Almost all real estate deals will come into my office with a provision for the seller to provide a survey. If you are selling, be careful: you don’t want to offer more than you have.
First, to be a survey, it must have a proper mark on it from a licenced surveyor. Many people produce plans of subdivision or reference plans, believing these to be surveys. They are not.
Second, be careful about what kind of survey you are agreeing to provide. “A survey that shows the current location of all structures on the property” means that you have to provide a survey that shows the deck, pool, shed, and house. A pre-build survey that only shows the foundation will not do.
Third, be careful about providing a “legible” survey. Often, you received a copy of a copy when you bought. If all of the numbers cannot be read, then you can’t provide what you have agreed to do.
Getting a new survey done can be quite expensive. Even if there is a record online where you could order a survey that was previously done, in order to provide a legible copy, could cost you several hundred dollars, depending on where it is ordered from. Before you sign on the line, be sure that you can actually provide what you are agreeing to. A real estate agreement is a binding contract, and what it says, rules.
