Get a Survey!!

I have people ask me all the time if they should get a survey when buying a home.  Most cost between $350 and $400.  If there is an old plat on file with the county, many buyers would like to keep a few dollars in their pockets by not ordering a new one.

I try to help clients make their own decision by give examples of what can go wrong if you don't get a new survey.  Yesterday I added a great story to my arsenal.  One of my current clients is a family member, so I told him that he should get a survey... other clients get to make their own decisions, but I tell relatives what to do :)  When the survey came back, we found that a brick parking pad was extending over the neighbor's property line by 1.2'.  The current owners hadn't had a survey completed and had no idea that there were boundary infringements.  The person they had bought the home from used the parking pad for boat storage and it didn't appear on the plat that is currently sitting at the county office.

Let's just say, for example, that this client of mine had opted out of having a survey and the next-door neighbors decided to sell.  If those buyers had a survey completed, and they probably would because of the age of the area and boundary issues on Lake Murray, my family member would have been responsible for the removal of the infringing parking pad... even though it was built three owners ago.  A parking pad is a very, very small issue in the world of boundary infringements.  It could have been much worse.  Do yourself a favor and get a survey!!