Residential Land Surveys in Georgia

“Serving the Greater Atlanta and Chattanooga Area and everything in between”

Understanding What You’re Actually Buying

When you’re buying a home in Georgia, you’re making one of the biggest financial decisions of your life.

The house itself? You can walk through it, check the roof, and test the plumbing.

But the land it sits on? That’s harder to see – and that’s where people get into trouble.

A residential property survey shows you exactly what you own and where your property lines actually run.

Not where you think they are, not where the fence suggests they might be, but where they legally sit according to recorded deeds and physical measurements on the ground.

What Title Insurance Won’t Cover

Here’s something that catches people off guard: standard title insurance policies specifically exclude boundary problems.

The policy language is clear – it doesn’t cover “any encroachment, encumbrance, violation, variation, or adverse circumstance affecting title that would be disclosed by an accurate survey.”

Read that again. If you skip the survey, your title insurance won’t protect you from boundary disputes, encroachments, or property line issues. You’re on your own.

This isn’t a small coverage gap. It’s the difference between having protection for the land you’re buying and having none.

Title companies require surveys to remove this standard exception from policies. Without a survey, that exception stays in place, and you’re exposed.

The Real Costs When Things Go Wrong

Boundary disputes end up in court more often than you’d think. When they do, you’re looking at real property attorneys who specialize in this work – they’re not cheap.

Legal fees can run into the tens of thousands of dollars before you even get to trial. If the case actually goes to court, those costs can double.

Then there’s the actual fix. Let’s say a survey reveals your neighbor’s shed crosses onto your property. Now you’re in a situation where you either negotiate (awkward at best), accept it and deal with title issues when you sell, or pursue legal remedies.

None of these options are cheap or pleasant.

We’ve seen cases where buyers discovered structures were built on the wrong property. The removal costs thousands, and rebuilding in the right spot costs thousands more. They saved a few hundred by skipping the survey.

Another scenario we see regularly: the fence line doesn’t match the actual property line. Maybe it’s off by inches, maybe it’s off by feet.

Either way, you’ve got landscaping, trees, or structures based on wrong assumptions. Fixing these problems costs significant money – and you can’t sell the property cleanly until they’re resolved.

What We Actually Do

Our residential surveys involve walking every foot of your property with GPS equipment accurate to within inches.

We’re looking for existing property markers – iron pins, concrete monuments, or other markers that were set during previous surveys.

When we can’t find original markers (common in North Georgia with our red clay and decades of growth), we research deed records and work backward from known points.

The survey shows your house, driveway, major outbuildings, fences, and any structures that might cross property lines. We also note easements – those strips of land where utility companies, neighbors, or others have legal rights to cross or use your property.

An old shared driveway easement you didn’t know about can affect how you use your land and what you can build.

We measure everything that matters. Setbacks from property lines to structures. Distance from the house to the well or septic system.

Location of utility poles and lines. If it’s on the land and affects how you’ll use it,
we document it.

Mountain Properties Present Unique Challenges

North Georgia terrain makes surveying more complex than flat suburban lots. Ridge lines, creek beds, and steep slopes all matter when we’re establishing boundaries.

Old family properties in the mountains often have deed descriptions that reference “the big oak tree” or “the old fence line” – landmarks that may be long gone.

These properties also tend to have longer, more complex boundary lines that wind around topography rather than running in neat rectangles. That means more time in the field and more research in deed records, but it’s the only way to get it right.

Creek boundaries shift over time. Roads get widened or relocated. The red clay erodes and takes old markers with it. We account for all of this when we’re establishing where your property actually sits.

When Previous Surveys Create Problems

If the seller has an old survey, that’s a starting point, not a solution. Surveys don’t age well.

Property improvements, changed boundary markers, new easements, and updated deed records can all make an old survey unreliable or outright wrong.

Title companies know this. They’ll look at a survey from years ago and reject it for underwriting. Lenders feel the same way.

They want current information that shows today’s conditions, not conditions from when the previous owner bought the place.

We’ve reviewed old surveys that showed property lines running through the middle of additions built years later. Sheds, pools, and driveways that didn’t exist when the last survey was done. New easements recorded after the previous survey.

All of these create title issues that have to be resolved before you can close.

The Survey Exception in Your Title Policy

When you buy title insurance, the policy comes with a standard exception for survey matters.

This exception stays in place unless you provide a current survey that the title company reviews and accepts. Once they’ve seen a clean survey, they’ll remove that exception and your policy will actually cover survey-related title defects.

Without removing that exception, you have a significant gap in coverage. Most buyers don’t realize this until they try to sell and the same issues come up for their buyer.

The problems don’t go away – they just get passed along until someone finally pays to fix them.

Timing Matters More Than You Think

Surveys need to happen early in the buying process, not the week before closing. When we find problems – and we often do – you need time to address them.

Maybe the seller needs to handle an encroachment issue. Maybe you need to renegotiate based on an easement that affects your plans. Maybe the property is smaller than advertised and that changes your offer.

Waiting until the last minute turns these discoveries into closing delays or failed deals. Get the survey done during your due diligence period when you have options and time to act.

Several weeks before closing is ideal. Two weeks is workable. Just days before closing is asking for trouble. The survey itself takes time depending on property complexity and weather, but you need time after that to deal with what we find.

What You’ll Receive

Our residential survey package includes a sealed drawing showing property boundaries, dimensions, structures, easements, and any encroachments we find.

You’ll get both digital and paper copies. The drawing includes our surveyor’s stamp and signature – that’s your proof that a licensed professional has verified this information.

We also provide written notes about anything that needs attention. If we found a fence that’s over the line, we’ll note it.

If there’s an easement that might limit your building plans, we’ll explain it. If the property lines don’t match what the neighbors think they know, we’ll document it clearly.

The survey becomes part of your property records. Your title company needs it. Your lender needs it. And when you go to sell years later, your buyer will need it too. It’s a one-time expense that protects you for as long as you own the property.

Common Questions We Hear

• • “Can’t I just use the fence line?” Fences follow convenience, not legal boundaries. We’ve seen fences that are accurate and fences that are significantly off. You can’t know which you have without a survey.
  • “The neighbors have been there for decades – don’t they know?” What neighbors “know” and what the deeds say are often two different things. Long-term occupation can sometimes create adverse possession claims, but that’s a legal mess you don’t want to inherit.
  • “How long is the survey good for?” Technically, a survey is a snapshot of conditions on the day we complete it. Most title companies and lenders accept surveys less than a year old if there have been no property improvements. After that, they want a new survey or at least a recertification showing nothing has changed.
  • “What if the survey shows a problem?” Then you know about it before you close, and you have options. The seller can fix it, you can renegotiate the price, or you can walk away. All of those are better than discovering the problem after you own it.

Investment vs. Cost

Residential surveys in North Georgia typically cost several hundred to over a thousand dollars depending on property size, terrain, and complexity. That’s less than most people spend on the home inspection, and it protects a much larger asset – the land itself.

Compare that to the cost of fixing boundary problems later. Legal fees start in the five figures. Removing and relocating structures costs thousands. Title defects can kill your sale when you’re ready to move. The survey isn’t an expense – it’s insurance against much bigger problems down the road.

Working with Licensed Georgia Surveyors

Georgia requires surveyors to be licensed by the state board. That license means we’ve met education requirements, passed rigorous exams, and maintain professional standards.

When you see our stamp on a survey, you know it meets state requirements and will be accepted by title companies, lenders, and courts if needed.

We’ve been surveying in North Georgia since 2004. We know the terrain, the deed patterns, the common problems, and how local title companies and lenders work.

That experience matters when you’re trying to close on time without surprises.

If you’re buying property in North Georgia, talk to us before you’re under contract. We can give you a timeline and quote so you know what to expect.

And once you’re in due diligence, we’ll get your survey done right – the first time.

Ready to protect your property investment?

Contact The Land Surveying Company for residential survey services in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky.

For more information regarding boundary surveys and other surveying services offered by The Land Surveying Company,

Please call us at 706-237-8319 or request a quote through our online quote form.

HONESTY & INTEGRITY

Service Lines >>

We are a land surveying firm in Georgia dedicated to fast and friendly service in Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee. We service residential, commercial and industrial surveys.