A property can look perfect on paper and still hide a problem no one has noticed in forty years. The fence looks right. The shed sits where it’s always sat. The deed reads the way it should. Then a licensed land surveyor walks the line, and something doesn’t add up.
This happens more often than most buyers expect. Land doesn’t change, but paperwork does. Old surveys get lost. County records get updated by hand. Neighbors build first and ask questions never. A licensed land surveyor is trained to catch the small gaps between what’s written down and what’s actually on the ground, before those gaps become someone else’s legal headache.
Here are five things a licensed land surveyor may find before a sale closes, and why each one matters.
Gaps and Gores: The Sliver of Land No One’s Deed Actually Covers
Sometimes two neighboring deeds don’t quite line up. One ends a few feet short of where the other begins. That thin strip of land in between is called a gore, and it can sit for decades without anyone claiming it.
A gore isn’t always obvious from a walk around the yard. It shows up when a licensed land surveyor plots both legal descriptions on paper and compares them side by side. If a gore exists, it needs to be addressed before closing. Otherwise, the buyer may end up with a strip of land that technically belongs to no one, or worse, one that a neighbor later claims through use over time.
Ask your surveyor directly whether the new survey was checked against the adjoining property’s deed, not just your own.
Ghost Easements: Rights of Way That Never Made It Into the Title Report
A title report lists what’s on record. It doesn’t always list what’s actually happening on the land.
Old utility lines, shared driveways, and long-standing access paths sometimes get used for years without ever being filed at the courthouse. The title company won’t see them, because there’s nothing to see on paper. A licensed land surveyor will, because the physical signs are still there. A worn path across a field. A power line running to a neighbor’s barn. A driveway that crosses onto the next lot.
These “ghost easements” don’t disappear just because they were never recorded. Whoever has been using that path may still have a legal right to keep using it. That right can transfer with the land.
Walk the property with your surveyor and ask about any paths, lines, or shared access points that don’t match the title report.
Setback Violations Hiding in Plain Sight
Even when a boundary line is completely accurate, that doesn’t mean everything built near it is legal.
Zoning rules require structures to sit a certain distance from the property line. That distance is called a setback, and it’s separate from the boundary itself. A shed can sit fully inside the correct property line and still break a setback rule if it’s too close to that line.
Buyers often assume a clean boundary survey means every structure on the lot is fine. It doesn’t. Setback rules change over time, and a structure that was legal when built may not meet today’s code.
Have your surveyor confirm setback distances against current zoning, not just the recorded lot lines.
When Old Iron Pins Disagree: Conflicting Monuments and What They Mean for You
Every boundary survey relies on physical markers in the ground, usually iron pins or rebar, placed by past surveyors. Over the years, a property can end up with two or three different sets of these markers, all placed at different times, all pointing to slightly different lines.
When this happens, a licensed land surveyor has to figure out which set of markers actually controls the boundary. This isn’t guesswork. Surveyors follow a legal hierarchy of evidence, weighing the age of the markers, the original recorded plat, and long-standing use of the land. It takes training and judgment most people never see.
If your surveyor finds conflicting monuments, don’t treat it as a minor detail. It can shift where your actual property line sits.
Ask which monuments were used to establish your new survey, and why those were chosen over any others found on site.
The Acreage on Your Tax Bill vs. What’s Actually There
County tax records list an acreage figure for every parcel. Buyers often assume that number is exact. It’s frequently just an estimate, sometimes decades old, sometimes based on a rough plat that was never field-checked.
A licensed land surveyor measures the property directly. That number can come in higher or lower than what’s listed with the county. A gap of even half an acre can affect a sale price, a construction plan, or how many lots a piece of land can legally be divided into.
Compare your survey’s acreage figure to the tax record before finalizing price or development plans, and ask your surveyor to explain any difference.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is hiring a licensed land surveyor required by law before selling a property?
No state requires a survey for every residential sale. But many lenders, title companies, and municipalities require one for certain transactions. A licensed land surveyor is the only professional legally authorized to certify boundary findings for the record.
Can a licensed land surveyor’s findings actually cause a sale to fall through?
Yes. Unresolved encroachments, undocumented easements, or acreage discrepancies found during a survey can prompt renegotiation, require legal resolution, or in some cases cause a buyer or lender to walk away.
How is a licensed land surveyor’s role different from a home inspector’s?
A home inspector checks the condition of structures and systems inside the property lines. A licensed land surveyor establishes and certifies exactly where those lines are, along with any legal or physical issues tied to the land itself.
If a survey reveals a problem, who typically pays to fix it, the buyer or the seller?
This is negotiated case by case and often depends on state law and the purchase contract. Resolution costs, such as a boundary line agreement or easement filing, are commonly split or assigned during renegotiation rather than fixed by default.
Can title insurance cover an issue a licensed land surveyor finds that the title search missed?
Sometimes. An ALTA-standard survey can allow a title insurer to remove certain exceptions or extend coverage. But a standard title policy generally won’t cover boundary or encroachment issues unless a survey was completed and reviewed beforehand.
