DFW property survey recommendations

[its phillip]

We're currently in the process of buying my parents' house from them in Fort Worth but the mortgage company wants a survey. Anybody in the DFW area have recommendations for a surveyor? I just got a quote for $750! That seems a little high Thanks!

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I think we paid around $600 in NJ including placing flags on the property - that was optional - mostly for me.

 

[Midwesthonky]

I have a contact with contacts in that industry in the DFW area. I am awaiting a recommendation from them.

Prices may be up because that market is HOT right now. Homes are being sold before they even hit the MLS. My parents house has jumped in value about 6% in just the past 2 months. I hope to have a recommendation for you today, but my contact felt $750 was high.

 

[its phillip]

I have a contact with contacts in that industry in the DFW area. I am awaiting a recommendation from them.

Prices may be up because that market is HOT right now. Homes are being sold before they even hit the MLS. My parents house has jumped in value about 6% in just the past 2 months. I hope to have a recommendation for you today, but my contact felt $750 was high.

Thanks. My mortgage person just told me what I needed was a "land survey." The quote I received was for a "title survey." I don't know if there is a difference between the two but I asked the person who gave me the initial quote so hopefully there is

The house is ~2800 sq ft and the lot is a rectangle only ~7100 sq ft. I don't think it would take a long time to measure but of course I have no idea.

 

[its phillip]

And yeah dude the market is super hot right now. If we didn't get a great deal from my parents we probably would have ended up waiting until it cooled in a few years. We were getting really frustrated Homes that should be $150k are easily selling for $220k. It's bananas.

Here are the home's tax apprasial values for this year and the previous two:
2016 $182,912
2015 $169,016
2014 $157,200

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Thanks. My mortgage person just told me what I needed was a "land survey." The quote I received was for a "title survey." I don't know if there is a difference between the two but I asked the person who gave me the initial quote so hopefully there is

The house is ~2800 sq ft and the lot is a rectangle only ~7100 sq ft. I don't think it would take a long time to measure but of course I have no idea.

Title survey is very different from land survey. You'd need to do both for purchase a house.

 

[its phillip]

Title survey is very different from land survey. You'd need to do both for purchase a house.

The mortgage person only said I needed a land survey. I dunno if requirements are different in different states. I hope I don't need both :/

 

[slipperybidness]

And yeah dude the market is super hot right now. If we didn't get a great deal from my parents we probably would have ended up waiting until it cooled in a few years. We were getting really frustrated Homes that should be $150k are easily selling for $220k. It's bananas.

Here are the home's tax apprasial values for this year and the previous two:
2016 $182,912
2015 $169,016
2014 $157,200

Yeah, TX is a sellers market......but Austin / Central TX is even sillier than the rest of the state right now!

 

[slipperybidness]

The mortgage person only said I needed a land survey. I dunno if requirements are different in different states. I hope I don't need both :/

They may already have 1 on file that will suffice.

 

[its phillip]

Yeah, TX is a sellers market......but Austin / Central TX is even sillier than the rest of the state right now!

I dunno about that -
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/36023-zillow-here-are-2016s-hottest-housing-markets
http://www.realtor.com/news/trends/the-hottest-u-s-markets-in-january-2016/
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2016/02/01/report-home-prices-in-dfw-rise-9-5-texas-sees-new.html

 

[slipperybidness]

I dunno about that -
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/36023-zillow-here-are-2016s-hottest-housing-markets
http://www.realtor.com/news/trends/the-hottest-u-s-markets-in-january-2016/
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2016/02/01/report-home-prices-in-dfw-rise-9-5-texas-sees-new.html

Interesting. I know first-hand that Austin is a silly market right now, has been for the last couple years.

Also, Hays County south of Austin is one of the fastest growing counties. IIRC, I think it ranks #3 county in the nation for growth. Of course, doesn't necessarily reflect on the housing market prices.

 

[Jeff R.]

I am not an expert but have owned 7 homes in 15 years.... you will need both. A land survey is going to insure your lot for the home is not being obstructed by either something on your plot of land, like fencing, decks, home there are laws the dictate how close you can be to the edge of the lot with those types of items. it also insures that your neighbors are not on your land.

The title survey is insuring that there is no leans against the property that could prevent the title being clean and clear for transfer to a new owner.

 

[lsiberian]

Interesting. I know first-hand that Austin is a silly market right now, has been for the last couple years.

Also, Hays County south of Austin is one of the fastest growing counties. IIRC, I think it ranks #3 county in the nation for growth. Of course, doesn't necessarily reflect on the housing market prices.

The late 90s was way crazier with the Dell boom.

 

[highfigh]

Thanks. My mortgage person just told me what I needed was a "land survey." The quote I received was for a "title survey." I don't know if there is a difference between the two but I asked the person who gave me the initial quote so hopefully there is

The house is ~2800 sq ft and the lot is a rectangle only ~7100 sq ft. I don't think it would take a long time to measure but of course I have no idea.

Call the city/town and ask if they can verify the placement of the stakes/lot dimensions. They may have an engineer on staff who can do it, or make a recommendation.

The survey would need to start at a benchmark, which is often in the center of an X in the road. Drive around your area and look for these. They would then register their position at that point and, depending on how current their technology is, go right to your lot to find the coordinates (Theodolite/GPS-based), or use a transit/level and tape measure or chain to find the lot lines (the old way). If the city has a plat map, ask for a copy- the bank may accept that.

As Jeff mentioned, the title search needs to be done to protect them from problems and it can also raise some issues that nobody is aware of, like adverse possession- this is where one land owner uses adjacent land without some kind of agreement that lets them use it for a specific length of time, or for purchase. Over time, it's common for that person to be granted ownership and it can turn ugly. Trees on lot lines is a common issue- if one owner lets seeds sprout and a tree grows to maturity and part of it falls/damages the home/yard of the adjacent lot, it's good to know whose side of the fence it's on. I expect to have this conversation when I sell my house- the tree was on my side of their fence, but fences are usually set inside of the lot line, so the money I spent having their electric service repaired should come to me if the survey determines that the tree was on their lot. It also happens with sheds, ponds and occasionally, a house or garage.

 

[TLS Guy]

The mortgage person only said I needed a land survey. I dunno if requirements are different in different states. I hope I don't need both :/

If you and the bank do due diligence you absolutely need both.

A chartered surveyor needs to make sure the property lines are correct and properly recorded, and in conjunction with the abstract company make sure you have a clear title that can not be challenged.

The fee sounds right to me. You need to look at this as cheap insurance. A sound bank or mortgage company will not lend you the money without it. This is nothing to do with the state.

If you loose a property and or a tittle dispute without title insurance, of which this is a part, then you could loose the home and still end up paying for it!

My next advice is to remind you that this is only one of a number of scenarios in which you could loose a home and still have to pay back the bank. There are significant limitations to home owners insurance.

The commonest reason for uninsured loss is flood. Home owners policies do not cover flood. For that you need Federal flood insurance. At least 75% of people, and likely more, find they have no insurance against flood after they have a devastating flood. The usual excuse, is that it never happened here before.

The next after that is geotechnical failure. Home owners does not cover the loss of a home due to geotech issues. These happen, especially in Florida. It also happens in the upper Midwest, as this is a glacial retreat area that is geologically very young. In Minnesota insurance against geothechnical failure has been unavailable for some time.

The house next door to me sold last summer and now there are serious geotech issues surfacing. The new owners may well be out that home they just bought.

When buying property you need to be very careful.

You absolutely need those surveys and the price you quoted sounds right.

 

[Rickster71]

Thanks. My mortgage person just told me what I needed was a "land survey." The quote I received was for a "title survey." I don't know if there is a difference between the two but I asked the person who gave me the initial quote so hopefully there is

The house is ~2800 sq ft and the lot is a rectangle only ~7100 sq ft. I don't think it would take a long time to measure but of course I have no idea.

A land Survey and a Title Search, you'll need both and they are two different things.
The price depends on how they'll reestablish the property corners. Temporary PK's, stakes, pipes or monuments? The price increases with the durability of the marker type.
Also depends on how old the last survey is and if they can easily find good benchmarks to reestablish your corners. Check with your Dad, maybe he knows where the corners are and how accessible they are.

 

[its phillip]

My parents have no idea where the original survey is. This past weekend I looked everywhere for it with no luck. My parents are the original homeowners and I've actually lived in the house since it was built in 2002. They moved to AZ in 2003 or so. The house is in a regular subdivision with small lots. Everybody's yard is fenced and the fences haven't moved so I'm guessing the fence corners are where the property corners are

Regarding the difference between a land survey and title survey and whether or not it's required to get both, I'm just doing what the mortgage officer is telling me.

There is something called title insurance that we are also paying for which does an in depth title search to ensure a clean title with no liens or things like that.

 

[TLS Guy]

My parents have no idea where the original survey is. This past weekend I looked everywhere for it with no luck. My parents are the original homeowners and I've actually lived in the house since it was built in 2002. They moved to AZ in 2003 or so. The house is in a regular subdivision with small lots. Everybody's yard is fenced and the fences haven't moved so I'm guessing the fence corners are where the property corners are

Regarding the difference between a land survey and title survey and whether or not it's required to get both, I'm just doing what the mortgage officer is telling me.

There is something called title insurance that we are also paying for which does an in depth title search to ensure a clean title with no liens or things like that.

Since it is 2002 you are probably okay, but you will still be required to have the survey. May of 2000 was when accurate GPS was released for civilian use.

It all depends on when the lots were platted. If before 2000 then there could be errors.

When my daughter bought there house a few years ago in Bloomington MN in a fifties development, the new survey showed the original one had significant errors. My daughter and her husband ended up with a lot more front yard, and a little less backyard. The neighbors were not happy.

You will need to have a chartered surveyor, place surveyors markers, in line with the coordinates on file at the county.

 

[Midwesthonky]

Ok, the recommendation came in:

Award Surveying
Fort Worth
817-33A-WARD

 

[its phillip]

Ok, the recommendation came in:

Award Surveying
Fort Worth
817-33A-WARD

Thanks. Their website doesn't look like they are still open for business though:

As of August 1, 2011 Award Surveying, Inc., will not be accepting any new jobs, projects or clients. If you need updates or copies of previous surveys please email. survey@a-wardsurveying.com