When purchasing land or homes in the Taos real estate market, a surveyor will be doing some work on behalf of the buyer(s) and the title insurance company. Whether they are doing a “survey” or an “Improvement Location Report” depends on:

• Whether there has been a survey within the last 10 years or so.
• The negotiations of the buyer and seller, as the cost is very different.
• If there are issues that concern the title insurer and might require a full survey.

As an ILR is normally a few hundred dollars, while a survey is a few thousand, the seller normally wants only the ILR performed. This is completely acceptable if the title company will remove any survey-related objections in their title binder based on the ILR. The vast majority of deals in the Taos real estate market require only an ILR.

There is also a large difference in the time frames required. An ILR can be done usually in a week or two, while a full survey can take months. This is not a desirable situation for buyer or seller in most cases. You’ll also note that there is a disclaimer on the ILR that states that it is not a “survey” and not to be used as such by the property owner. The ILR is prepared solely for the title company to aid in their issuance of title insurance. It carries less liability and work for the surveyor, thus the lower cost.

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