The Selling Process
Why A Mortgage Lender Won’t Use Your Survey
When listing your home for sale in Texas and negotiating with the buyer, a survey will be required at closing if the buyer is getting a home loan. In most cases, sellers have an existing survey that a buyer can use when obtaining mortgage financing; however, a mortgage lender won’t use your survey for a few reasons.
Checking Your Existing Survey
A lender or title company may reject a survey for several reasons:
- The survey is outdated or inaccurate. Changes to the property—such as adding a pool, building a fence, or expanding the home—may mean the survey no longer reflects the property as it exists today.
- The survey is illegible. If your copy is difficult to read, contact the title company that handled your previous closing to see whether it has a clearer copy.
- The survey is missing the required seal. Copies can sometimes cut off the surveyor’s seal. Check your records for the original or a complete copy.
Even if your survey appears to meet these requirements, the lender and title company must determine whether it can be accepted for the transaction.
Understanding Who Pays for a New Survey
Responsibility for the cost of a new survey depends on the purchase contract and negotiations between the buyer and seller.
As a general negotiating approach, a seller may offer an existing, accurate survey, while the parties can discuss who will pay if a new one is needed. If the existing survey no longer reflects changes to the property, the seller may consider covering the cost. These are negotiating considerations, not fixed rules.
Review the contract with your real estate agent and confirm the survey requirements with the title company.
Reviewing a Sample Survey
Use the sample survey below as a visual reference when reviewing your own documents.
