The Benefits of a New Survey When Buying Real Estate in Western North Carolina

When you buy real estate in Murphy and Western North Carolina, the question ought to arise whether you pay for a new survey. It doesn’t matter if you are purchasing vacant land, a home, or a commercial parcel; you’ll get many key advantages from a new survey if you choose to do it.

  1. Remarked lines – this is the most obvious advantage. As part of the survey, the surveyor will go through and mark the perimeter of your land. Common markers are yellow, orange, or pink ribbons on a tree, “blazes” where they hack the side of a tree and paint it with spray paint, iron rods, or fence posts.
  2. A “map” of your land – when complete, the surveyor will provide a plat of your land, which is a big map showing the dimensions, direction of lines, and more on the land. Want to see a sample of what you receive from a plat?
  3. Verification of any encroachments/structure locations – in determining and marking lines, the surveyor will discover if there is an encroachment by your property or from an adjoining parcel. For example, he might find the neighbor’s fence, house, shed, garden, retaining wall, etc. is on your property. Even worse, what if the house or garage you’re buying is partially or wholly on another property? While it may sound unlikely, we’ve seen entire houses built on the wrong parcel of land. Normally, it is a matter of locating and showing your structures on the survey map itself.
  4. Review of Right-of-ways/easements – if the property you are buying has a right-of-way to it or through it (or easement. They mean essentially the same thing, some folks interchange the words), it can be a good idea to verify the location of it. Some easement locations are extremely specific of where they are while others are beyond vague; it can be beneficial to make sure you have good access to reach your property or that an easement to another property through your property does not go through your buildings etc.
  5. Verify acreage – want to ensure the size of your land is accurate? The only accurate way is a new survey. If it hasn’t been surveyed in a long time, acreage can vary wildly. I’ve seen 50 acre parcels that were really 80 acres and 50 acre parcels that were really 34. If properties have been surveyed within the last decade or two, it is generally accurate and varies within 1/10th of an acre. The older it gets, the more it can be off.
  6. Title Insurance to include boundary coverage – when you obtain a new survey prior to a real estate closing, the attorney can add boundary coverage to your title insurance policy at no additional cost. This is a huge benefit, especially on larger tracts. For instance, what if a neighbor builds a shed on or stakes claim to a certain portion of your property? With boundary coverage, the title insurance company will step in and protect your interests. They will not do this without boundary coverage specifically covered in your policy. Because of that, be certain to prompt and verify with your attorney they have included it in your policy. They MUST send in a copy of the survey to the insurance company.
  7. A new deed description – sometimes this is a huge benefit while other times it is unnecessary. For instance, a home built in a subdivision created with in the last decade or two likely will not need a new description as the description is accurate. If you’re buying an “old” parcel that hasn’t been surveyed in a very long time, a survey is priceless. Some old deed descriptions literally have a description that goes to the “old hickory stump” then fifteen poles to a barb wire fence. Those definitely need a new survey to be able to accurately know where boundary lines are located and the true size of your acreage.

A quick story – I purchase a rental house in downtown Murphy and did not get a survey. Whoops. Turns out the last time it was surveyed, that I could find, was somewhere around 1960’s. The neighbor, who I was fortunate enough to know, pointed out to me the carport, which is attached to the house, was partially on his land. I immediately called a surveyor, had it surveyed, and sure enough! The neighbor was kind enough to deed a small <0.01 acre triangle to me to correct it. Had it not been him, I may not have been so lucky to have such a good resolution. Since then, I almost always get a survey when I buy a property.

What’s the approximate cost of a new survey? Every surveyor has a different price structure and every parcel of land is different so there is no normal pricing. As a general guidance, the minimum cost is $550 and can be in the thousands the larger the tract of land is. The only way to get a true quote is to send in the parcel info and have it quoted.

Need a good surveyor? Check out our Gotta Guy List for our recommend contractors, surveyors, and more.

Click here to see a SAMPLE of a survey.

Written By: John Poltrock, The Poltrock Team at RE/MAX in Murphy, NC 1-866-Murphy-NC

Want to search homes and properties for sale in Western North Carolina? Search all properties HERE!

Five Forks Development in Martin’s Creek Community of Murphy, North Carolina

Five Forks in Murphy NC Entrance Sign Five Forks in Murphy NC Entrance Sign

Five Forks is a gated subdevelopment in the Martin’s Creek community nestled in the mountains of Murphy, North Carolina. It is largely respected as one of the finer and better done cabin and chalet developments in Cherokee County. It is complete with a gated entrance that closes at dusk, paved roads, underground utilities, community water system, and spectacular long range views. In fact, you can overlook the mountains of North Carolina and Georgia and even see Lake Nottley in the distance. See the picture below to get an idea of what it’s like on the top of the mountain – and the picture doesn’t even do it justice. Five Forks has a great location and is very close to Bellview. Not only is it quick access to Murphy, it is equally easy to go to Blairsville, GA. It is just off of 19/129 on Moccasin Creek Road. Click Here to see a Google Map of Five Forks’ Location and more.

The raw land tract that would become Five forks, or just 5 Forks as a few folks write it, was originally owned by developer Manny Hernandez. The site plan and much of the orchestration was done by our very own RE/MAX mountain Properties Broker/Owner, David Ritz. It wasn’t acquired as one single tract. Rather, Phase 1 was done and then additional parcels were purchased and added to the development over time.
Five Fork's Spectacular Long Range Mountain View
Five Fork's Amazing Mountain View

The paved roads are a huge asset. With double lane, paved roads coming into Five Forks, it makes travel a breeze. Much of the other developments in the area lack wide roads and can cause issues when two vehicles approach at the same time. Jonathan Wells (of Wells Contracting) built the initial phase of roads, Chris Dockery, and Bill Cook are the men largely responsible for putting in the road system. As you come in the entrance, you cross a large tract of land and a good thing for the community is that Five Forks owns the road coming in – it doesn’t just have an easement like many do.

It contains 129 lots  ranging from less than an acre to over five acres.

For those who enjoy the outdoors, Five Forks is laced with walking trails and a road system that is perfect for getting out and taking a stroll by yourself, with friends, family, or pets. It even has an outdoor picnic facility complete with a restroom.

Homes in Five Forks

Chalet Type Home in Five Forks
Chalet Type Home in Five Forks

Five Forks is well known as a chalet and cabin type community. All of the homes there have earth tone colors and are designed to make you feel like you’re “in the woods” while not secluded and by yourself. Homes in Five Forks start in the 100’s and go to the highest real estate transaction on record at $449,000 (as of this writing).

Interesting Facts on Five Forks

  • Five Forks has a tract 11.63+/- acre tract right in the middle of it that’s not part of Five Forks. It cannot be accessed through the Five Forks entrance, but rather must use Grape Thicket Road and come in through a side entrance.
  • The lots on the Northwestern side of Five Forks (which used to be part of tracts that were part of Grape Thicket) have a secondary right-of-way to come in through Grape Thicket Road. Although this is not as desireable an entrance, it is useable. The large parcel in the middle of Five Forks only has right-of-way through Grape Thicket and cannot use Five Forks’ main entrance.
  • The success of Five Forks is largely contributed to impeccable market timing, great paved roads, competetive pricing, good design, and huge, long range mountain views. Original prices started out around $25,000 and up.
  • Many of the homes built in Five Forks were built by Chris Twiggs, Mark Thorsen, John Ritz, and Ray Newcomb.

Need to sell your property in Five Forks?

Call or email us! It’s a toll-free call at 1-866-687-7496 or email at JohnPoltrock@gmail.com . You’ll recieve a FREE copy of our Seller’s Guide and a market analysis to find out what your property is worth in today’s market!

Want to buy property in Five Forks?

Call or email us! It’s a toll-free call at 1-866-687-7496 or email at JohnPoltrock@gmail.com . We’ll immediately send you a list of all the properties in Five Forks so you can see what is available. We can also notify you the instant new real estate comes available – all for FREE!

Downloadable Documents on Five Forks

 John Poltrock, Certified Residential Specialistwww.MyMurphy.comJohnPoltrock@gmail.com – Call us Toll Free at 1-866-687-7496 for Murphy’s #1 Real Estate Team!