Mortgage Inspection Reports

Foresight Land Surveying provides what is known as a Mortgage Inspection Report to many of our Tulsa area clients. This report is primarily used by lenders and Title Companies to determine if the improvements on the property show any obvious encroachments. Please be aware, however, that this is NOT a land boundary survey. At a glance, a boundary survey plat and a mortgage inspection plat look nearly identical, but they have some major differences. A boundary survey determines the exact location of a property’s boundary corners and lines. A Mortgage Inspection Report is the surveyor’s professional opinion as to the relationship between the improvements and the boundary lines. A boundary survey will collect as much evidence (property corners) as required to determine the location of the subject property’s corners. They will then be reestablished. A Mortgage Inspection Report does not go to these lengths. It is our standard practice to locate as many corners as possible in order to make a reasonable determination about the location of the property boundaries, but may rely on as few as two corners and a survey of physical lines of possession such as fence lines and treelines to complete the survey. This is often enough to identify the location of the boundaries within a reasonable level of accuracy. We then locate and measure the house or other improvements so we can show a complete picture of the property at the time of our site visit. This Mortgage Inspection Report is used primarily to satisfy the lender’s requirement and can identify big issues such as encroachments before finalizing the purchase of the new home. A Mortgage Inspection Report also provides the new homeowner a map of their property which can be helpful for planning small construction or landscaping projects, but it should not be relied upon for the construction of and fence or other improvements where it is critical to know exactly where the true lines are located.