ALTA Land Title Surveys Georgia Courts Record Are Important Legal Documents

By Laura Howard


For home buyers who purchase houses on lots in developed subdivisions, the subject of a survey may not even come up. Those who are looking at acreage tracts should be much more concerned about boundary lines, easements, encroachments, and zoning restrictions. Most of the time large tracts are sold by the acre, so it behooves the buyer to make sure the final purchase price accurately reflects the amount of acreage involved. The ALTA land title surveys Georgia buyers rely on are the best way to accomplish that.

Written legal descriptions without a verifying survey can be inaccurate. If they are old and complicated they may have typographical errors. Properties with fluid boundaries, like creeks, can change over time. As a landowner, you need to know that the barrier you put up between your land and your neighbor's doesn't cross over a line. You might find yourself in a legal dispute otherwise.

It is possible that you and your neighbor share ownership of a driveway or road located on the boundary line between your two properties. If that is the case, you are both responsible for maintaining the shared space. If you have a neighbor whose property is landlocked, there may be a recorded easement through your property that allows your neighbor access through your land to get to a street or highway.

Utility companies normally have the right to access any utility poles or underground cables that run over or under your property. Your survey will show you where the utility easements are, which will be important if you decide to build a house or barn or dig a pond. If you are going to farm your acreage, you will need to know where the wells are.

A survey will give you information about ingress and egress restrictions. The county may require that any drives be a certain distance apart and have a minimum width requirement. This could be very important for commercial developers who need to move equipment, bulldozers, and tractor trailers on and off the property.

Boundary lines aren't the only things on a survey. Surveyors map the position of existing buildings, wells, and septic tanks. They will show the setback lines and baselines. You might find that you have an old cemetery on your land, and you need to know where it is. If the previous owner has built a structure that is in violation of county regulations, your survey will show it.

Your survey will also include zoning jurisdiction and classifications. If the zoning regulations are unclear to you, you need to make an appoint with the commission to get a ruling on what exactly you have the right to build on your property and what you can do with it once it's finished. It is possible to file an exception.

A detailed metes and bounds survey can be expensive, and many property buyers are tempted to skip it to save money. Experienced landowners will advise against this. You may save some money on the front end, but it might cost you dearly in the future.




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