The PYB Blog

Should I check a survey plan before buying a house?

Deciding whether to consult a survey plan before bidding on or buying a house is considered one of the most effective ways to avoid buyer’s remorse.

What is a Survey Plan?

A survey plan, also known as a land survey, property survey, Surveyor’s Real Property Report, and building location survey, is a diagrammatic representation of a property and all it’s physical features. It shows the physical extent of the property – the boundary –

A Laneway Suite is a new, self-contained residential unit located on the same lot as a detached house, semi-detached house or townhouse, and generally located in the rear yard next to a laneway. The laneway suite is typically smaller than and fully detached from the main building.

Laneway Houses are a hot topic in the City of Toronto, as they offer homeowners the ability to create new sources of revenue and increase the overall value of their property. To qualify for a laneway suite,

Hi Dara;

If you put up your fence on the property line or on your side of it you do not need permission to do so. You would have been wise to consult a survey plan to confirm exactly where the property line was because often existing fences are not on the lie...we just assume that they are.

Your neighbour is probably just wanting to make sure you didn't build the fence on his property - not an unreasonable request.

Hi;

You're right, in Ontario lenders do require title insurance to be purchased. Some, however only require lender's title insurance as the minimum requirement which means that you don't get any benefit from this insurance, only they do. Check with your lender and lawyer and if that's the case, ask if you can extend the coverage to homeowner as well.

Title insurance is an excellent product and great value for money. However, there are limits to its coverage. Title insurance ins't boundary insurance. It also doesn't...

Do you have a survey of your property that shows your building as well as the property line? Use it to determine exactly where the property line is. Does your neighbour have one? That's your starting point - establish consensus on where the boundary actually is. Hiring a surveyor to stake out the property line is your best bet. 

Unfortunately we are seeing that this often isn't enough. Even with insurmountable official evidence in your favour you may find your neighbour continues their project.

Hi Bryan;

Yes it is, providing that the footprint of the building (the location of it's foundation) has not changed. Survey plans that show buildings (called Building Location Surveys or Surveyor's Real Property Reports) typically show the distances between the corners of the building and the property line.

This information is invaluable because it allows you to take those measurements and approximate where, on the ground, the property line is. If the foundation of the building has not changed since the 1957 survey plan...

A new initiative launched by Protect Your Boundaries Inc. and Teranet Inc. will empower Ontario's land professionals with expanded access to the digital resources they need to thrive in a real estate and property sector being disrupted by technological innovation and the impacts of COVID-19. The expanded partnership aims to make critical land data more accessible and easier to understand for buyers and sellers. “We’re democratizing land data by compiling and explaining official property and boundary information so that it’s more accessible and easier to understand,” said Chris Kamarianakis, CEO of Protect Your Boundaries. “We’re making sure the right information gets into the right hands so people can make informed choices about what for many is the biggest financial decision that they’ll ever make.” To learn more, see the news release below.

Assuming you have a survey that you determine is decent to use, the first thing you're going to do is look and see / determine where the boundary is. And the boundary on a survey plan is always the thick, dark line. Look for the thickest, darkest line, that's going to be your boundary. 

Now, don't confuse the front boundary of the property with where the road is or the curb or the sidewalk is. That's not where the boundary is. Some people take measurements from ...

Many of you I know practiced real estate before title insurance came in, right? And those of you who did will remember the amount of work that the lawyer used to do prior to closing, to assure good title.

You always had to get a survey plan by the way and the lawyer did a full 40 year title research, and off title search to make sure that there were no outstanding permits or warrants or anything else like that. They also looked ...

“Land Survey” is the term that encapsulates pretty much all the different types of plans the surveyor would produce. Within that there are two general types of land survey. Public plans and Private Plans.

Public Plans

Public plans include Registered Plans, Reference Plans, Plans of Subdivision and Condo Plans. These are the plans that normally you'll find at the Registry Office. These types of plans typically only have a certain amount of information on them. What do they show? Well, these types of plans show ...