Buying land is a major financial decision, whether you are purchasing a home, an undeveloped lot, or property for a future construction project. It can be tempting to focus on the location, price, size, and potential of the property. However, understanding exactly what you are buying is just as important.
A property survey can provide useful information about boundaries, measurements, easements, and other features of the land. For buyers in Bolton, CT, getting the right survey at the right stage can help identify potential concerns before a purchase is completed.
What Is a Property Survey?
A property survey is a professional examination and measurement of land. A surveyor uses available records, field measurements, and other information to establish or verify property boundaries and document relevant features of the site.
Depending on the type of survey, the information may include property lines, existing improvements, easements, rights-of-way, monuments, structures, and other features.
The specific survey needed depends on the property and the reason you are purchasing it. A buyer planning to build on vacant land may need different information from someone purchasing an existing home.
Why Get a Survey Before Buying Land?
One of the main reasons to consider a survey before purchasing property is to understand the land more clearly before committing to the transaction.
Property records and descriptions can provide important information, but they may not answer every practical question a buyer has about the site. A survey can help clarify where boundaries are located and identify conditions that could affect future use.
This can be particularly important if you are planning to build, add an addition, install a fence, create a driveway, or make other improvements.
When Should You Order the Survey?
Ideally, a buyer should consider surveying before the purchase is finalized, particularly when property boundaries or development potential are important to the decision.
The exact timing can depend on the transaction, the property, and the type of survey required. If a survey reveals an issue that affects how you plan to use the property, knowing about it before closing gives you more information when making decisions.
For example, discovering an unexpected boundary, easement, or access issue after purchasing the property can be much more difficult than identifying it during the due-diligence process.
Check the Property Boundaries
Property boundaries are one of the most important things a buyer may want to understand.
A fence, driveway, landscaping feature, or other visible marker does not necessarily establish the legal property line. Existing features may have been installed without accurately following the boundary.
A professional survey can help establish the location of property lines based on available records and field evidence. This can be especially useful when neighboring properties are close together or when the property has an irregular shape.
Look for Easements and Rights-of-Way
An easement can allow another person or organization to use part of a property for a specific purpose. For example, an easement may relate to access, utilities, drainage, or another legal right.
An easement does not necessarily mean that you cannot buy or use the property. However, understanding one before purchasing is important because it may affect what you can build or change in certain areas.
Rob Hellstrom Land Surveying, LLC explains that easements can give another person or organization lawful use of part of a property for a specific purpose.
Consider Your Future Building Plans
If you are purchasing land because you want to build, a property survey can be only one part of the information you need.
You may also need information about topography, drainage, utilities, access, zoning, wetlands, and other site conditions. These factors can affect whether your proposed project is practical and what additional planning may be required.
The company’s Bolton site-development information specifically identifies boundaries, topographic information, existing site conditions, utilities, drainage, access, and feasibility as factors that should be reviewed before development.
For buyers considering future construction, site development planning in Bolton, CT can be an important part of understanding the property before moving forward.
What If the Property Has a Complicated Shape?
Some properties are relatively straightforward, while others have unusual boundaries, multiple access points, slopes, wooded areas, streams, or neighboring improvements close to the property line.
In these situations, understanding the actual layout of the land can be especially useful.
A survey can give buyers a clearer picture of the property rather than relying solely on a listing photograph or general property description.
A Survey Can Help With Future Improvements
Even if you are not planning construction immediately, knowing the property’s boundaries can be useful later.
You may eventually want to build a fence, shed, garage, driveway, addition, pool, or other improvement. Having reliable information about the property can make future planning easier.
It can also help reduce uncertainty when discussing potential improvements with contractors, engineers, planners, or other professionals.
What Information Should You Give the Surveyor?
Before beginning a survey, the surveyor may need information about the property and your reason for requesting the survey. Existing deeds, property records, previous surveys, plans, and other documents may be useful.
The type of project you are considering can also affect what information is needed. Someone buying land for residential construction may require different information from someone purchasing a property simply as an investment.
Rob Hellstrom Land Surveying, LLC notes that surveyors may need a variety of documents and recommends contacting the firm to discuss the specific information required.
Surveying and Site Planning Can Work Together
For a buyer planning to develop land, surveying is often part of a larger planning process. Accurate property information can provide a foundation for civil engineering, land-use planning, concept plans, feasibility studies, and permitting.
The firm provides surveying, civil engineering, and land-use planning services for residential and commercial properties and has operated in eastern Connecticut since 1990.
You can also review Rob Hellstrom Land Surveying, LLC for information about its surveying, civil engineering, and land-use planning services.
What If You Are Already Under Contract?
If you have already signed a purchase agreement, it may still be worthwhile to ask whether a survey is appropriate before closing. The available time, terms of the agreement, and type of property can affect what can realistically be completed during the transaction.
A surveyor can explain what type of survey may be appropriate based on your intended use of the property.
Make the Land Purchase With Better Information
A property survey is not simply about drawing lines on a map. It can help a buyer understand what they are purchasing and identify information that may matter for future use of the property.
For someone buying land in Bolton, CT, consider obtaining the appropriate survey early enough in the purchasing process to understand boundaries, easements, access, and other relevant site conditions.
If the property is intended for development, it can also be useful to look beyond the boundary survey and consider the site’s topography, drainage, utilities, zoning, and overall feasibility.
Taking these steps before finalizing a purchase can give you a clearer understanding of the land and help you plan future improvements with better information.
