Survey Land Express

FENCES AND PROPERTY LINES. Sometimes fences can be in the right place and sometimes not. Check the survey plat image below. New buyer, after closing, decided to replace the old dilapidated fence on the east side, just to make it nice, and cover the neighbor's chain link fence on the west side. General purpose just fence the backyard, make it nice. He was almost ready to put the new fences in the same areas where the old fence was, but decided to double check and ordered a sur...vey. Apparently the old fences were not along the property lines. There are all kinds of encroachments. And all the realtors, real estate attorneys, builders know that encroachments are not easy situations sometimes, not fun to deal with. Moving fences just by a couple of feet is a whole new project again. Homeowner "Know it All" decided to install fences, built sheds without having the lots surveyed. Easy to confuse real corner pins with adjacent backup lots and their pins. The incorrect pins were found and obviously improvements were built as encroachments. The new owner used the survey and correct pins and installed the fence where it should be. Main key points: 1. Fences are not always good indicators where property lines are. 2. If you have a fence project => get a land survey done, where a survey plat is provided showing property boundaries and improvements on it, corners marked, sometimes property lines staked, if necessary. 3. Check permit office county/city and subdivision HOA for rules and regulations regarding fence installation. 4. We've seen people pay pretty high city penalties $1000-2000 for starting a project without a permit and without a survey drawing on hand. Usually inspectors and code enforcement officers don't drive around and check on each backyard what is happening, usually neighbors call. 5. If you want to get it done right, let the professional with the right equipment handle it. It's like if you want to fix your teeth and even if you googled it, read on how to do, maybe got some tools..... but best to have the dentist "the professional" handle it. We handle everything about land. Thank you, Eugene Stepanov Registered Land Surveyor Survey Land Express, Inc 24 Lenox Pointe, Atlanta GA 30324 404-252-5747(office) [email protected] www.SurveyLandExpress.com

GOOD STRATEGY LOT CREATION Investor had an idea and we helped to make it happen. See plat images below.This is what we did. First we measured and prepared an Existing Conditions for Lot A while he was in due diligence to find out what is possible. The lot in that subdivision was narrow and only a trailer could be built about 20 feet wide considering the construction setbacks. It's a tear down build new project. Not very desirable lots are possible to lock under contract for v...ery good price. Investor talked to adjacent owners and made offers to buy parts of their backyards, and all 3 agreed (Lot B, C & D). Why not. It's like a bonus coming along the way, they don't use it anyway. With that extra land we had enough area to create a Subdivision 3 new buildable lots that have good size buildable areas within construction setbacks. Our Mr. Investor did build a house on #1 lot and moved in, did construction on another one and sold it, and 3rd for the future, it can sit as an investment when things will settle and pick back up. Was it a good strategy? I think so! Call us with your project idea, we'll help you execute it. Thank you, Eugene Stepanov Registered Land Surveyor Survey Land Express, Inc 24 Lenox Pointe, Atlanta GA 30324 404-252-5747(office) [email protected] www.SurveyLandExpress.com

Investment purchases of Lots in the city & Land Surveys: Now people buy the house without leaving their home. Which is great sometimes! People can see the pictures, virtual tour, google street view, work with their Realtor, get under contract and finally have a real estate closing. In Georgia residential property can be purchased without a land survey. Georgia is a buyer beware state in terms of residential real estate purchase, it is a law that puts responsibility on the buy...er to learn of any defects of the home and property! Commercial transactions are handled a bit differently. Check out the photo from the street and a copy of the survey plat, city of Atlanta city limits. If you drive by...its a great lot! But there are 3 pipe that cross the property, one pipe is 54" in diameter and is under the house. If the house will be demolished, burnt down, there would be no way to build a new house back up, the city of Atlanta will not give a permit for new homes to be built on top of pipes with easements. Investors will have to turn that lot into a park for themselves and picnic there. Some lots can be very attractive if you drive by, look from the street, price is low, great investment for tear down, build new, renovation project, flip, etc. But people need to get a land survey done to really find out what can be done with their investment. It's almost like getting an X-ray done. And the best way to see the land details is during the Due Diligence period when the property is under contract and definitely before the real estate closing. If you have questions, give us a call. We can check the maps, deeds and recorded plats, zoning maps and city cadastral maps give a advise & provide an estimate, free of charge. We service state of GA only. We can help you make the right decision. Thank you, Eugene Stepanov Registered Land Surveyor Survey Land Express, Inc24 Lenox Pointe, Atlanta GA 30324 404-252-5747(office) [email protected] www.SurveyLandExpress.com

Flood and Elevation Certificate: With all the rain we had recently creeks and rivers are full and some properties are flooded. Based on the AJC news 100 counties in Georgia are affected by Flash flood, some areas by 100 year flood. If you own or plan to buy real estate (house, land to build, rental) best is to know if there is a flood risk. If lately you were not flooded but do pay flood insurance, by getting Elevation Certificate you can find out if you have flood risk. Som...etimes people pay flood insurance premiums because lenders required them, but if you don't have an Elevation Certificate it's impossible to know the true risk and Insurance company wrote up a very conservative expensive policy as you are like a submarine in your house, because they don't know if you are 1 inch in the flood or 10 feet under the water surface. And lenders need to protect their investments. By getting a FEMA Elevation Certificate we at Survey Land Express can calculate and tell if you are in the flood area or not. And if the house with improvements such as deck or porch are Not in the flood, in this case flood insurance is not required and people can save thousands of dollars a year. And any help to the property owner now days is great. Example: we did an Elevation Certificate in Buckhead here in Atlanta and person paid about $5,000 a year premium flood insurance for the last 6 years. When his Neighbor told him "if you never got flooded, go ahead and check if you truly in the flood risk area". Survey Land Express we did the Elev Cert and his house including back deck were several feet above the flood. He forwarded Elev Cert to the bank and as a result didn't have to carry flood insurance after that point. He also filed LOMA (Letter Of Map Amendment) with FEMA so that his property is permanently removed from the flood risk area in the database and in case he'll do refinance and another bank loan underwriter will be looking into that. If the house is not in the flood, property owner can still have a flood insurance coverage, its a personal choice, where premium will be a couple hundred dollars and not thousands. I hope you find that post helpful. Thank you, Eugene Stepanov Registered Land Surveyor Survey Land Express, Inc 24 Lenox Pointe, Atlanta GA 30324 404-252-5747(office) [email protected] www.SurveyLandExpress.com