Closings glossary
Survey
A surveyor's drawing of the parcel, its improvements and any encroachments. Lenders on houses and townhouses generally require a current one or a survey inspection.
What is a survey in a real estate closing?
Quick Answer
The full definition
A surveyor's drawing of the parcel, its improvements and any encroachments. Lenders on houses and townhouses generally require a current one or a survey inspection.
Which related terms should you know?
These are the terms that come up alongside survey in the same file.
- Survey reading
- Review of an existing survey to confirm it still matches the property and the record. It determines the wording of the survey exception on the policy.
- Easement
- A right to use part of another owner's property for a specific purpose. Easements appear as exceptions on a title report and generally survive a sale of the land.
- Adverse possession
- A doctrine under which long, open and exclusive use of another owner's land can ripen into legal title. It matters at closing when a survey shows a fence, wall or driveway sitting over the line.
- Title exception
- A matter the title policy does not insure against, listed on Schedule B. Some exceptions are removed before closing and others are simply accepted by the buyer.
- Endorsement
- An add-on that modifies a title policy's coverage for a defined risk. Endorsement charges come from the filed New York rate structure rather than from negotiation.
Where does survey come up in a New York City closing?
A 1987 Bronx survey shows no rear deck, so the buyer orders an update and the deck turns out to sit four inches past the property line.
What else should you read before closing?
Questions this raises
- Which ALTA endorsements are common in New York?ALTA 9, 8.1, 22, 17, plus condominium and survey endorsements: the TIRSA endorsement set that shows up on most New York residential and co-op closi...
- What happens if the title search finds a problem before closing?Schedule B-I requirements are the punch list, not a dead deal. How New York closings clear old liens, missing satisfactions and name hits before th...
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