Survey (ALTA/boundary)
A licensed surveyor's map showing the true boundary lines and where recorded easements actually fall on the ground.
A boundary survey locates the corners of your parcel; an ALTA/NSPS survey adds the recorded easements, encroachments, and improvements a title company lists on Schedule B, plotted in their real positions.
Nothing else answers the question that matters before you build. A title commitment tells you an easement exists; a parcel viewer gives you an approximate outline; only a survey tells you the fence post you planned is three feet inside a utility corridor.
Why it matters when you buy
Every plan that depends on exact distances — a fence, pool, shed, or addition — needs a survey before construction, not after.
How it reads in a real document
“ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey prepared by a licensed surveyor, showing all easements of record per Schedule B-II, encroachments, and improvements.”
A survey is the only document that puts recorded easements in their real position on the ground. Everything else — the commitment, the plat, an online parcel viewer — tells you an easement exists without telling you where.
The mistake people make
Treating a county parcel viewer as a survey. Those boundaries are digitized from tax maps and can be off by many feet, which is more than enough to put a planned fence inside a corridor.
What to do next
- Order the survey during your inspection period so the results can still affect the deal.
- Give the surveyor the title commitment so every Schedule B-II exception gets plotted.
- Compare the plotted easements against your build plan before you request permits.
What it does to value
A survey rarely changes value by itself; it changes what you know before you commit money. A few hundred to a couple thousand dollars spent plotting Schedule B exceptions routinely prevents a five-figure mistake -- a garage sited in a corridor, a fence that has to come down, a septic field that cannot be permitted.
What is not true
It is not true that a county parcel viewer is a survey. Those lines are digitized from tax maps and can sit many feet off the real boundary.
Questions people ask
What kind of survey should I order?
For a purchase where easements matter, an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey is the standard, because the surveyor works from the title commitment and plots every Schedule B-II exception. A cheaper boundary survey or mortgage inspection shows the lot lines but may not locate the easements you were worried about.
When should the survey be ordered?
During the inspection period, while you can still renegotiate or walk. A survey delivered after closing tells you what you own but gives you no leverage, and the cost of moving a planned structure lands entirely on you.
Does the seller's old survey count?
It is useful history and worth reading, but it reflects the recorded state of the property on its date. Easements recorded since then will not appear, and improvements added since then will not be shown, so a title company may decline to rely on it for coverage.
Related terms
Where this comes up
Homeowner questions where “survey (alta/boundary)” decides the answer:
- How close to the property line can I build a fence?
- What is encroachment on a property?
- How much does it cost to survey easements on a property?
- Can an easement be moved to a different part of the property?
- Do I need a survey to locate an easement?
Time limits differ by state — see the prescriptive easement period where your property is.
Wondering what an encumbrance like this is worth? Estimate the effect on property value.
General educational reference only. Prescription periods and their exceptions change, and several states set the period by case law rather than by statute. Read the linked official code and consult a licensed attorney in that state before relying on any of it.
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