Land surveying is a necessary part of many real estate transactions. This is particularly true when resolving disputes or questions about property lines.
A land survey is a detailed snapshot of your property. Many professionals utilize these surveys, including engineers and architects building homes or commercial structures.
Identifying the Purpose of the Survey
Land surveys help you determine the boundaries of your property and how you can use it. They can also provide details about the natural features of your area, such as flood-prone areas, soil and structural issues, and more. They’re crucial in real estate transactions and can save you from costly construction mistakes.
They can also inform you of property limitations, such as easements and encroachments. This is particularly important if you’re planning to build an expensive structure that may infringe on a neighbor’s property.
Banks won’t know what they’re lending money on without a land survey, and construction crews won’t know where to start building. Land surveying can also give you accurate valuation information for financial statements and estate planning purposes.
Civil engineering teams depend on land surveys to establish precise property boundaries for road and bridge projects. This can prevent costly legal disputes and increase public satisfaction with the project.
Identifying the Boundaries
A boundary survey is the most basic type of land survey. It identifies and sets your property’s boundaries with physical markers. This provides legal verification of what you own and can prevent property disputes with neighbors or title companies.
Before beginning fieldwork, the surveyor checks deed records for the parcel and the adjoining properties to be surveyed. Then, the surveyor performs a physical evaluation of the land. They look for monuments marked in the ground and identify the locations of existing fence lines, buildings, and other improvements.
The surveyor retraces the property’s boundaries using the most up-to-date technology for measurements. While measurements have become more repeatable, unforeseen circumstances like equipment of different precisions and unmarked property corners can result in inaccurate findings.
An experienced survey team that is well-educated in retracement techniques is vital to ensure accurate boundaries. This is especially important in urban areas where many streets have been monumented with stone.
Identifying the Landmarks
A land survey is a vital component of real estate transactions and essential for homeowners. It ensures that your home, new driveway, or other structure is not encroaching on your neighbor’s property line or blocking an easement.
The process of surveying a region is a multi-step one. It establishes two controlling survey lines: a baseline and a principal meridian. These lines, along with standard parallels of latitude, form a lattice that’s used to locate the boundaries of rectangular surveys within a given area.
Before the use of modern technology, these processes took a lot of work. Surveyors would spend hours or even days recording notes and running calculations by hand. With GIS data design, however, it’s now possible for these professionals to collect and analyze spatial data more quickly. This improves efficiency and helps them produce more accurate results. As a result, they can save clients valuable time and money.
Identifying the Problems
Land surveying is an integral part of many real estate transactions. It is used to resolve disputes and address questions about property lines. However, knowing which type of survey you need is essential before hiring one. This will help you avoid problems that could delay your project or prevent it from progressing.
Many people are not familiar with the intricacies of a land survey, so they may be surprised when they receive a survey report that is difficult to understand. These surveys can include complex diagrams and symbols, so it is essential to take the time to read them carefully.
Civil engineering teams rely on land surveyors to provide accurate boundaries for construction projects. This ensures the structures fit on a given piece of land and reduces safety risks. It also helps engineers plan their tasks better and saves time by avoiding disputes with other property owners. Land surveying also enables more efficient infrastructure development by providing the correct information about land use, topography, and elevations.