Dear Heather,

We are in the process of selling our home. Our agent tells us we must have a boundary survey done.

Why? When should it be done and how much does it cost?

Seller

A Boundary Survey is recommended each time a property changes hands and the boundaries will need to be marked. This is done for several reasons:

1) To determine the actual physical extents of the property, so that the buyer can clearly see what they are buying.

2) So that the surveyors can establish that the boundaries are actually as described in the legal description and on the lot plan. The deed plan and description need to match, sometimes things are in the description and not on the plan as it hasn’t been updated, or vice versa.

3) To establish boundaries in the ground with capped steels or bolts with red witness pegs. To see if there are any encroachments or anomalies with the boundaries.

4) To provide a clear plan where the boundaries are marked in red, ROW (right of way) marked in yellow, and other ROW/Overlaps in green.

5) In order for good title to be passed on free of encumbrances.

At some point Bermuda will be implementing a New Land Title Registry. This will bring new requirements for surveying. Most specifically older plans (say pre-1970) that are drawn in imperial or are not to scale or are of poor quality, may need to be updated as metric plans.

Cost can be quoted by the survey company prior to starting work on the property providing you supply them with a lot plan and legal description and any covenants or zoning orders that might be relevant.

For an average ¼ acre lot to establish boundaries and prepare a survey report could cost in the range of $1,500 to $2,000. However, if there are issues that need to be resolved with planning for instance an encroachment, this cost could be quite a lot higher.

Just in case estimate between $4,300 and $4,500 for a typical 0.25 acre lot.

This covers $3,500 to stake two properties (includes the neighbouring boundary if there is an issue, $569 for Planning and $300 for Stakes. It is always a good idea to get a quote from the surveyor. A survey is part of giving good title to your property, therefore this cost is always borne by the seller.

Ideally, I suggest my sellers have their property surveyed prior to listing or at the very beginning of listing.

Then if any encroachments or problems are found they can be sorted out before a buyer is found. The timeframe to “correct” any anomalies with planning can take approximately four months or longer.

Therefore, if surveying a property is left until your property is in contract, and if there is a problem it will almost definitely affect the sale.

Be sure to use a registered surveyor, and if you are working with a Coldwell Banker Agent, we can offer you a 15 per cent discount with our in house team Bermuda Land Survey.

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• Heather Chilvers is amongst Coldwell Banker Bermuda Realty’s Leading Sales Representatives. She has been working in Real Estate for 25 years. If you have a question for Heather, please contact her at hchilvers@brcl.bm or 332 1793.