I inherited a 10 acre tract 3 years ago and had it surveyed when it was put in my name. A distant relative who used to own the adjoining tract, but has passed it into his son's name, is certain my boundaries are incorrect. He has said I will have to "sell or move my home," (which is out of the question.) My home currently sits exactly 123.5 feet from the line. I told him he is welcome to pay for another survey, but the last one done on this tract before I had one done in '05 was in the 70's so I feel confident everything will be fine. I am just curious as to how common this is and what will be done if the surveyor he has hired finds the new boundaries to be incorrect? Thanks for any info.!

Unfortunately surveying is not an exacting science. However, with improved technology some of the human error is removed and overall, more recent surveys are more reliable.

The problem surveyors have is finding monuments (metal pegs in the ground). Not every property has or still has it's monuments. This means finding a monument somewhere else and tracking your lots position. Sometimes surveyors are forced to rely on descriptions (so many feet this way and that) which are not necessarily accurate. I think you get my point.

If there is a conflict between your neighbors NEW survey and the survey you have - get the two surveyors together to explain the differences. If this does not resolve the issue then you may have to go to court to determine which survey should be relied upon.

Steve @ www.buyingahouseandsavingmoney.com

It is unlikely that the house could have been built on the property line. The building permit process usually checks that.

There could be many causes for a discrepancy in the surveys:

1. There could be a typographical error in the plat of either piece of property. This could cause it to be impossible for both pieces of property to simultaneously exist as legally defined. In my area, it was easy to figure out which legal description was wrong. All of the lots are the same size. So the one with 10 extra feet was the wrong one.

2. A point of reference could have been moved. I know of a property defined in relationship to a railroad which is no longer there, and another referenced to the "centerline of a road" which has since had a lane added on one side.

3. Our surveyors were were using stone blocks with an X on the top to set monuments. That didn't last long. Children thought they were marking buried treasure, and dug them up.

4. Geologic movement could alter the distances between two points. This could include earthquakes and downslope creep.

5. Some surveyors are either sloppy or dishonest.

6. I know of a couple of cases where politicians changed the legal descriptions of properties to add enough land to be able to do something (such as widening a road) without having to go through the condemnation process. One of them also changed the zoning map without a passed ordinance, to change the zoning of the house he was trying to sell.