Boundary Surveys

When buying a property or a building you may be grappled with many uncertain situations such as whether the property boundaries are accurate or whether the neighbor’s boundary or fence is at the correct position. Is the building at the right place without violating the local authority laws?

There are many instances, buyers had faced with boundary disputes which has resulted in even death. It is important to note that a trivial boundary issue can turn into nightmare, when adequate precautions are not taken to check the property boundaries before buying. So one should be aware of the measures or steps that are available for yourself when buying a property or in entering to a purchase agreement. Similarly, the solutions available for solving boundary problems.

If you do a through inspection of the property, the obvious encroachments by the neighbor, temporary shed, and other structures can be observed without any hassle. However, there are encumbrances that are not obvious, may exists. These types of encumbrances are more common on properties which are mostly bare land without any improvements. In such situations, a surveyor has to be employed to find out the exact legal boundaries including ascertaining any boundary encroachments exist or any changes (to natural drainage or trees) to landscape has happened due to natural causes.

Moreover, its important to understand how real estate agents go about dealing with property matters. Initially, the real estate agent visits the property for sale and visually check the property boundaries. If any obvious encumbrances are noticed, he will refer the plat map and the legal description of the property or even measure the property boundaries or request the seller to higher a professional surveyor.

Why you need a property or boundary survey? The boundary survey will essentially capture all the encumbrances pertaining to boundary or fence lines. Without the proper establishment of the property legal boundary the seller or the real estate agent cannot:
• Know the actual value of the property or whether it can be sold without the title insurance.
• Indicate the legal boundaries to the buyer
• Know whether any objections to the title could come from the adjoining owner.

This means, if you buy a property without taking into account of the problems associated with the property, you will certainly going to face unnecessary costs, litigation and delays.

If your are to avoid such problems, its advisable to follow the following:
* Do a through visual check on the property and at the same time check whether there are boundary problems? Its better to work closely with the seller and the adjoining property owners if possible.
* Make sure to enter into a purchase agreement subject to obtaining reliable, and acceptable or verifiable information on the property boundaries. This may include, a surveying firm’s examining the title including your attorney.
In the case the boundary problems cannot be resolved quickly, and you are still interested in buying the property, its better to negotiate the price including making some allowances for the associated encumbrances or risks. Hence, the boundary survey is an essential aspect in buying process of a property. It will certainly prevent your loosing your lift time investment in a property.

Additionally, its always better to take a title insurance if you intend to construct a house on the invested property. The title insurance company will insist or carryout a boundary survey to ascertain any encroachments or other problems are exist. Some times, the title insurance may not be available for you due to risks associated with property and will eventually have a bearing on your anticipated mortgage facility.

Article Source: http://www.mycontentbuilder.com

Land Surveys Pty Ltd are licensed surveyors and provide a complete array of surveying services in Perth & Karratha, Western Australia.

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