Adding a Fence or Building on Property

You need to protect your investment by making sure you are building on you own property. A dislocated fence, driveway or carport can cause legal problems and extra construction costs. Before you build, let a licensed land surveyor determine your property boundaries, replacing missing stakes if necessary. Allowing a surveyor to mark the location of your building on site before construction begins will also ensure that you meet setback requirements and other restrictions enforced by the municipality in their zoning laws. Failure to comply with zoning By-Laws could result in the loss of a future sale if the purchasers have an up-to-date survey done. Mortgage lenders generally do not advance money until zoning law infringements are cleared up.

 

Subdividing Land

A licensed professional surveyor will:

• Check and ensure extent of title, and note planning restrictions, easements and other legalities

• Survey the site

• Engage other consultants to carry out preliminary studies, engineering, planning & environmental issues to submit with draft plan

• Draft a proposed subdivision plan

• Prepare final plans

 

Selling Property

You may have to provide your buyer with an up-to-date survey of your property in order to:

• Give your buyer confidence in the purchase

• Allow your buyer to register the transaction at the county clerk’s office

• Enable your buyer to make mortgage arrangements. Verify to your buyer the size and extent of the property

• Avoid later legal disputes arising from inadequate or inaccurate property description.
   

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Buying Property

You need to know what you’re getting. Only a map of the survey made by a licensed land surveyor can define what you’ve purchased. You will be able to find out:

• Whether other people are entitled to partial use of your property through easements for utilities or rights-of-way.

• Whether your deed describes your property accurately

• Your survey thus gives you a form of protection in addition to clarifying what you’ve bought, since it will reveal any encroachments or other irregularities that might be the cause of later legal disputes. In addition, your surveyor can mark the exact corners of your site with survey monuments.
   

​Refinancing/Obtaining a Mortgage

A mortgage company, whether it is a bank, trust company or others, usually requires a survey before it will lend money.

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The mortgage company will require the survey to protect their investment. It wants to be sure that the land and buildings on which it is lending money are as described in the documents which accompany the transaction. Also, it wishes to know that if it has to foreclose, there will be no problems in re-selling the property.
 

According to Pennsylvania law, only surveys made by licensed and registered Pennsylvania land surveyors are legal. Only registered land surveyors have completed the academic requirements and practical training before licensing. Only registered land surveyors are required to maintain the necessary theoretical, practical and ethical standards set by legislation.
 

Property Line Disputes/Assurance

In cases of dispute, your surveyor is an expert witness in court and assumes full professional responsibility for the accuracy of your survey. The cost of the survey as a percentage of your total investment is small and a reasonable price to pay for peace of mind.