Do You Need a Land Survey in Cobb County, GA?
Do You Need a Land Survey When Buying a House in Cobb County, GA?
Georgia doesn't require a land survey to buy a house, but your title insurance policy almost certainly does before it will cover boundary problems. Without a current survey, most title policies carry a "survey exception" that excludes coverage for encroachments, fence-line disputes, and setback violations, the exact problems a survey is built to catch. On a typical Cobb County lot, a survey runs roughly $300 to $800, ordered during your due diligence period, well before you'd ever need that coverage.
TL;DR
- No Georgia law requires a survey to close on a house, but skipping one leaves the "survey exception" in place on your title policy, meaning boundary and encroachment issues aren't covered.
- A standard as-built survey on a suburban Cobb County lot typically costs $300 to $800, with larger or oddly shaped lots running higher.
- Order your survey early in the due diligence period, alongside your title search, so you have time to address anything it finds before your due diligence deadline.
- An as-built survey shows both your property lines and physical improvements (fences, driveways, pools, additions), which is what catches problems like a neighbor's fence sitting two feet onto your lot.
- Removing the survey exception and getting full "affirmative" boundary coverage from your title company requires a current survey done for this specific closing, not an old one from a previous sale.
I spent 20 years as a certified residential appraiser before I ever held a real estate license, and boundary problems are one of the most common things that stall a closing at the last minute. Here's what a land survey actually protects against in Cobb County, and when it's reasonable to skip one.
What a Land Survey Actually Shows You
A land survey is a licensed surveyor physically measuring and documenting your property's boundary lines and, in most residential closings, the location of every structure and improvement on the lot relative to those lines. That second part is what makes an as-built survey (sometimes called an improvement location survey) the version most Cobb County buyers order, rather than a bare boundary-only survey.
The surveyor starts by pulling the recorded plat and legal description for the property, then locates the original corner monuments in the field, iron pins or concrete markers set when the lot was first platted. From there, they measure the actual boundary and compare it against what's recorded, then map every fence, structure, driveway, and encroachment relative to that line. The final product is a signed, sealed plat you and your closing attorney can rely on, not an estimate or a rough sketch.
An as-built survey will show you things a walkthrough never will:
- Whether a fence, shed, or pool actually sits inside your legal property line, or several feet over it
- Whether a driveway or addition from a previous owner encroaches on a neighbor's lot, or vice versa
- Recorded easements for utilities, drainage, or shared driveways that limit what you can build later
- Setback violations relative to your subdivision's or the county's zoning rules
- Discrepancies between the recorded plat and what's actually on the ground
None of this shows up during a home inspection. An inspector checks the condition of the house. A surveyor confirms where the house, and everything around it, legally sits.
Georgia law adds a wrinkle most buyers have never heard of. Under O.C.G.A. Section 44-4-6, if neighboring property owners acquiesce to a boundary line, through their actions or agreement, for seven consecutive years, that line can become the legal dividing line regardless of what the original recorded plat says. In practice, that means a fence built two feet onto a neighbor's lot in 2018 could already be working toward becoming the actual legal boundary by the time you'd be selling that home again. A current survey is how you find out where you really stand before you own the problem, not after.
I've seen this play out on older streets near Downtown Kennesaw and around Marietta Square, where original 1960s and 1970s plats get reconciled against decades of fences, sheds, and additions that were never re-surveyed. Most of the time everything lines up fine. Often enough, it doesn't, and it's far cheaper to find that out during your due diligence period than after you've closed.
Why Your Title Insurance Cares About This
Every standard Georgia title insurance policy includes a set of standard exceptions, things the policy doesn't cover unless you take a specific step to remove them. One of the most common is the survey exception, which excludes coverage for "any matters that would be disclosed by an accurate survey."
In practice, that means if you close without a current survey and a boundary dispute surfaces later, your title insurance may not pay for it. Getting a current survey done for your specific closing lets your title company remove that exception and issue what's called affirmative survey coverage instead, which does protect you against boundary and encroachment problems.
This connects directly to a question I get from almost every buyer working through their closing costs: if you already read through what an owner's title policy covers, the survey is the piece that determines how much of that coverage actually applies to your specific lot.
It's worth noting that a survey and a title search solve two different problems, even though your closing attorney orders both around the same time. The title search confirms who legally owns the property and whether there are liens or claims against it. The survey confirms where the property physically begins and ends, and whether anything built on it crosses that line. You need both to know you're getting clean, unencumbered ownership of exactly the land you think you're buying.
What a Land Survey Costs in Cobb County, GA
Survey pricing in Georgia isn't set by any fixed schedule the way title insurance rates are. A licensed surveyor prices each job based on lot size, terrain, how easy it is to locate existing property corner monuments, and how recently the parcel was last surveyed.
For a standard suburban lot in Kennesaw, Marietta, or Acworth, that typically works out to somewhere between $300 and $800 for an as-built survey. A few things push that number higher:
- Larger lots or acreage, common on the outskirts of Acworth and unincorporated Cobb County
- Missing or disturbed corner monuments, which forces the surveyor to do more research and fieldwork to reestablish the boundary
- Older subdivisions where the original plat is decades old and harder to reconcile with current conditions
- Rush timelines, since surveys booked with only a few days before your due diligence deadline often carry a premium
If you're buying in a newer subdivision in Acworth with clearly marked corners and a recent plat, you're more likely to land at the lower end of that range. An older property near Downtown Marietta with a survey from the 1980s is a different conversation, and it's also where the seven-year acquiescence question is most likely to matter.
Most surveyors will quote you a flat fee once they know the county, the approximate lot size, and whether they can pull the original plat from county records versus having to reconstruct the boundary from scratch. Getting that quote early, ideally the same day you sign your purchase agreement, gives the surveyor enough runway to complete fieldwork and deliver a plat before your due diligence period closes.
When You Can Reasonably Skip the Survey
A survey isn't automatically worth ordering on every deal. If you're buying a condo or townhome where the title is based on a horizontal property regime rather than a metes-and-bounds legal description, a boundary survey typically doesn't apply the same way.
New construction on a freshly platted lot, where the builder's own surveyor has already staked corners and there's no history of fences or additions to check, is another case where the risk is genuinely lower. I still recommend confirming with your closing attorney whether the builder's plat is enough to remove the survey exception, because that varies by title company.
The riskiest place to skip a survey is an older home with visible fences, sheds, or additions that look like they might be close to a property line, exactly the properties where a $300 to $800 survey is cheap insurance against a boundary dispute that could otherwise cost thousands to resolve later. This is exactly the kind of judgment call worth making with someone who's walked through hundreds of these closings, not guessing based on how the yard looks.
Sellers have a version of this decision too. If your own survey is decades old, or you've added a fence or a shed since you bought, letting your buyer's survey turn up a surprise during their due diligence period is a worse outcome than addressing it before you ever list. I walk sellers through exactly this kind of pre-listing homework, alongside a pre-listing inspection, so nothing shows up as a last-minute renegotiation once you're already under contract.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a land survey required to buy a house in Georgia?
No. Georgia law doesn't require a survey to close on a residential purchase. Some lenders require one for certain loan types, and most title companies will only remove the survey exception from your policy if you provide a current one.
How much does a land survey cost in Cobb County, GA?
A standard as-built survey on a typical suburban lot runs roughly $300 to $800, depending on lot size, terrain, and how easily the surveyor can locate existing property corners. Larger acreage or older subdivisions with disturbed monuments can push costs higher.
What's the difference between a boundary survey and an as-built survey?
A boundary survey shows only the property lines. An as-built survey, the version most residential buyers order, also maps every structure and improvement on the lot relative to those lines, which is what actually catches fence, driveway, or addition encroachments.
Can I use the seller's old survey instead of ordering a new one?
You can review it for context, but most title companies won't remove the survey exception based on an old survey, especially if fences, additions, or landscaping have changed since it was done. To get full boundary coverage, the survey generally needs to be current for your specific closing. For more on how Cobb County closings work, visit the Marietta community page.
When should I order a survey during my Georgia home purchase?
Order it as early as possible in your due diligence period, ideally the same week you order your title search, so you have time to negotiate repairs or price if it turns up an encroachment before your due diligence deadline passes. You can read more about how due diligence works in Georgia on Path2Sold.com.
A land survey is one of the smaller line items in a Cobb County closing, but it's the one that determines whether your title insurance actually protects your property lines. Whether you're buying in Kennesaw or trying to figure out whether your specific lot needs one, the answer depends on the property's age, its plat history, and what's actually built on it.
Schedule a consultation with me, Robert Masoudpour, Associate Broker in Atlanta, GA, and I'll walk you through exactly what your due diligence period should include before you're under time pressure to decide. Schedule a 15-minute consultation
