New townhomes mississauga . The most important document in a real estate transaction. Many lawyers and real estate professionals believe that property rights insurance can replace the latest land survey. This view is misleading. In my opinion, a land survey map is the most important document in a real estate transaction-even more important than a contract.
Is land survey (Land survey) important? If the property buyer has taken out property insurance, is it still necessary to conduct a land survey? Many lawyers and real estate professionals believe that property rights insurance can replace the latest land survey. This view is misleading. In my opinion, a land survey map is the most important document in a real estate transaction-even more important than a contract.
A 2015 study called “protected Border” (Protect Your Boundaries) conducted by land surveyors showed that 49 per cent of the 1.2 million permanent residential properties in the Greater Toronto area have significant boundary problems, most of which involve fences, hedges and retaining walls and are not covered by property insurance.
A transaction can be done without a land survey, but the owner takes risks, such as the house is not located on the same piece of land covered by the lease, or part of the neighbor’s house is located on the buyer’s land.
One of my hobbies is collecting strange court cases involving land surveying. In one case, the buyer built a house along the street from the land he actually owned. He thought that the size of the land he owned was 10 feet wider than the actual measured value, so his new house was built on the neighbor’s land.
The lack of land survey can be fatal to housing transactions. I once wrote in a column that the house owned by the seller is actually on the other side of the street; there is also a semi-detached house seller who actually owns the half of the house next door. I also wrote about a deal in which, as a result of a botched split, my client owns half of the house, while my neighbor owns a 1-1 bank 2 house. I was busy for a while about the offset of the fence and the shift of the coastline in this direction.
In more cases, holiday homes are built on shore road concessions or road reservations owned by the municipal government. Septic tanks and swimming pools were built on adjacent land and were demolished by court order. Many buyers were even surprised to find that the driveway entering their houses did not belong to them.
Many lawyers and real estate professionals believe that property rights insurance can replace the latest land survey. I think this is a misleading point of view.
Property rights insurance can provide compensation for some problems, but it is different from obtaining up-to-date land surveys. Most policies provide protection against violations, changes or disadvantages disclosed in land surveys.
If the house improvement works carried out by the owner encroach on someone else’s land, such as a garage, swimming pool or septic tank (but excluding boundary walls or fences) and are ordered by a court or municipal authority to demolish, the property insurance will cover the cost of the owner’s works. But it usually does not compensate for the loss of property value.
Title insurance is worth buying, but it does not compensate for defects that the buyer knew before delivery. There will be no compensation for the buyer’s disqualification for improvement works, such as the construction of an additional swimming pool in the backyard. In one case, Boro Radjevic realized the importance of land survey maps when he discovered that a 2.21m-wide piece of land adjoining his property did not belong to him, but to the city of Toronto.
When Rajevich bought a three-story town house on Craven Rd, Danforth Ave, in 2009, the MLS listing and the purchase agreement described the land, which included sites 24, 25 and 26 of the surveyor’s registered benchmark Plan (reference plan), which also showed that the front width of the house facing Danforth Ave was 21.09 feet. His land tax bill and the records of the property appraisal company (MPAC) also indicate that part 26 of the benchmark plan belongs to Rajevich.
However, the reality is that part 26 (the concrete road next to Rajevich’s house) is owned by the city of Toronto, and Rajevich always thought it belonged to him. In 2017, the telecom company Bell upgraded the equipment on the site, and Rajevich tried to prevent the upgrade, only to learn that the cement road is owned by the city government and is supported by a benchmark plan. Rajevich’s deed shows that he only owns parts 24 and 25, and the front width of the house is only 13.94 feet. Unfortunately, the deed shows the correct information, and Rajevich does not own the land.
City staff later confirmed that Rajevich’s local tax bill was wrong and the staff would take remedial measures. It is estimated that Rajevich will be able to get back the property tax he has paid for the land he has thought belongs to him for many years, but at the same time “lose” the valuable value of the land. Title insurance refused to be insured, and now he has been forced to sue his lawyers, sellers and estate agents.
