Whether you’re finalizing a residential closing or managing a new build, understanding property boundaries and potential land use restrictions related to your boundaries is essential to avoiding costly legal issues. At McSteen, we know that surveys do more than draw lines on a map. Rather, they protect real estate transactions from complications, including those tied to easements, rights-of-way, and setbacks.
Here’s a look at how these various types of restrictions can impact your ability to use your land, and how a survey helps keep deals smooth, secure, and on schedule.
What Are Easements, Rights-of-Way, and Setbacks?
Easements, rights-of-way, and setbacks are collectively referred to as land use restrictions or property encumbrances. More specifically:
- Easements grant someone other than the property owner a legal right to use a portion of the land for a specific purpose, such as utility companies accessing underground lines or neighbors crossing through a shared driveway.
- Right-of-ways are a specific type of easement that typically allow public access, such as a sidewalk or road that passes through private property.
- Setbacks are local zoning rules that dictate how far structures must be from property lines, streets, or other buildings.
Violating any of these can trigger legal disputes, permit issues, insurance delays, or even forced alterations to completed structures.
How Surveys Help to Identify and Prevent Issues
A professional survey – whether it’s a Mortgage Location in Ohio or a Surveyor Location Report (SLR) in Indiana – provides a visual and legal snapshot of a property’s boundaries per a provided legal description, structures, and existing easements or encroachments.
Surveys Reveal:
- Utility easements: Electric, gas, sewer, and water lines when platted or provided by title
- Shared access points: Driveways or alleys
- Encroachments: Fences, sheds, or garages that cross onto neighboring lots
- Setback violations: Structures built too close to property lines per the platted information
Title companies and lenders often require these surveys to confirm that there are no red flags before issuing insurance or releasing funds.
Ohio and Indiana: State-Specific Considerations
While title insurance does not always require a location report, without a valid Mortgage Location in Ohio or a Surveyor Location Report (SLR) in Indiana, your title insurance may not cover any problems that would have been revealed by a survey.
In Ohio, Mortgage Locations are widely used and often required by title underwriters. While they don’t establish legal boundaries like a full boundary survey, they do help identify encroachments, easements, and potential zoning compliance issues.
In Indiana, a Surveyor Location Report (SLR) serves a similar role. These are typically ordered by the lender or title company but can also be requested by the buyer or seller to proactively avoid delays or disputes.
Real-World Risks of Skipping a Survey
Surveys not only help title companies issue accurate policies, but also protect buyers, sellers, lenders, and real estate professionals from post-closing surprises. The fact is buying or refinancing property without a proper survey can leave critical issues undetected.
- A garage built into a setback zone, violating local ordinances
- A fence that crosses onto a neighbor’s land, leading to a property dispute
- Underground utility easements that restrict where you can build
In many cases, these issues only come to light after closing, when remediation becomes costly and time-consuming. Without a valid location report, title insurance may include exceptions that leave you exposed to future claims.
Why McSteen?
We are proud to be a trusted partner for land services for our clients, committed to the highest level of customer service while embracing technology and innovation to be more efficient and easier to work alongside to ensure successful real estate transactions.
We serve all 88 counties in Ohio and 24 counties in Central Indiana, with deep local knowledge gained by our regional teams. At McSteen, we empower lenders, title teams, and property owners with fast, accurate surveys and inspections, so every deal moves forward with confidence.
Whether you’re navigating a refinance, new purchase, or development project, don’t leave easements and setbacks to chance.
Request a Quote
Contact the McSteen Team
Learn More About Our Services