It is my feeling that every land property should be surveyed by a registered land surveyor as a contingency in a purchase contract.
I teach fellow Realtors and I explain to my sellers that since a seller is selliing his/her property that they should be responsible for showing what it is they are selling. However this is a NEGOTIABLE item in a purchase contract.
What’s NOT negotiable in my opinion, after 30 years of exclusively selling land, is that a survey should be done, even if paid by buyer. Legally, it’s not required.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, a recent survey discovered a portion of a neighbor’s house encroaching. And many times buyers are surprised, both good and bad, when they see the actual corners of the property.
The survey should be done during the buyer’s Inspection Period so if indeed there’s a house encroaching it gives buyer the option to cancel the contract or for buyer and seller to work together to remedy whatever the problem is.
