Choosing a Surveyor, and Why It Matters
Survey questions surface late in transactions and cause delays out of proportion to their size. On waterfront they cause more, because a lake property boundary involves easements and a shoreline rather than four fence lines. This is one of the cheapest problems to prevent and one of the more annoying to fix under a deadline.
The short answer
A survey shows your boundaries, your structures, and the easements affecting your property. In Texas an existing survey can sometimes be reused with a seller affidavit, but if anything has changed since it was made, you likely need a new one — and finding that out before you list is far better than during.
What a surveyor does
A licensed professional who determines and documents boundaries and the location of improvements.
The resulting survey shows property lines, the house and other structures, fences, driveways, easements, and setback lines.
Title companies and lenders use it to confirm that what's on the ground matches the record and that nothing encroaches where it shouldn't.
When you need a new one
Texas practice commonly allows an existing survey to be used along with an affidavit in which the seller attests to certain facts about changes since it was made.
That affidavit is a statement you're making, and it should be accurate.
If any of these have happened since the last survey, expect to need a new one:
A pool
A shed, workshop, or outbuilding
A patio cover, pergola, or deck
A fence replaced or moved
A driveway extension
A room addition
On waterfront: a new or rebuilt bulkhead, dock, boathouse, or lift
That last group is the waterfront-specific one and it's the one sellers forget.
What a survey uncovers
Fences off the line. Common, usually resolvable, occasionally not if a neighbor disputes it.
Structures on easements. A patio cover, shed, or pool encroaching on a utility or drainage easement can require resolution, and resolution sometimes means removal.
Unpermitted additions. Which affect financing, insurability, and value.
On waterfront: shoreline easements and how your structures sit relative to them.
How to choose one
Verify licensing. Texas licenses professional land surveyors. Confirm.
Ask about waterfront experience if your property is on the lake. Shoreline boundaries and easements are a specific competency.
Ask about turnaround time. This is the practical one — surveyors book out, and a survey needed at week three of a contract is a scheduling problem.
Ask what's included, and whether they'll provide the form a title company will want.
Ask your agent and your title company for referrals. Both deal with surveyors constantly.
Do it before you list
This is the whole recommendation.
A survey obtained before listing means you find out about an encroachment or a boundary question on your own schedule, with time to resolve it. A survey question surfacing at week three means resolving it against a closing date.
Who a surveyor works for
Whoever hires them. If you commission the survey, it's yours.
That's different from the title company and the appraiser, and it's why getting your own is worth considering.
What this looks like on Lake Conroe
Two things specific to waterfront here.
Shoreline easements are common on lake property and exist for reasons related to how the reservoir is managed. Understand where yours run and how your structures sit relative to them.
The waterline isn't the boundary. Lake Conroe is a managed reservoir and levels fluctuate seasonally and with rainfall. Buyers sometimes assume the visible water's edge marks the property line. Being able to explain the difference accurately is worth something at a showing.
If you've added or rebuilt any shoreline structure during your ownership, a current survey is worth strong consideration before listing.
Questions I get about this
Who pays for the survey?
Negotiable and varies by transaction and what the contract specifies. It's a smaller cost than the delay it prevents.
How long does one take?
Varies with surveyor availability and time of year. Start early.
Can I just use my old survey?
Sometimes, if nothing has changed and the parties agree. If you've added anything, plan on a new one.
This article is general information. It is not legal or surveying advice, and I am not an attorney or a licensed surveyor.
