said by fifty nine:Check the flood maps too. If you are in a flood zone you will be required to purchase flood insurance.
Get a survey done, especially if you have a large property. It's good to know where your property boundaries are.
Definitely check the flood maps. Check them YOURSELF. Realtors lie. I looked at two houses and asked the real estate agent about floods and was assured they weren't in flood plains. Both are. One is now gone, a flash flood knocked it right off the foundation.
I did not get a survey when I bought my home. I not want to put up a fence. Guess what? An error was made and according to the city maps the lot lines are all screwed up. Had I known about this, I would have walked away, or had the seller fix the screw up. A survey will cost me $2400, probably because the engineers all know that the lot lines in the subdivision are screwed up and it will be a lot of work to figure it all out. According to the city map, my living room is on my neighbors lot, and the house on the opposite side of me is partially on my lot. My guess is the map is wrong, but I haven't spent the money to find out. I don't really want to open that can of worms now.