Do You Need a Survey to Close?

Whether you need a survey depends on your lender, the property, and how much you want to know before committing.

Who actually requires one

Neither Pennsylvania nor Alabama requires a survey by statute on a residential purchase. The requirement, when it exists, comes from the lender or from a title endorsement they have asked for. Cash purchases frequently proceed without one.

What a survey shows

• The actual boundaries of the parcel
• Whether the house sits within them
• Encroachments — a neighbour's fence, shed or driveway over the line, or yours over theirs
• Easements that are visible on the ground
• Whether improvements violate a setback

Why it matters for your policy

Most title commitments carry a standard exception for "matters a survey would disclose." That exception means the policy does not cover boundary problems. A current survey allows that exception to be removed, so the policy covers them.

That is the real argument for one. Without a survey you own a house and a policy that specifically excludes the most common physical dispute between neighbours.

What it costs

Typically a few hundred dollars on a standard residential lot, more on a large or irregular parcel. If title has to order one on your behalf and the transaction then cancels, you will generally still owe the surveyor.

When to say yes

Older properties, irregular lots, anything rural, anything where a fence or outbuilding sits near a boundary, and any property that has been subdivided. If the parcel is a rectangle in a subdivision platted twenty years ago and your lender is not asking, the case is weaker.

Note: general information for Pennsylvania and Alabama property owners, not legal or tax advice. Rates, taxes, eligibility and deadlines are set by statute and by each state’s filed rate schedules and can change. Confirm the specifics with us and with a qualified professional before relying on them for a transaction.