Based on nearly 20 years of experience, I am going to guess you will say you do.

There are two questions on the Seller’s Disclosure about property lines that make me think this.

One questions asks if you know the property lines. I do not think I have ever had a seller answer no to that quesiton.

The next question asks if they are marked in any way. Many sellers answer no to that question.

I have always wondered how they know where the property lines are if the boundaries are not marked in any way?

The truth of real estate is that most of the time, we do not know where the property lines really are. The only way to be sure is to have a pin and stake survey done. Many people assume that was done when a fence was installed but that is not always the case.

When buying a house, few buyers purchasing a home in a neighborhood care to find out exactly where the boundaries are. Most assume it is the fence or if no fence exists, it is the mutually agreed upon line where the neighbors stop mowing their grass.

And for all intents and purposes , if everybody is happy, then that pretend line is just fine.

Buy if you are going to add a fence or some structure that may encroach on the set back lines of your property, the best thing you can do is get a survey done. Nobody likes to spend a few hundred bucks on something they think they don’t need, but if a neighbor doesn’t like where you put your fence, you better hope your fencing company guessed correctly where the property line actually is. It can get even more expensive if you do something like build a deck within the set back line, which is the minimum space required along the perimeter of your property. If the building inspector finds out, you will either need to remove it or apply for a variance. Neither are fun and will cost more than a survey.

Plus, getting a survey done allows you to answer affirmatively that you actually DO know where the boundaries are because they ARE actually marked.