How Land Surveys and Plats Work in Blanco

Thinking about buying acreage in or around Blanco and wondering if that fence line is really the boundary? In the Texas Hill Country, what you see on the ground and what is recorded in the county’s books do not always match. You want clarity before you commit dollars to a ranch, homesite, or investment tract. This guide explains how surveys and plats work in Blanco County, what type you may need, where to find records, typical costs and timelines, and how survey results can shape your negotiations. Let’s dive in.

Surveys vs. plats in Blanco

A land survey is a professional measurement and map of a property that shows boundaries, corners, visible improvements, and recorded features like easements. A Texas‑licensed land surveyor prepares and stamps it. The format depends on the survey type and purpose.

A plat is a recorded map used to show how land is subdivided into lots, streets, easements, and dedications. Plats are typically filed in the county’s plat records when land is subdivided or when there is a formal dedication.

Why this matters for you in Blanco: rural and semirural properties are common, and surveys surface items that affect how you can use the land. Access, easements, floodplain, well and septic locations, and acreage discrepancies can change financing, insurance, and value. Lenders and title companies often require an acceptable survey for underwriting. Recorded plats and deed descriptions are the legal baseline, but older fence lines in rural Texas may not match deed lines.

Survey types you may need

Different survey types answer different questions. Here are the most common for Blanco buyers.

Boundary survey

• Purpose: establish legal boundary lines, locate corners, and show improvements near the boundaries.
• Typical deliverable: a stamped survey map with boundary lines, corner monuments, adjacent roads, visible improvements, recorded easements, and a surveyor’s certification.
• Common uses: confirm acreage, verify fence location, prepare to build, or satisfy a lender or title company when they accept a boundary survey.

Topographic survey

• Purpose: add elevation and contour data to the boundary information.
• Typical deliverable: contour lines at set intervals, spot elevations, and surface features like creeks and ditches. Some surveys also note utilities and key trees.
• Common uses: site planning for a house, driveway, drainage, and septic, especially on sloped terrain. Often ordered as boundary plus topo.

ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey

• Purpose: provide a comprehensive, standardized survey often required for commercial deals or large rural tracts where title insurers and lenders want maximum detail. It follows the 2021 ALTA/NSPS standards.
• Typical deliverable: boundary, improvements, easements, rights‑of‑way, visible encroachments, and optional table items such as zoning or flood information depending on selections by the buyer or lender.
• Common uses: mortgage loans, commercial property, or complex acreage where you need to clear title exceptions.

Mortgage or short surveys

• Purpose: limited surveys created to meet minimal lender or title needs. Content varies by company.
• Typical deliverable: a pared‑back map with limited boundary and improvement information. These are often not acceptable if a lender requires an ALTA survey.
• Tip: always confirm with your lender and title company what they will accept.

Subdivision and plat surveys

• Purpose: prepare plats to subdivide land, dedicate easements or roads, or replat existing subdivisions.
• Typical deliverable: a plat suitable for recording that conforms to county or municipal rules.
• Who orders: landowners or developers who plan to cut up or reconfigure land.

When you might not need a new survey

You may be able to use a recent, signed survey provided by the seller if your lender and title company accept it. For very small, cosmetic transfers, parties sometimes proceed without a new survey, subject to lender and title approval. If there is any doubt about access, acreage, easements, or encroachments, a new survey is strongly recommended.

Local records and who to call

Knowing where to find the legal paper trail in Blanco helps you verify what a survey should show.

Blanco County Clerk

The County Clerk is the official recorder for deeds, plats, and easements. Ask for the current deed, any recorded plat or re‑plat, and recorded easements or restrictions tied to the parcel.

Blanco County Appraisal District (BCAD)

BCAD maintains parcel data for tax purposes, including the owner name, assessed acreage, and a legal description. Use it to cross‑check the basics, but remember that appraisal records are not surveys.

County GIS, title commitments, and ETJ context

County GIS or mapping tools, if available, can display parcel outlines, roads, and sometimes flood overlays. These maps are helpful for orientation but are not legal evidence of boundaries. Your title company will issue a title commitment listing recorded exceptions and matters that affect the land. In Texas, cities regulate plats inside city limits and in their extraterritorial jurisdiction. If you plan to subdivide near an incorporated city, consult county officials and check any applicable municipal ETJ rules.

Common Blanco land issues

Access

In rural Blanco County, a driveway you can see may cross an easement or a neighbor’s land. A survey clarifies whether you have legal access or need an ingress/egress easement.

Easements and utilities

Power lines, pipelines, or county road rights‑of‑way can cross a tract and limit how you use parts of it. Surveys and recorded documents identify these.

Floodplain and creeks

Parts of Blanco County are flood‑prone. Floodplain status affects buildability and insurance. Ask your surveyor about flood information and confirm with official flood maps before you design improvements.

Water and septic

Boundary surveys do not usually confirm well capacity, water rights, or septic suitability. Those items may require separate inspections, permits, or engineering.

Fences and monuments

Older fences often do not match deed lines. Your surveyor will look for corner monuments and may re‑monument missing corners as needed.

When to order a new survey

Consider commissioning a new survey when any of the following apply:

• Your lender or title company requires it for the loan or for title insurance.
• No recent, acceptable survey exists, or the available survey is older than your lender will accept.
• You see potential encroachments such as fences, sheds, or driveways near lines.
• The acreage in the deed, listing, and appraisal records do not match.
• Access relies on a private road and a recorded easement is unclear.
• You plan to build, subdivide, install septic, or add other improvements.
• Corners are unclear, or there is a boundary dispute.
• The tract is large or complex and you want an ALTA survey for full title visibility.

Costs and timelines

Costs vary with size, terrain, brush, access, and the survey type.

• Small boundary survey, about 1 to 5 acres: often several hundred to a few thousand dollars.
• Boundary plus topo on a small to medium rural lot: typically in the mid three figures to low four figures.
• ALTA/NSPS for rural acreage: commonly mid four figures and up. Large or complex properties can be significantly higher.

Timelines also vary. A small residential boundary survey may take 1 to 3 weeks, depending on workload and access. ALTA surveys and complex rural work can take several weeks to a few months due to title research, fieldwork, and coordination with the title company.

Practical tip: get multiple written quotes from Texas‑licensed surveyors. Confirm what is included, what would change the price, and any extra fees if the title commitment changes after fieldwork starts.

How surveys shape negotiations

A good survey helps you make smart decisions and gives you leverage when issues appear.

• Encroachments: If a fence or building encroaches across a boundary, you can ask the seller to cure the issue, seek a written easement or boundary agreement, or negotiate a price reduction or escrow holdback.
• Easements and restrictions: A wide utility easement across your preferred homesite can reduce usable acreage. You may ask the seller to cure, move, or modify the plan, or renegotiate the price.
• Access gaps: If there is no recorded access easement, the deal may need a negotiated easement or could become unworkable.
• Acreage discrepancies: If the survey shows less acreage than advertised, you can seek a price adjustment or use contract remedies to terminate within your contingency period.
• Title exceptions: Survey details can help your title company issue endorsements or clear certain exceptions, especially on ALTA surveys.

Remedies include seller cures, title endorsements, recorded agreements, price concessions, or escrow holdbacks. Litigation is a last resort for long‑standing disputes.

Contract protections to include

Work with your agent and, if needed, a real estate attorney to build in clear protections.

• The right to obtain a new survey within a set number of days, at your expense, with a survey contingency.
• The right to terminate or renegotiate if the survey reveals defined defects such as encroachments, lack of access, or easements that affect planned use.
• A requirement that the seller provide any existing acceptable survey, including date and whether it meets lender and title requirements.
• Allocation of responsibility for resolving survey‑identified defects, including who pays for cures, updated surveys, or obtaining easements.
• Timelines for delivering the survey and for negotiating remedies based on the results.

Questions to ask a surveyor

Before you hire, interview surveyors and verify credentials.

• Are you licensed in Texas, and what is your license number?
• How much experience do you have in Blanco County or nearby counties?
• Do you prepare ALTA/NSPS surveys and work with the 2021 standard?
• What will be included in the deliverable: boundary, topo, utilities, flood information?
• What documents do you need from me: deed, prior surveys, and the title commitment?
• What is the estimated cost and timeline, and what could change it?
• How will you mark corners, and what monumentation will you use?
• Will you coordinate with my title company or lender if they require specific items?
• Will you provide a written certification and be available for follow‑up questions?

How to review your survey

When your survey arrives, slow down and check the details carefully.

• Confirm corner markers and how they were set or found.
• Compare the survey to the deed description and the title commitment exceptions.
• Verify that any shown easements and rights‑of‑way match recorded documents. Follow up with the title company or county records if something does not match.
• Identify buildable areas based on setbacks, floodplain, and utility corridors. Plan septic and well locations early.
• Discuss any issues with your surveyor, title company, and a real estate attorney before you waive contingencies.

Next steps for Blanco buyers

• Ask the seller for the most recent survey and the title commitment.
• Call a Texas‑licensed surveyor for a site visit and a written quote.
• Confirm with your lender and title company what type of survey is required, and whether an ALTA survey is needed.
• Include a clear survey contingency and timeline in your contract.
• Review results with your surveyor and title attorney before closing. Negotiate cures or credits as needed.

If you want a Hill Country advisor who lives this process every day, we can help you set up the right survey, read the results, and negotiate with confidence. Reach out to the Marjorie Group to talk through your Blanco plan.

FAQs

Can I rely on fence lines in Blanco County to mark property boundaries?

• No. Fences often do not match legal boundaries. Only a stamped land survey establishes the legal line.

Do lenders in Texas require a survey for land purchases in Blanco?

• Often, yes. Lenders and title companies commonly require an acceptable survey, and some loans or complex tracts call for an ALTA/NSPS survey.

Will a standard boundary survey show floodplain and underground utilities?

• Surveys show visible features and recorded items. Flood information and underground utilities may require added scope or separate utility locating services.

If the seller already has a survey, can I use it to close?

• Possibly. Get a copy early and confirm if your lender and title company will accept it. Older surveys may not meet current standards.

Who typically pays for an ALTA/NSPS survey in Blanco County?

• It is commonly a buyer or lender requirement, but payment is negotiable in the contract.

Does a survey confirm water rights or septic permits in Blanco?

• No. Surveys map physical and recorded features. Water rights, well permits, and septic approvals are separate items that require additional records or inspections.