Frequently Asked Questions:
WHY DO I NEED A SURVEYOR?
Contact a Surveyor if:- You're Selling Propery
- You're Buying Property
- Building Fencing or Adding on
- Refinancing or Obtaining a Mortgage
Your Assurance
Sale or Purchase of Land
What if I Only Need One Corner of my Property Set?
IT’S IN YOUR INTEREST TO CONTACT A SURVEYOR IF:
You are 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
You need to know what you're getting. Only survey maps made by a licensed land surveyor can define what you've purchased. Your surveyor will undertake the necessary research, survey the property and prepare a survey map that will reveal:
- Whether other people are entitled to partial use of your property through easements for utilities or rights-of-way.
- Whether fences, trees, buildings, gardens, embankments, driveways, walkways, swimming pools, house additions and other improvements are on your property.
- 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 property corners of your site with survey monuments.
You need to protect your investment by making sure you are building on your own property. An improperly located fence, driveway, carport or other improvements can cause legal problems and extra construction costs. Before you build, let a licensed land surveyor determine your property boundaries and replace 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 Adirondack Park Agency (APA) and the municipality in their zoning laws. Failure to comply with APA regulations and/or Zoning by-laws could result in you being required to remove or dismantle building, violations, and losing 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.
Refinancing or Obtaining a Mortgage
Do the lot size, building set backs, pool, fence and other improvements meet with APA and/or local Zoning Laws?
A mortgage company, whether it is a bank, trust company or others, usually requires a survey before they will lend money. Why is this a necessity and why are you often asked for an up-to-date survey?
The mortgage company will require the survey to protect their investment. They want to be sure that the land and buildings on which they are lending money are as described in the documents which accompany the transaction. They also wish to know that if they have to foreclose there will be no problems in re-selling the property.
According to New York State law, only surveys made by licensed and registered New York 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.
Depending on the nature and extent of the work, anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. We perform a reconnaissance to find natural monuments, relevant monuments, old markers and local control points, sometimes buried or nearly inaccessible, being sure to verify their correctness. We then spend time computing the distances and angles from the control points to your property.
A mountainous parcel of land is more difficult to survey than a level parcel of land. Heavy shrubs, trees and boulders along the property lines can make survey measurements difficult.
We then run a traverse (a route) from the found control monuments to your parcel and lastly set your property corners. We always make note of any encroachments (walls, out buildings, roofs of adjacent homes, driveways, etc.). We then graphically illustrate and certify every service we provide either with a Plat or Letter of Certification.
You may find it interesting to know that a surveyor is held responsible for his work until he dies.
Fees for surveys are determined on an individual basis, depending mainly on the amount of time required for the research and the survey. Prior to engaging your surveyor, you may wish to inquire an estimate of the fees that the survey will entail, along with the expected completion date.In cases of dispute, your surveyor assumes full professional responsibility for the accuracy of your survey and can be an expert witness in court. The cost of the survey as a percentage of your total investment is small and a reasonable price to pay for peace of mind.
Typically your house and land represent your largest assets. If you are contemplating purchasing property, you should know as much as possible about the piece of land in which you are going to invest. Obtaining a survey may be the most important thing you do before you close the deal on any purchase. Without a survey, you do not know the extent of your property, as only a licensed surveyor can provide you with this information. Without the survey, there is too much you do not know and you are risking both friendly neighbors and your investment.
It pays to know the boundaries of your land. A small distance can make a big difference. The erection of a fence can be the source of expensive litigation and ill will between neighbors. Your licensed land surveyor can help you avoid disputes.
What if I only need one corner of my property set?
Once the surveyor has researched your parcel, found the controlling monuments and performed the computations necessary to relate the found control to your property, has he established what we call “control”. Then, only after he has confirmed all the property lines of your parcel, can he set all of your corners in a reasonable amount of time.