The Importance of Boundary Surveys in the St. Louis Metro Area

St. Louis Real Estate Podcast with Sandie Hea

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Do you know why you need a boundary survey in St. Louis? The reason I think boundary surveys (also known as a stake survey) are so important is because you want to know the exact boundaries of your property. You want to know who owns things like retaining walls, fences, and know where your land stops in relation to the common ground.

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You want to know the exact

boundaries of your property.

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We've all seen the little wooden stakes in the ground with an orange or pink flag on them - they mark the exact corner of your property. It's no big deal if they're moved, because below them is a boundary stone that is a permanent fixture at the corner, no matter how many corners you have on your property. If you look at your curb, you'll often see an "X" etched into the concrete, which is also a permanent boundary marker.

So let's say you find a perfect house with a great lot for you to build an in-ground pool or a gazebo. You get the boundary survey and BAM! Right through the middle of that backyard is a sewer easement. You're not allowed to build any permanent structures over an easement. I've seen it happen several times. Can you try to get out of the contract based on not being able to build a pool or a gazebo? Unfortunately, unless you wrote the contract contingent on you building these structures, you're not able to get out of the contract based on the survey.

I recently had a client sell their house, and when the buyer got a stake survey, we found out the neighbor's retaining wall just barely encroached on my client's driveway by a foot, impeding his ability to drive his big SUV down the driveway to the detached garage. When asked to move it, the neighbor became upset and claimed adverse possession, and wanted to file a lawsuit to stop the movement of the retaining wall. Instead, the title company gave the neighbors some cash and they were able to move the wall one foot. This is exactly why you buy title insurance and you get survey coverage.

Thanks for watching, I hope you found this info helpful! Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you have.