“And the Survey Says!”
April 26th, 2007 by Rich JacobsonAs a Buyer, one thing you need to be mindful of in the buying process is property corners. This isn’t always as important of an issue in residential developments, but more usually in rural properties, or vacant land. Still, if it’s important to you, have your agent explain your options. Let me give you some examples why this can be so vital:
I represented a Buyer on a really nice single-story home (what we call a “rambler” out here, a “ranch-style” home elsewhere). It was situated on a half-acre wooded parcel in a small 40 home residential development.
During our final walk-thru, the previous owners showed us all the various features of the property, including where they believed the approximate property corners were situated (you seasoned agents know where this going, right?)
After closing, my Buyers began to make the place their own. They spent a huge amount of time and sweat trimming back the overgrowth in the yard (a very common battle here in Washington!), cut ouf a few paths, and tore down some wood fencing that was old and rotting. Removing the fence really opened up their lot and made it feel less confining. Plus, there was a significant amount of natural growth or green buffer to act as barrier between their house and the neighbors. According to the previous owners, the property line was actually about 10 feet over towards the neighbor’s yard from where the fence was.
Shortly after my folks pulled down the fence, the next-door neighbor went on a massive ”de-foliage” campaign. He pulled up every bush and shrub right up to the point where the fence used to be. This effectively eliminated any amount of natural barrier between the two properties. The neighbor then erected a make-shift fence back where the old fence used to be. What once was a very lush and green landscape looked more like a moonscape!
Frustrated, my Buyers hired a professional surveyor to come out and mark the property corners. To their dismay, the property line extended right along the same line as where the old fence had been.
Another friend of mine purchased a vacant lot with the intent of building his family a dream home. The lot provided more than enough room for the footprint of home they wanted. Shortly after closing, as my friend was clearing some trees off the property, a man drove up in a BMW. He was dressed in suit and tie, and looked like a lawyer.
“Can I ask what you’re doing?” the Lawyer guy asked.
“Just clearing my property” replied my friend.
“Well, as soon as you’re done clearing ‘My’ lot, then I guess you’ll clear ‘Yours!
Turns out the the guy WAS a lawyer! And suddenly, the large expansive lot that my friend ‘thought’ he had purchased, was reduced to about a 1/3 of what he actually purchased. It was later determined that the Listing Agent was completely clueless as to what he was really selling and misrepresented the property corners.
Moral of the story? Never, ever take the previous owners, or the Listing Agent’s word on anything. After closing, they’re history. If property corners are a huge deal to you, consider having a line or boundary survey done prior to closing, or even condition the purchase contract on having a survey done to your satisfaction.
Or, you can simply be really generous, and clear someone else’s property!
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Did either of these situations end up in a lawsuit? Both could have been ugly. We do very few surveys in my market because property lines generally are pretty clear. I’ve often wondered what my liability would be if there was a problem and I’d not recommended a survey. Would I have culpability as the buyers agent or listing agent?