The following questions and answers were taken from a brochure entitled, “Questions and Answers about Boundary Surveys,” written and published by the Maine Society of Land Surveyors:
A boundary survey determines the property lines of a parcel of land described in a deed. It will also indicate the extent of any easements (rights of others to use the land) or encroachments (unjustified use of the property by others) and may show the limitations imposed on the property by state or local regulations.
A survey is strongly recommended before buying, subdividing, improving or building on land. Surveying the parcel before these activities ensures that the expense and frustration of defending a lawsuit, moving a building or resolving a boundary dispute can be avoided.
A mortgage inspection is not a survey. It is merely a surveyor’s opinion that the buildings and major improvements appear to be located on the property described in the deed. Many lending institutions require this Inspection to check for obvious problems with the parcel such as encroachments, zoning violations and the need for flood insurance, but it does not determine whether the boundaries described in the deed are correct. This service is explained in greater detail in the Maine Society of Land Surveyors’ brochure titled “Mortgage Loan Inspections – What they are – What they are not.”
Clear title means that the owner has a lawful right to sell the property. It does not locate or identify the property on the face of the earth and does not guarantee that the acreage is correct. In addition, title insurance policies do not insure the buyer against defects that would have been discovered if a full boundary survey had been performed.
The surveyor thoroughly examines the historical records relating to the land in question and often all the land surrounding it. In addition to the Registry of Deeds this research may include: the Registry of Probate, county commissioners’ offices, town offices, historical associations and the Department of Transportation. The surveyor may also talk with prior owners and adjoiners.
The field work begins after the research and involves establishing a control network of known points called a traverse. The points are used to search for and locate existing monuments and other evidence of the boundaries. Although the field portion of a survey is the most visible phase of surveying, it usually represents only a third of the entire project.
The results of the field work are compared with the research and the surveyor then reconciles all the information to arrive at a final conclusion about the boundaries. A second field trip is then needed to set the new monuments. Finally, the surveyor will draft a plan, prepare a legal description and write a report.
The cost of a boundary survey depends’ on many variables, some of which can not be known until after the work has started. The size, terrain, vegetation, location and season affect the charges and can usually be estimated fairly accurately. However, the surveyor will not know if deeded monuments are missing or if they conflict with the description until well into the survey.
The complexity of the research is also usually not known until the surveyor begins the actual work. Some parcels have passed through many owners over the years. Some may have added adjacent parcels or sold off portions of the original lot. The more out parcels and consolidations there have been, the more complex and costly the research becomes. Many deeds are “abutter deeds” which use the neighbors’ names to define the boundaries. In some cases it may be necessary to research parcels far removed from the land being surveyed to assemble the jigsaw puzzle of old deeds and it is not unusual for the research to account for 50% or more of the total survey cost.
Depending on the services agreed on, a boundary survey may produce: 1)
Monuments at all property corners; 2) A written description of the property; 3) A plan of the property; and 4) A report explaining the basis of decisions and judgments made to determine the boundaries.
This also depends on what the client and the surveyor have agreed to. Monument may include wooden posts, iron pins or pipes, marked trees or concrete monuments. Maine survey standards require that each monument set by a surveyor must clearly show his or her license number. Additionally, you may want to have the surveyor blaze and/or paint trees along the boundary line.
Unless the client specifically excludes a plan from the scope of services, State rules require that one be prepared. The plan provides the client with a permanent record of the survey. If any of the monuments are lost or destroyed, they can be replaced with the information shown on the plan. All plans must be embossed and signed by the surveyor indicating that the survey conforms to State standards and that the surveyor has checked the work and stands ready to defend it.
If a plan is prepared, you should also record it in the Registry of Deeds. This not only preserves the work for future reference, but also puts the public on notice that the area shown has been thoroughly researched and documented. In a sense, it provides insurance against most claims or disputes.
Your lender requires title insurance covering certain boundary related problems. In order to provide that insurance, your lender’s title insurance company requires that a surveyor perform a Mortgage Loan Inspection.
A Mortgage Loan Inspection (sometimes improperly called a “Plot Plan” or “Class D Survey”) is a land surveyor’s professional opinion, based upon preliminary information, of the relative location of the apparent boundary lines of a given parcel of land and the obvious improvements thereon.
Your lender requires title insurance covering certain boundary related problems. In order to provide that insurance, your lender’s title insurance company requires that a surveyor perform a Mortgage Loan Inspection.
The purpose of the inspection is to detect major boundary problems that would affect the security of your lender’s loan. If the inspection indicates there are no such problems, the title insurer will provide boundary title insurance coverage for the lender. This coverage is for the lender only, not you. The only way for you to get this type of coverage is to have a full Boundary Survey performed.
No. With a Boundary Survey, the surveyor says to you, the property owner, “These are your boundaries.” With a Mortgage Loan Inspection, the surveyor says to your lender and its title insurer, “Based upon some preliminary research and field inspection, these are what the boundaries appear to be.”
The processes involved and resultant costs are drastically different. A Mortgage Loan Inspection includes a review of the current deed description, approximate field measurements during which monuments found are assumed to be correct, and the drafting of a rough sketch. In the past, a Mortgage Loan Inspection generally has cost about $150 to $300. It is paid for by the borrower(s).
A Boundary Survey is much more involved. It normally includes extensive research of your property and all abutters (often back one hundred years or more), precise field work, the evaluation of conflicting boundary evidence, extensive mathematical computations, and monumentation of all corners. Products of a complete Boundary Survey include the preparation of a detailed plan suitable for recording in the county Registry of Deeds, and the drafting of a revised deed description and survey report. The cost of a professionally done Boundary Survey is seldom less than $1000 and is frequently much more depending on the size and complexity of the survey and the needs of the client.
Not necessarily. Due to the greatly different processes involved, there obviously are many boundary problems that a Boundary Survey will detect that a Mortgage Loan Inspection will not. Therefore, if the actual location of your boundaries is critical, you should contact a surveyor to determine whether or not you need a Boundary Survey.
The inspection was not prepared for your use. It was prepared for your lender and its title insurer. Therefore, if you use the inspection for any purpose, you do so at your own risk.
Specifically, you should not use an inspection for anything that requires the physical location of your boundaries on the ground including the erection of fences, landscaping, land use permitting (including variance requests), or the planning or building of additions, garages, sheds, pools, etc.
Other Frequently Asked Questions:
Possibly. It will depend on many factors including what type of survey you had done, whether that surveyor set the markers, the reason or basis for setting them, and the condition of any remaining markers, etc. That question can usually be answered after reviewing the prior survey plan. It may require deed research to verify that the boundaries shown on the prior survey are, in our opinion, correct before we can set new markers.
Usually not. It is rare that the location of one boundary line can be determined without surveying at least some of your other boundaries, and possibly some of your neighbors’ boundaries, because the locations of property lines are relative to the locations of other property lines. However, there are situations where one line can be determined without accurately surveying all the other boundaries of the parcel. Deed research and a site inspection of the property may be required before that question can be answered.
Under Maine survey standards, if we set boundary markers, we are providing a professional opinion that we have marked the location of the line based on the best evidence we could find. Therefore, we basically have to go through the process of a boundary survey. At a minimum, we would first have to research the deed records to determine the source of the deed description and whether it correctly describes the boundaries. Then we would have to look for physical evidence of the boundaries on the ground and make measurements of what we find to be analyzed and compared with the information derived from the deed research. Your deed may have been based on a survey; and if so, the survey would be taken into consideration in the analysis process. However, serious errors can occur in the survey itself, in the drafting of the survey plan, or in the drafting of the deed. Deed descriptions have often been copied over and over again with each transfer of ownership and sometimes errors occur either as typos or by someone attempting to “update” the description without having a survey done.
It depends on what your goals are. We usually do site plans to provide information required for compliance with state or municipal regulations before improvements are made to a lot. Often, builders and architects will require a site plan before beginning any design work, especially if the lot is small or near wetlands or water bodies. A site plan may include determination of and mapping the location of Shoreland and Flood Zone lines and setback lines from environmentally protected wetlands or vernal pools. Other frequently required information is topography, building height, and percent of lot coverage. A site plan does not include a boundary survey. It covers the area inside the boundaries rather than the boundaries themselves. In many cases, a boundary survey has already been done before a site plan is done. If not, a boundary survey may also be necessary in order to determine property line setbacks and percent of lot coverage.