Survey
A licensed surveyor's measurement and mapping of a property's boundaries, improvements, and encroachments. Surveys resolve where the lines actually are — questions deeds and tax maps cannot settle.
Related Terms
Metes and Bounds
A legal description that traces a property's perimeter by courses and distances from a point of beginning — bearings, feet, and monuments.
Encroachment
A physical intrusion of a structure or improvement onto a neighboring property — a fence, driveway, or building over the line.
Plat
A recorded map of a subdivision showing lots, blocks, streets, and easements.
More in Legal & Regulatory
View allUniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP)
USPAPThe nationally recognized ethical and performance standards for the appraisal profession, established by The Appraisal Foundation.
FIRREA (Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act)
FIRREAThe 1989 federal law that established the modern appraisal regulatory framework, requiring state licensing of appraisers and USPAP compliance for all federally related real estate transactions..
Dodd-Frank Act (Appraisal Provisions)
The 2010 federal financial reform law that included significant appraisal provisions: appraiser independence requirements, AMC registration, customary and reasonable fee mandates, and prohibition of BPOs for origination..
Appraiser Independence
The legal requirement that appraisers must be free from improper influence, coercion, or pressure from parties with a financial interest in the transaction outcome.