Question: Can You Skip the Survey When Buying a House?
Answer: Yes, you can skip the survey when buying a house. While not legally mandatory, it is risky. Lenders often accept title insurance in lieu of a recent survey, but this only offers financial protection for certain issues. A survey is the only way to accurately confirm property lines before closing.
Should You Get a Property Survey Before You Buy?
The home-buying journey involves many important steps. You find the right neighbourhood, attend showings, and secure financing. One question that often arises during this process is can you skip the survey when buying a house? Many buyers see it as another expense in an already costly transaction. They wonder if it is truly necessary, especially if the property looks straightforward. This decision, however, carries significant weight and can impact your ownership for years to come.
A property survey is a professional assessment of a property’s legal boundaries. It provides a detailed map of the land you are buying. Skipping this step to save money in the short term can lead to expensive and stressful problems later. Understanding what a survey provides and the risks you accept without one is critical. This knowledge empowers you to protect what is likely your largest financial investment and ensure your peace of mind.
A Property Survey’s Purpose
A property survey, officially known as a Surveyor’s Real Property Report (SRPR), is a certified document and diagram. A licensed surveyor creates it. This document clearly defines the exact dimensions and boundaries of your land. It shows the precise location of your house on the lot. It also pinpoints other significant features like sheds, decks, driveways, and fences. The survey confirms whether these structures are located entirely within your property lines.
This report also identifies any registered easements or rights-of-way. An easement gives another party the legal right to use a portion of your property for a specific purpose. For example, a utility company may have an easement to access power lines. The survey also reveals encroachments. An encroachment occurs when a structure from a neighbouring property, like a fence or garage, extends onto your land, or vice versa. This document gives you a factual, legally recognized picture of the property you intend to own.
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Why Title Insurance Is Not a Replacement
Some homebuyers believe title insurance makes a property survey redundant. This is a common and costly misunderstanding. Title insurance and a property survey serve different but complementary functions. Title insurance protects you from financial loss due to issues with the property’s title. It covers problems like title fraud, unknown liens from previous owners, or errors in public records. It is a form of protection against past events that cloud legal ownership.
However, most standard title insurance policies contain exceptions for issues that an up-to-date survey would have revealed. If you have a boundary dispute because your neighbour’s shed is on your land, your title insurance may not cover the cost of resolving it if you declined to get a new survey. Title insurance compensates you for covered losses after a problem arises. A survey is a proactive tool that identifies and helps you prevent these problems before you even close on the property. It provides certainty, while title insurance provides a financial safety net for specific risks.
When a Survey Is Absolutely Essential
While a survey is always a good idea, certain situations make it non-negotiable. If you plan any construction or major landscaping, you need a survey. This includes building an addition, a new garage, a swimming pool, or even a simple fence. A survey provides the exact canvas on which you can legally build. It ensures your new project complies with municipal setback requirements and does not encroach on a neighbour’s property or an unknown easement. Without it, you are building on assumptions that could prove very expensive.
A survey is also crucial when buying a property with unique features. This includes irregularly shaped lots, rural acreages with undefined boundaries, or properties with a shared driveway. In older neighbourhoods, where fences and sheds have stood for decades, a survey confirms that these long-standing structures are legally placed. If you notice any potential issues, such as a fence that appears to deviate from a straight line, a survey becomes your best tool for due diligence. It replaces guesswork with legal certainty.
Using an Existing Survey from the Seller
Sometimes, a seller will provide an existing survey with the property documents. This can be a useful starting point, but you must approach it with caution. The first step is to check the date of the survey. A survey from 20 years ago does not reflect any changes made to the property since then. A previous owner could have built a new deck, or a neighbour might have erected a new fence. These changes would not appear on the old document, leaving you vulnerable to the same risks as having no survey at all.
Another critical point is that a surveyor’s liability extends only to the person who commissioned the report. If you rely on the seller’s old survey and an error is later discovered, you have no legal recourse against the surveyor. When you commission a new survey, the surveyor is professionally liable to you for its accuracy. Many lenders and municipalities will not accept an old survey for permit applications or financing. The safest approach is to use the old survey as a reference but invest in a new one for your own protection.
The Investment in Certainty and Peace of Mind
Homebuyers often focus on the cost of a survey without weighing it against the potential costs it helps them avoid. The process of getting a new survey is straightforward. You hire a licensed land surveyor who will research property records, conduct fieldwork with precise measurement tools, and produce a detailed report. The cost for a typical residential property often falls between $1,000 and $2,500. This price can vary based on the property’s size, location, and complexity.
Consider this cost an investment in security. The expense of a boundary dispute can easily run into tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. The cost to move a misplaced structure is even higher. Compared to these potential financial disasters, the price of a survey is minor. It is a one-time fee that protects the integrity of your entire real estate investment. It provides you with the confidence that the land you are buying is exactly what you believe it to be, free from hidden problems.
Conclusion
Choosing to get a survey is a decision about risk management. While it is technically possible to close on a home purchase without one in some cases, you are accepting a significant gamble. You are betting that property lines are where they appear to be, that no hidden easements exist, and that all structures on the property comply with local laws. The potential downsides, from legal battles with neighbours to forced removal of a beloved deck, are severe and expensive.
A property survey transforms assumptions into facts. It provides a clear, legally binding definition of your property. It is the only document that can reliably reveal encroachments, boundary discrepancies, and other spatial issues that a home inspection or title search will not uncover. Before you decide to skip this step, have a detailed conversation with your real estate agent and your lawyer. They can help you assess the specific risks related to the property you love and make an informed choice that protects your investment for the long term.
