drawing! Survey certificates (done by a qualified and licensed surveyor) are the only way to determine the lot boundaries as well as any ‘improvements’ that have been made to the property over time such as any additions or new buildings. 

Surveyors undertake a physical visit to the property to gather essential data for creating the certificate. They meticulously measure the dimensions, sketch the property layout, delineate legal boundaries, and document various components of the property. Additionally, they make detailed notes regarding rights-of-way, zoning regulations, and other pertinent by-laws. Subsequently, this information is synthesized into a comprehensive “plan of survey” or map, with the surveyor providing a guarantee of its accuracy.

Your mortgage lender may mandate obtaining a survey certificate. Typically, lenders require a property survey to ensure that the property’s appraised value aligns with the loan amount. An updated survey, often a lender prerequisite, aids in precisely identifying the home’s location, delineating other structures on the property, and verifying the absence of existing or potential property issues.

Surveyors undertake a physical visit to the property to gather essential data for creating the certificate. They meticulously measure the dimensions, sketch the property layout, delineate legal boundaries, and document various components of the property. Additionally, they make detailed notes regarding rights-of-way, zoning regulations, and other pertinent by-laws. Subsequently, this information is synthesized into a comprehensive “plan of survey” or map, with the surveyor providing a guarantee of its accuracy.

Your mortgage lender may mandate obtaining a survey certificate. Typically, lenders require a property survey to ensure that the property’s appraised value aligns with the loan amount. An updated survey, often a lender prerequisite, aids in precisely identifying the home’s location, delineating other structures on the property, and verifying the absence of existing or potential property issues.

Why Would a Buyer Need a Survey Certificate?

While the fact that your lender requires a survey be done as a part of their mortgage requirements is reason enough to get one, there are a number of good reasons why a survey certificate is a wise investment. 

As well as ensuring that your lender is satisfied that the property is as it appears, it is a pretty important thing for you—the buyer—to know, too! It is relatively common, especially in older properties, for there to be a small encroachment on the neighbour’s property or vice versa. Even more common is that the current owner of the property may have unwittingly been treating property as ‘private’ when it actually belongs to the municipality or is park land. 

Even seemingly minor encroachments, like those spanning a few centimeters, can lead to substantial consequences in the long run. For instance, a deck initially believed to be on “your property” during purchase could actually encroach into municipal land by just a foot. Consequently, you might face the expensive mandate of relocating or entirely reconstructing the deck within your property lines. While this might appear trivial initially, conducting thorough due diligence regarding your property’s boundaries could prevent you from costly mistakes in the future, such as erecting additions, fences, or driveways on land not rightfully yours.

Despite the variance in survey costs, it’s prudent to include this expense in your property budget. It serves as a modest investment for the peace of mind that your property is indeed yours. In spite of the importance of a survey certificate, it is now quite common for lenders to request title insurance rather than a survey certificate. Title insurance is less expensive, while still satisfying the requirements of a lender and a buyer and insures other risks as well, such as work done without a building permit.

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