Existing Survey or New Survey? What Texas Buyers Should Know Before They Choose

Most buyers don’t think much about the survey. It’s one more piece of paper at closing. But it tells you where your property lines are, where the house and fences sit, and what easements run across your lot. The Texas contract gives you a choice about which survey you use, and that choice can follow you for as long as you own the home.

What a survey shows

A survey shows the boundaries of the lot and everything built on it: the house, driveway, fences, pool, sheds, and retaining walls. It also shows recorded easements, building lines, and anything that crosses a property line, like a neighbor’s fence that sits on your side or a patio that runs onto theirs. Those are called encroachments, and you want to know about them before you close, not after.

Reusing the seller’s survey

It’s tempting to reuse the seller’s existing survey along with a T-47 affidavit saying nothing has changed. It saves time and money. But before you go that route, consider a new survey, because it gives you protections an old one can’t.

The seller’s survey may be ten or fifteen years old. Since then, a fence may have been moved, a pool or addition may have gone in, or an easement may have changed. The T-47 affidavit is only as good as what the seller knows, and sellers don’t always know.

Here’s the bigger problem. A survey is certified to specific people, usually the owner, the lender, and the title company at the time it was done. If the surveyor got something wrong, those are the people who can go back to the surveyor. If you buy the house using that old survey, you may have no standing at all, even if the mistake turns into a real problem down the road.

A new survey is certified to you, your lender, and your title company. If something is wrong, it was done for you, and you may have better protections.

Reviewing your survey

When you review your survey, look for easements, anything marked as an encroachment, and whether the fences appear to follow the property lines. If something looks off, ask your title company about it before you sign.

Timing and the title policy

The survey also affects your title policy. The contract lets the parties decide whether the title policy’s standard exception for boundary lines and encroachments stays as is or is amended to read “shortages in area,” and who pays for that. Amending it narrows what the policy leaves out of coverage, and the title company will need a survey it accepts. Ask your title company what it requires and what the amendment costs.

Get the survey ordered early. The contract sets deadlines for delivering the survey and the time for raising objections to what it shows, and surveyors can get booked up when the market is busy.

Questions to ask before you sign a contract

• Which survey option does this contract use, and who is paying for it?
• If it’s an existing survey, how old is it, and what has changed on the property since then?
• Who will the survey be certified to?
• Will my lender and title company accept it?
• When is the survey due, and when do I have to raise any objections?

If you have questions about the survey on a home you’re considering, feel free to reach out.