property lines

elementx440

I just bought a house and I was told the land would be surveyed and marked. Well I don't see any stakes in the ground, how can I determine my property lines?

Brik

There shouldn't be stakes unless they are a temporary marker. The property should have a proper corner stake. 'round here they use rebar, sometimes concrete monuments. Ask who ever told you when it will be done.

elementx440

well my loan officier mentioned it when we were going over the process for the loan. I'm closing tomorrow so i thought it would be standard practice for the property to have been surveyed by now?

The reason I'm asking is that the darn trees I want to cut down are going to be close, and I want to make sure they're mine before I fell 'em...

Zero Punch

If your paying for the survey request a copy of the survey plate. Around here they use like 3ft 1x1s with a little flag on them but not all corners have permanent iron stakes I do have one in my front yard and that is used as a starting point when several of my neighbors are resurveyed for transfer sales or refi's.

Mike Swearingen

Normally, property being sold is only required to be resurveyed when a new survey is required by the title company insuring the title. Title insurance is required by all lenders, and whatever it takes to get clear title insurance, then that's what they require.
Unless negotiated differently up front, the buyer pays for the survey plot plan, as they pay for all other loan requirements. A survey plat shows only the property lines. A survey plot plan should show all buildings and other manmade features (fences, driveways, etc.), as well as the property lines, to insure that there is no encroachment one way or the other across the property lines.
If a property is in a registered subdivision with a subdivision lots survey on record, or if there already is another individual lot survey on record, then often a new one is not required.
When a property is surveyed, I have never seen a surveyor that didn't flag or otherwise temporarily create visible markers (wire flags, wooden stakes, surveyor tape, etc.) to mark the rebar, axle, pipe, concrete monument or whatever else that has been used to actually mark the property lines.
Check with your lender, closing attorney or title company to see if a new survey was done (I doubt it, if there are no visible markers), and make sure that you get a copy if so.
Otherwise you may be able to take a recorded copy of the survey and find the markers yourself with a shovel and/or a metal detector, measuring tape.
Good Luck!
Mike
(20-year+ NC Real Estate Broker)
P.S. About the trees...make absolutely certain that the entire base of a tree is on your side of the property line before cutting one down. Individual trees can cost thousands of dollars, depending upon type and size. If you cut one down belonging to a neighbor, it could get very expensive (I've seen individual mature trees valued at $10,000-$15,000 each by landscaping companies). State laws vary, but usually a tree belongs to whoever planted it, even if the base is growing ON and across both sides of the property line. Also, trees that are on/across property lines can be owned by both property owners, if there's no proof of planting history. If limbs or roots from a neighbor's tree are reaching your house or otherwise creating a problem, you usually can prune those, however. Before doing anything to any property line tree, check with your adjoining property owners to see what they have to say. It's common courtesy for one thing, and will help prevent lawsuits for another. Good Luck!