I just recently had a listing sale that would have closed much easier if the buyer had obtained an updated survey. We were set to close on a 2.79 acre agricultural/commercial property on a Thursday afternoon. The buyers attorney revealed a number of utility easements to the buyer at closing and he became afraid and hesitant to close. The utility lines were visible on inspection of the property as they are all over head, but when he heard the attorney comment he wanted to investigate further. The attorney did not have the exact width of each easement on hand, but a new survey would have detailed these easements. The buyer agent called me in a panic that afternoon, afraid the deal was doomed. I procured a survey of an adjacent property that contained the easement width of the high transmission line that barely crossed one corner and the service line by the road right of way. I took the buyer out to the site the next afternoon with my range finder and we deternined that the utility easements possibly affected .25 acres in one corner of the property. This would not prevent him from using the property for it's intended use and we closed the following Monday.
In conclusion, it is recommended to get an updated survey when attempting to sale a property and if the seller is not providing a fairly current survey, a buyer should most certainly obtain one.
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