Who is responsible for paying costs if a survey is incorrect?
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Who is responsible for paying costs if a survey is incorrect?
About a year ago, we purchased a home. We immediately had the property
surveyed and marked for a fence. The property lines were marked for about
1.5 months prior to installing the fence. Our neighbor just had a survey of their
property done, showing different results than our survey showed. They believe our fence is on their property by about 2 feet. If the 2 survey companies do not
agree that the fence is on our property, then who is responsible for paying to move the fence? Would we, as the homeowner, pay the costs or would the survey company be responsible for the cost?
Asked on June 29, 2018 under Real Estate Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
You would have to pay UNLESS you were to sue your survey company and prove in the course of the lawsuit not only that they were wrong, but that they had been "negligent" or unreasonably careless in how they did their work or the conclusion they came to. If there was a reasonable basis for the boundaries they determined and they did their work to within acceptable professional standards, they would not be liable and so you would have to bear the cost; you have to establish fault on their part (and go to the trouble, time, and expense of suing) to recover money from them.
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