The 2 Minute Check Almost Every Home Buyer Skips

There is a two minute check every buyer should do before going under contract, and almost nobody does it. It costs nothing and it does not require a lawyer.

Read the legal description on the deed. The address on the listing is not what controls what you own. The legal description is, and those two things are not always the same. Then get a survey, because the legal description tells you what you own on paper and the survey shows you what that looks like on the ground.

In the video below, North Carolina attorney Tiffany Webber explains what to look for and the scenario where a buyer ends up owning less land than they walked through.

Watch the Full Video

The Address Is Not What You Are Buying

Most buyers believe the address on the listing is the property. The house at 123 Main Street, that is it. And it makes sense. The address is on the listing, it is on the contract, it is what you type into Google Maps to go look at the place.

Legally, the address does not control what you own. The legal description does.

When you close, the deed that gets recorded in the public record contains a legal description. That description is the precise, legally binding definition of what you are purchasing. If you have never looked at it, you do not actually know what you are buying.

How This Goes Wrong

Here is a scenario we have seen play out. A large parcel gets divided up over time. Maybe a family owned ten acres and sold pieces of it off over the years. Now there are multiple smaller parcels, and some of them share the same address or something very close to it.

A buyer comes along, sees the listing, sees the address, and assumes they are buying the whole thing, or at least the portion they walked through and fell in love with.

The legal description on the deed tells a different story. They are buying one specific parcel. Not the adjacent lot they thought was included. Not the extra acreage they were counting on. Just the piece the legal description defines. And they do not find out until after the due diligence period has expired.

What makes it frustrating is that the information was always there. It was in the deed the whole time. Nobody hid it, nobody lied. The buyer just never looked.

What to Look For

Legal descriptions are not easy reading. They can look like a wall of text full of compass directions, distances, and references to deed books that mean nothing to most people.

At a basic level you are confirming that the description matches what you believe you are purchasing. If you think you are buying a single lot, does the description reference one parcel? If you think you are buying multiple lots, are they all listed? If the seller told you the property includes a specific piece of land, is that reflected in the description?

You do not need to decode every word. You do need to look at it. And if something feels off, if the description seems shorter than you expected or references something you do not recognize, that is the moment to ask your attorney. Before you go under contract, not after.

This is also exactly why deed review is part of what a real estate attorney does during closing. We are reading that legal description and making sure it matches what the seller says they are selling. You should be looking at it too.

Where the Legal Description Meets the Real World

A legal description tells you what you own on paper. A survey shows you what that looks like on the ground.

A lot of buyers pull up a GIS map, the county geographic information system, basically an online map showing property lines, and figure they can see the boundaries. The problem is that GIS maps show a general location. They are not precise, they are not legally binding, and they are not showing you where the lines actually fall on the ground.

A licensed surveyor goes out to the property, measures it, and shows you exactly where the boundaries and corners are, what is inside your property and what is not.

We have seen buyers skip the survey to save a few hundred dollars and then find out after closing that the fence they thought was on the property line was two feet inside the neighbor yard, or that the driveway they were counting on partially crosses onto an adjacent parcel.

What to Actually Do

Before you go under contract, find the deed and look for the legal description. It typically appears near the beginning, or in an Exhibit A if one is referenced. Read it. Compare it to what you believe you are purchasing. If you are working with a real estate attorney, ask them to walk you through it.

And if you have not ordered a survey, have that conversation during the due diligence period, not at closing. While you still have time to act on what you find.

Watch the full video for the full explanation. The other document that controls what you are allowed to do with the property is the recorded restrictions, and we covered those in how CC&Rs work in North Carolina. For more on how the boundaries themselves get read, see title vs deed.

Common Questions

What is a legal description on a deed?

The precise written definition of the property being conveyed, usually by metes and bounds or by reference to a recorded plat. It is what legally determines the boundaries of what you own, not the street address.

Where do I find the legal description before closing?

On the current recorded deed, typically near the beginning or in an attached Exhibit A. Deeds are recorded with the county register of deeds and are public record.

Are GIS maps accurate for property lines?

They are useful for a general sense of location, but they are not precise and they are not legally binding. Only a survey by a licensed surveyor establishes where the boundaries fall on the ground.

Do I need a survey when buying a house in North Carolina?

It is not required, but it is what connects the legal description to the physical property. Fences, driveways, and outbuildings that sit across a line are common, and finding out before closing is much cheaper.

What if the legal description does not match what I thought I was buying?

Raise it during the due diligence period, while you can still act on it. Once that window closes, your options and your leverage both shrink.

Closing on a Property Around Lake Norman?

At Thomas & Webber, reading the legal description and making sure it matches the deal is part of every closing we handle, along with the title search and the recorded documents behind it.

Our offices in Mooresville, Cornelius, Denver, and Kannapolis serve buyers and sellers throughout the Lake Norman area, including Davidson, Huntersville, Sherrills Ford, Troutman, and Statesville.

Email your contract to close@thomasandwebber.com or call us at (704) 663-1600 to schedule your closing with us.