Selling Land on Chincoteague Island

A survey is a licensed surveyor's drawing of your property boundaries, structures, fences, easements, and encroachments. Whether you need a new one depends on the age of your existing survey and whether anything has changed. Lenders often require a current survey if boundary questions exist. On the Shore, older properties frequently have unrecorded fences or additions near property lines, so I review this early to avoid last-minute surprises.

An easement gives someone else a legal right to use part of your land for a specific purpose. Common examples on the Shore include utility, drainage, shared driveway, and waterfront access easements. Easements transfer with the property and must be disclosed. Most are routine, but unrecorded or conflicting easements may need resolution before closing. As a licensed title insurance agent, I can review what the title search shows and tell you honestly whether it's a non-issue or something to address.

Title insurance protects against legal ownership problems like old liens, forged signatures, heirs not cleared from a deed, or boundary disputes. In Virginia, an owner's title policy is a buyer item, not a seller cost, though most buyers purchase one. As a seller, your existing policy from when you bought can be valuable if a title issue surfaces, such as an unreleased deed of trust. As a licensed title insurance agent, I can help spot these issues early and guide you through what's needed to keep closing on track.