Before undertaking any kind of building project, whether it’s a renovation, an addition, or landscaping, it’s essential to have a property boundary survey. Of equal importance is employing the services of an experienced engineering company like Advance Surveying & Engineering, whose experts can interpret the survey’s property lines, easements, and other project-essential information.
Property Survey – Overview
A property survey is most often completed before a person purchases a new home, but they’re sometimes associated with an extensive renovation to an existing property. Property surveys serve a dual purpose: for one, they are integral to confirming the property’s value, and two, they are necessary for confirming that the property doesn’t violate any municipal regulations. Both purposes are critically important, which is why a property survey goes into great detail to show the property’s boundary lines, its legal history, and the nature of its surroundings – i.e. driveways, yards, etc.
How To Find Your Property Survey
There are a few different ways to go about finding a property survey:
County Clerk’s Office
Sometimes property surveys are filed at either the local city or the county municipalities. Sometimes you may find your own survey, but it’s very likely that surveys conducted for previous landowners will be there too. Additionally, information on prior sales should be available, along with a history of the property’s deed. On the off-chance that a survey is unavailable or incomplete, you can refer to the county’s plat map: a map that shows your neighborhood’s lot lines, buildings, and streets.
Online
If you prefer to search online for your property’s survey, the best place to begin is the public records for the county/town the property is located in. Essentially, the same information you’d find at the local municipalities office, only digitized. Nowadays it’s increasingly common to find property records online – not only because we live in a digital age, but also because putting this information online means there’s one less responsibility for the county to be concerned with.
If you’re unable to find the survey online, look for a computerized version of the county’s plat map. Also, if the property has undergone one or more development phases (i.e. an extension added to a home), then the survey and the development plans will have been approved by the city/county zoning board. There’s a chance this information is stored at a different location, i.e. city hall or the county engineering department. It’s a good idea to give them a call and see what they have.
Your Title Company
If you don’t have the time to search for the property survey yourself, or you’re struggling to track it down, your title company can order a copy of the survey for you. There’s a small fee attached, but it beats combing through stacks of paperwork and it’s a good alternative if you simply have too much going on.
Talk With Us About Your Property Survey Needs
If the current property survey is out of date or unobtainable, Advance Surveying & Engineering will prepare a professional survey for you. With our extensive experience in commercial and residential surveying, you’ll be in good hands at every step of the process.