Questions to Ask at the Listing Appointment for Rural Land and Acreage

Before a title company can perform a title search and issue title insurance for a property, it needs an exact description of the land being sold. The title policy covers the property as it’s described, so any land left out of that description may not be searched or insured.

Most purchase agreements identify the property by its street address, and for many homes, that’s enough to get started. However, a seller may not know that their land spans two parcels, or that the driveway they’ve used for years crosses a neighbor’s property. “It may seem like an easy thing to identify the property,” says Erin McConatha, attorney and title underwriter at South Oak Title and Closing in Birmingham. “But problems can surface past closing, when buyers think they’ve bought the whole thing and they haven’t.”

For homes in a platted subdivision, the address usually lines up with the rest of the records. Each home sits on a numbered lot in a plat recorded with the county, and the address, tax records, and legal description tend to match.

Rural properties and acreage are harder to identify from an address alone. Their deeds usually describe boundaries with measurements rather than lot numbers, and owners may have added or sold land over the years. Counties may also split one property into several parcels for tax purposes, or combine several parcels on one bill. When an address points to only part of the land, the title search may miss the rest, and the buyer may close without clear ownership of everything they expected to buy.

The same concerns can apply to a home in a subdivision. An owner who bought all or part of the lot next door may hold two separate parcels, and a driveway shared with a neighbor can affect access.

For these properties, a few questions at the listing appointment can confirm exactly what’s being sold and give the title company what it needs for a complete and accurate title search.

"Have you bought or sold any land next to this property?"

Owners often add to their land over time by buying a strip from a neighbor, an adjoining lot, or a few acres behind the house. Each purchase can come with its own deed and parcel number, even when the owner has treated all of it as one property for years. A seller may assume the added land is included in the sale automatically. But if the title company doesn’t know about it, that land may be left out of the property description and title search.

Sellers who have sold part of their original land may still think of the property by its old boundaries, especially when fences or a driveway haven’t changed. The listing may then include acreage the seller no longer owns, and the buyer may expect to receive land that now belongs to someone else.

A seller may also have sold a few acres to a neighbor or relative years ago and signed a deed that was never recorded with the county. In that case, the records may still list the seller as the owner, even though both parties consider the sale complete. The title company will need to resolve that before closing.

"Can I see your most recent tax bill? Do you get more than one?"

A copy of the seller’s most recent tax bill gives the title company several details it needs to identify the property accurately. The tax bill shows the parcel number the county uses to identify the property, and the title company uses that number to search the correct records. A tax bill can also reveal that a property includes more than one parcel. A seller who pays two tax bills may not connect the second one to the house they’re selling, especially if it covers land behind the home or was added years ago.

“Contracts often list only the address, because that’s where the seller receives their mail. But a property may have two tax bills and two parcels, or two parcels on one tax bill, depending on the county,” McConatha says.

Without the parcel numbers, the search may cover only the parcel tied to the address. The tax bill also offers other useful details. Many bills list the acreage the county has on record, which you can compare to the acreage in the listing. “Acreage problems can make it all the way to closing before anyone notices,” McConatha says. “The buyer thinks they’re getting fourteen acres, and it’s only two.”

The bill also shows whether taxes are current, and since unpaid property taxes become a lien on the property, an early look can prevent a surprise payoff at closing. Finally, the names on the bill show who the county considers the owners, which helps confirm who will need to sign.

"How do you get to your property? Do you rely on anyone else's land to do so?"

A title policy insures legal access, meaning the property touches a road or has a recorded easement to cross someone else’s land. But legal access and physical access aren’t always the same.

“When it’s acreage, I would recommend asking sellers how they access their property and whether they’re aware of any easements,” says Fanny Johnson, a title underwriter at South Oak Title and Closing. “If any part of the property touches the road, it has legal access. That doesn’t mean the driveway the owners use is on their land.”

In most cases, the driveway sits on the owner’s land, and legal and physical access line up. Title policies treat the two separately because a title search relies on recorded documents, which can confirm that a property touches a road but can’t show where the driveway runs.
As a result, the title policy covers the right to reach the road, not the use of a specific driveway. “Without a survey, we can’t confirm that the owner has the right to use the existing driveway,” McConatha says. The difference matters most when only a narrow strip of the property touches the road, or when a driveway runs close to a property line.

When legal and physical access don’t align, the buyer can lose driveway access after closing. “We’ve seen properties where a small section touched the road, so there was legal access, but the driveway the owners used crossed a neighbor’s land,” Johnson says. “After closing, the neighbor blocked the driveway, and the new owners had to build a new one to reach their home.”

The solution to an access problem depends on both the property and the neighbor. The owners may be able to negotiate a recorded easement, buy the strip of land the driveway crosses, or build a new driveway on their own property. However, an easement or a purchase requires the neighbor’s agreement, along with someone outside the title company to draft the documents. If the neighbor won’t agree, the remaining options are often more limited and more expensive. “If an easement is needed, that takes time,” Johnson says. “You can’t do that at the closing table.”

Asking how the seller reaches the property can also uncover other types of access they may take for granted, such as a shared private road or a path to a lake or community dock.

"Do you have a survey? Has the property changed since the survey was completed?"

A survey shows where property lines fall and where buildings, fences, and driveways sit in relation to them. For rural property, it’s the most reliable way to confirm the property’s boundaries, how it connects to the road, and whether everything the seller uses falls within the land being sold. An older survey is still useful, but fences, outbuildings, or a new driveway added since then may not appear on it.

Surveys usually aren’t required for cash sales, and their cost makes many buyers and sellers hesitant to order one. McConatha encourages agents to raise the subject of surveys early. “Agents shouldn’t overlook a survey recommendation. If it’s a rural property and the sellers don’t already have a survey, let them know early. Surveys can be expensive, so there’s often resistance, but the cost should be factored in from the start.”

The buyer and seller can decide who pays for a survey, or they may choose to agree to split the cost. A conversation at listing gives them time to plan for it rather than treating the survey as a surprise expense later in the transaction.

Prepare the Listing for the Title Search

For rural and acreage listings, a little preparation before the property goes under contract can give the title company what it needs to confirm the property’s parcels, boundaries, and access early in the transaction, rather than requesting that information after the title search is underway.

Compare the Tax Map to the Property Listing

Tax maps and aerial images can show whether a property touches a road and how its boundaries compare to what’s on the ground. “We go beyond what’s required and review tax maps to confirm that a property has access,” McConatha says. Agents can do a similar check by pulling up the county tax map and comparing the boundaries to what they see in person.

Note where the driveway meets the road, where fences sit, and whether outbuildings appear to fall inside the property lines. If anything appears out of place, it may be a good time to recommend a survey to your seller.

Order Surveys Early and Have Them Sent Directly to the Title Company

Surveys can take time to schedule and complete, so it helps to decide early whether the sale will need one. When a survey is ordered, ask the surveyor to send it directly to the title company. “Fraudulent surveys are a new concern,” McConatha explains. “We haven’t seen one here yet, but we’ve started asking surveyors to send their work to us directly so we can confirm it’s authentic.”

Include Every Parcel Number in the Purchase Agreement

Once the tax bills confirm how many parcels make up the property, list each parcel number in the purchase agreement along with the address. The purchase agreement defines what the buyer is purchasing, so a complete description gives the buyer, seller, and title company the same understanding of the property from the start. It also gives the title company a clear starting point for the search and helps confirm that every parcel is included in the deed at closing.

Share What You've Gathered When You Open the File

Send the tax bills, surveys, deeds, and anything the seller mentioned about access or neighbors when you open the title order. Parcel and access issues often take the longest to resolve, so early information gives the title company the most time to work through them.

Property questions matter most for rural and acreage listings, along with any home in a subdivision where the owner has added land or shares access with a neighbor. A second parcel, a shared driveway, or a strip of land bought years ago rarely shows up in the purchase agreement, and the seller may never think to mention it. Each of these situations has a path to resolution when the title company learns about it early.

A few questions at the listing appointment, followed by a look at the seller’s records, can bring these situations to light before they impact the closing date. The buyer knows exactly what they’re purchasing, the seller has time to address any gaps, and the title company can search and insure all of the land included in the sale.

If a listing involves more than one parcel, a shared driveway, or land that has changed hands over the years, South Oak can help you sort out what the title search will need. Contact us with your questions at any time during your transaction. You can also order a preliminary title report or schedule your closing today.