What can Your Agent Help You With?: Property Surveys
You’ve heard that it takes a village to raise a child. At EXP, we also say that it takes a team to sell your home.
When you hire an EXP agent, you are hiring an entire team of highly experienced real estate professionals. Our agents have an average of 15+ years of full-service real estate experience. And in that time, they’ve developed relationships with many of the area’s top service professionals.
In our “What can Your Agent Help You With?” series, we’ll break down 15 services that your agent can help you with. Today’s topic: Property Surveys.
Your Agent can Help You with Property Surveys
The first rule to real estate is knowing what you have. Property surveys let you draw a box around your property for sale and mark its relationship to surrounding lots.
Our agents are prepared to combine their experience and market analysis tools with your first-hand knowledge of the home and property to get you top market value. A key tool in this process is the property survey.
What is a Property Survey?
A property survey identifies the boundaries of a parcel of land. Property surveys are used for deeds, construction, or other legal documents related to land ownership or sale.
During a property survey, a professional surveyor determines the precise location of the property line and maps the location of roads, buildings, and other features that might determine changes to the property line. Survey reports also include restrictions on what may be built on a property, where new structures must be located, how large they can be, and the appropriate depths for building foundations.
Property survey services include:
Boundary surveys.
Topographic surveys.
Construction surveys.
Subdivision surveys.
Flood certifications.
Property surveyors generally work for the local county office responsible for determining boundary lines, identifying easements and rights-of-way, and noting encroachments that may affect a home’s title. In other cases, surveyors work for engineering firms and other private companies.
When would You Need a Property Survey?
Property surveys are recommended to all home buyers, though they are optional in North Carolina. Surveys tell buyers exactly where the property’s boundaries are, what easements are tied to the lot, and where the setback lines are. Setback lines help buyers determine where they can add any additional buildings or major home installations, like a swimming pool. Home buyers pay for property surveys as part of their closing costs. Property surveys usually range from $250–$1,000, depending on the size and complexity of the property.
As a seller, you should already have a survey in the files from your home purchase. Your property’s survey and plat map should be among the documents you collect for your real estate agent before you list your home for sale.
How do You Find a Qualified Property Surveyor?
A qualified property surveyor should be able to examine your deed, property description, and any existing property markers, such as iron pins. They should be able to use this information to draw a new survey map and produce a full survey report for you.
An important step in hiring a property surveyor, like any home professional, is asking for multiple estimates and checking credentials. It also helps if your surveyor is an expert in your local community. It’s easy to do a quick internet search for local surveyors in North Carolina. But why worry whether you’re contracting the best surveyor in town when you can be sure?