Errors in survey might not be problematic

Ilyce Glink and Samuel Tamkin

Q: When we purchased land, we had a new survey done. During our construction process, our lender required that the footprint of the house be pinned on the survey.

We hired a new survey company, and it came back with quite different results than our original survey. The first company missed a fence that cuts off about 45 feet of our property. They also missed a culvert that changed the placement of the house.

Our real-estate agent contacted the title company for guidance and the title company contacted the surveying company, but it has been more than 30 days and no one has responded. What is our recourse?

A: When you want a top-notch survey, ask the surveyor to give you an ALTA survey. This type of survey is guided by the standards developed by the American Land Title Association. There are also survey standards developed by the American Congress of Surveying and Mapping. In either instance, a surveyor performing to those standards must abide by strict guidelines.

Residential properties typically don’t reach a level where an ALTA or ACSM survey would be required, but state laws frequently have minimum guidelines.

We don’t know what type of survey you received, but the good news is you seem to have purchased (or received) title insurance on your property.

What are your damages? If you and your neighbor are able to resolve the fence issue without further issue, and the culvert didn’t cause monetary harm, you might not have damages to claim.

But if either of these have become huge issues, you might have to file a claim against the title company. Consult with a real-estate attorney who has experience in filing title-insurance claims.