Myths About Land Surveying and Property Lines in New Braunfels, TX
Even if you have owned your property for years, you may have never had your own land survey performed to clearly determine the surrounding property lines. This is not uncommon; in fact, many homeowners and commercial property owners don’t look into hiring a land surveyor until something comes up, like a legal dispute with a neighbor or needing to build a privacy fence for the first time. Additionally, people don’t realize the amount of work it takes to survey land.
There are many misconceptions about the work and research that goes into a boundary survey in New Braunfels, TX. One that tops the list is that the process is simple—that a surveyor only has to come and mark out your property lines according to official records, and then they’re done. But this is simply not the case. The process is complex, a lot of information has to be gathered—such as finding historical deeds, original boundary markers and landmarks—before property lines can officially be determined.
To help you better understand the role of a land surveyor, let’s take a look at some of the most common myths surrounding land surveying and property lines in New Braunfels, TX.
Myth #1: You don’t need a survey if you’re pretty sure you know where the property lines are.
You and/or your neighbor already know where the property lines are, so all you need is a survey to make it official, right? Professionals say that you’d be surprised how often presumed property lines are incorrect. Sometimes, the land surveyor will take the property deed and read the legal jargon to discover the location of the boundary lines are much different than the owner expected.
Myth #2: Your property goes all the way to the fence line.
Don’t assume that your property and the fence line are one and the same. While the fence is typically a decent visual indicator of land ownership between two properties, a land survey could expose encroachment. A surveyor will tell you that it’s not unusual for structures, buildings, fences and walls to get built over property lines, whether by accident or after a mutual agreement between landowners. In short, real proper ownership is what’s defined in legal description in the property deed.
Myth #3: A land surveyor will “find” more land for you.
Your goal shouldn’t be to find more square footage. The point of a land survey is to clarify what is written in the original property deed, to retrace previous surveyors and properly identify the property rights of landowners.
Myth #4: An approximate boundary survey is perfectly fine.
Being more focused on the cost of the survey rather than on getting good results can lead property owners to want a rough survey. Land surveyors take their jobs seriously, because they want to provide you with accurate findings. As such, they don’t do “approximate” boundary surveys. Also keep in mind that others are relying on the survey, too, including adjoining landowners and future owners of the property.
If you would like more information about getting a land, boundary or topographic survey in New Braunfels, TX, feel free to contact the experts at Bettersworth & Associates, Inc.!
Categorised in: Boundary Survey, Property Lines, Topographic Survey