times, it is a compulsory requirement for purchasing the land. Land Surveying is the determination of the boundaries of a piece of land and to locate easements. Furthermore, the practice is used to figure out how to construct properties on the land without breaching the local laws or environmental regulations, and it is done by specialists called Land Surveyors. Most landowners do this to ensure that they do not unintentionally erect a structure on another person’s land, which could attract a lawsuit and lead to a waste of resources.

About Land Surveyors

These are specialists that have to fuse pieces of math, physics, law, and engineering knowledge to figure out and mark land boundaries accurately. The job of a surveyor is much more than going into the field with a tape, rods, and a calculator. Specific equipment such as prisms, GPS-enabled devices, 3D scanners, radios, etc. are used to make the surveying exercise as accurate as possible.

Why Land Surveys Are Done

Firstly, it is to mark out exactly where your piece of land stops or starts if you are a landowner that is planning to sell. Also, the survey lets you know exactly how much land you are giving away, and this guides your asking price. Secondly, the reverse is the case for land buyers because they conduct surveys to know how much land they are getting after the purchase. Additionally, if the buyers are taking mortgages from banks for the property, they may be required to conduct a land survey as part of the requirements. Furthermore, land surveys are carried out to resolve boundary disputes that occur between landowners and their neighbors. Other reasons include;

Construction of a structure

A survey is needed to guide a landowner to knowing the right structures to develop on the land. For instance, because of the soil profile in an area, the construction of tall buildings might have catastrophic impacts in the long run.

Getting an old land survey up-to-date

A landowner might have owned a property for decades, and for some reason, a project has to be carried on the property. He or she might be required to update the land survey information before they can proceed because some landmarks that have been used to show a boundary of the land has been wiped away over time.

Easement location

The land might come with certain easements, i.e., the right to use another individual’s property to gain access to your land or, generally, the legal right to pass through someone’s land. A survey will let a landowner know the extent to which your easement stretches.

Different Land Survey Types

The form of land survey that the Land Surveyor normally uses depends on the intent of the exercise. For example, the land survey technique of used for tracing lines of the property differs from that used to split up land segments, and so on. Hence, the common land survey types are as follows;

Boundary Survey

This is done to ascertain the precise location of a land border and its corners. The reason for this type is mostly to resolve legal land disputes or for easement location. Also, it can be used just to keep personal records.

Construction Survey

Here, the land surveyor is to mark out the limits for a structure that is to be constructed, so the builders know the precise locations to erect structures and the amount of space to leave between the proposed structures.

Location Survey

This type is akin to the boundary survey mentioned above but the key difference is that it also accounts for improvements to a site. It indicates where upgrades to the site will be as well as the size planned for them. It also reflects the distance between the lines of the property and the changes to the site. In a nutshell, landowners use this survey type for zoning permits.

Topographic Survey

This survey shows where in the piece of land human-made and natural structures are situated. These items include, but are not limited to, streams, fences, ponds, buildings, bridges, etc. This is done when engineers want to plan improvements to the site.

ALTA Survey

In the United States, whenever a person wants to buy a house, they are required to perform an ALTA survey (also called a Mortgage Survey) before they collect the loan. The full meaning is the American Land Title Association and is a prerequisite for the issuance of title insurance.

Site-planning Survey

This survey requires the surveyor to mark out the precise location of the structure to be built or improvements to be made inside the boundary survey carried out earlier. It is for the construction of a house, an improvement of the site or for application of building permits.

Getting Land Survey Documents

If you pay a visit to a building department office in your area, you can find a copy of the land survey document of your land or the land that you are interested in. In some cases, they may be kept among the files in the offices of a local land recorder or tax assessor. Also, since companies demand ALTA surveys before they give title insurance, you can find land survey documents there.

Conclusion

Land Surveying is a technical exercise that should be as error-free as possible. Ensure that the person taking the survey is licensed and experienced so that there would be certainty of a job well done. Furthermore, each state has varying requirements for land surveyors to meet to keep hold of their license, so before employing one, verify that they meet the state requirements. Also, pay attention and be sure that the right survey type is being used for the correct purpose. Moreover, if you know a mortgage would be needed, you should conduct a survey before applying to speed up the loan process.

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