Uh, Your Living Room Is on My Property

Many lawsuits arise from boundary disputes, yet many states do not requires surveys to be completed as part of a real estate transaction. E&O insurers, attorneys, and other experts insist that agents should not make statements about a property’s boundary line if they are unfamiliar with city rights-of-way and easement rules, given that buyers filing lawsuits for boundary disputes generally do so against agents. To protect themselves from litigation, Realtors should have sellers provide the buyer with a copy of the survey. Furthermore, buyers should be given a written recommendation to have a survey performed if one is not available. Even buyers of raw land should have surveys done so that they know what they can do with the land. The up-front costs of such surveys are much lower than the costs of litigation. | Read More