Ask the Architect

You need a proper survey

Posted

Q. We’re selling our house, bought in 1973 when we were a young couple and excited to own our first (and only) home. Nobody told us about open permits, which our attorney just told us about. We don’t understand. How did we close, and why didn’t anybody tell us? Aren’t these things grandfathered in after so many years? We were told our buyer will ask to lower the price $40,000 if we don’t do something. Why is this happening, and what’s the procedure to correct it? One expediter said it only takes a few days, but an architect, which the expediter says we don’t need, told us it needs a zoning variance and will take months. Our attorney says we’ll have to put money at closing in escrow in case we can’t get a variance. Who do we believe? This is very upsetting to find out now.

A. I encounter this constantly, because of people who ignored rules and gave selfish advice. This is about you, not them. You deserve the truth. By getting a survey, a map of your property certified by a surveyor, and not a drafted “plot plan,” it is possible to calculate building versus property area and the home’s distance from front, side and rear property lines. People can fudge things, but computers don’t lie. Choose someone who does this using a computer.

If the survey is correct, the answers will be accurate, and tell you what someone didn’t tell you many years ago. Unfortunately, many surveys are missing information or are incorrect. I carry examples to show people this sad truth, which costs homeowners thousands of dollars each week. Your problem started with the casual approach people used to have about building permits and real estate closings. But it’s a different world now, even though I still see people pushing the problem off to the next person by dismissing it.

I once was at a closing where the survey was so bad that a commercial building calculated out to be 2 feet over the neighbor’s property line. The closing went through with nobody interested. Two years later, a buyer wanted a corrected survey to avoid a property dispute when the problem was finally noticed, and the closing was put off for six weeks. That cost a bundle, holding up every other related transaction.

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