Land surveying determines precise property lines, size, and location of buildings, fences, retaining walls, driveways, and other structures. It also helps ensure that construction adheres to city planning regulations.
Without a land survey, you could get into legal trouble over encroachments or other boundary issues. You may also need a survey to fulfill mortgage requirements or other reasons.
Boundaries
Land surveyors define property boundaries for a variety of reasons. These include resolving disputes between neighbors, providing evidence for a mortgage loan, or pinpointing the location of structures and improvements.
A land survey can also reveal critical topographical details such as erosion, flood-prone areas, and complex plot details. This information is vital for building a structure and meeting zoning regulations.
A boundary survey is one of the most common types of land surveys in Manhattan, NY, and it typically takes a week or more to complete. That is mainly because the process involves fieldwork and research with local records.
Subdivisions
Property owners who want to build a new house in an existing subdivision often need a land survey. These surveys provide a snapshot of the terrain, allowing construction professionals to plan building structures.
Developing subdivisions takes market research and careful consideration of the location of amenities, lot size and shape, and neighborhood appeal. It also requires a thorough understanding of local zoning regulations.
A land survey can help determine your property boundaries and prevent neighbor disputes. For example, a surveyor can place stakes at the property corners to prevent your neighbors from constructing improvements on your plot.
Zoning
During construction, land surveys provide detailed information that guides the project. They reveal building codes and zoning restrictions the contractor must adhere to during construction.
Land surveyors also check zoning violations from natural events or legal disputes over property lines. These issues often come to light during real estate transactions.
Property owners may be held responsible for violating local laws or building on someone else’s property. Land surveying is a vital part of the real estate industry that can prevent such incidents and settle disputes.
Buildings
Land surveys help determine the ideal placement of buildings, roads, railroads, dams, retention pools, and more. This crucial information is necessary for the success of a construction project to be protected from conflicting property lines and legal disputes between neighbors or government agencies.
A survey can also provide critical information such as the exact dimensions of a property, pinpointing easements, and noting whether a parcel is in a flood zone. These details are essential to homebuyers looking to put a structure on their land or builders considering future construction projects.
Easements
Property boundaries change over time, and periodic re-surveying is essential. Natural events, human activities, and legal disputes can impact property lines.
Awareness of your property boundaries is essential to help avoid potential encroachment issues with your neighbors. A survey also ensures that your new construction remains within your property limits.
Property surveys can help you understand what kind of underground infrastructure exists on your property, like power and sewage lines. These utility companies often have easements on properties to allow maintenance. A survey will tell you where these lines are so that you can avoid damaging them during a construction project.
Encroachments
A property survey is one of the best ways to prevent or resolve encroachment issues. This real estate infringement involves structures like fences, gardens, and driveways that infringe on neighboring plots. Although encroachments may seem harmless, they can create legal disputes and reduce the value of the properties. Encroachments are common problems that surface during mortgage applications and inspections and can even derail the process.
Structural encroachments typically involve neighbors building structures too close to the property lines. Easements, on the other hand, allow neighbors to access land for practical reasons.
Floodplains
Land surveys are crucial to ensuring the safety and compliance of property development projects. That is especially true for land in flood zones, where a survey can provide important information about the risk of flooding and insurance requirements.
A floodplain is a flat area surrounding a river, lake, or stream. These areas are designed to store and slowly release floodwaters into the main river channel so natural systems downstream aren’t overwhelmed.
These lands are also vital for wildlife habitat and help recharge underground water sources (or aquifers) used to grow crops. They can even reduce erosion by slowing the flow of river waters.
