What Would You Do? Survey 343 Acres or Risk Losing the Sale?
Land sales are different.
There are no granite counters to distract a buyer. No staging to soften a concern. No paint color to debate.
There is only dirt, timber, topography, access, and numbers.
And right now, I am dealing with the numbers.
I have 343 acres under contract discussion. That is what the deed reflects: this is a property from a King George Land Grant. All the deeds have been deeds of distribution from estates. The size is as indicated by historical records. That is what has been represented for years.
But here is the complication.
The Acres app and several hunting map platforms are showing closer to 330 acres.
That is a 13-acre difference.
When you are selling in-town lots, 1this difference would be a rounding error.
When you are selling large rural acreage at a per-acre price, 13 acres becomes meaningful.
The Buyer’s Perspective
The buyer is focused on price per acre. Understandably so.
When you multiply a per-acre number across hundreds of acres, small discrepancies feel large. The buyer is starting to get anxious. The tone has shifted from curiosity to concern. And that is the moment we all recognize. Anxiety is where deals start to unravel.
The Survey Question
Here is the real issue. A new boundary survey will cost in the range of $20,000.
On 343 acres, that is not unreasonable. It is actually responsible land stewardship.
But here is the dilemma. Do I recommend spending $20,000 now to remove doubt?
Or do I hold firm, disclose what is known, and allow the buyer to conduct their own due diligence?
- If the survey comes back at 330 acres, the per-acre math changes.
- If it confirms 343 acres, the property gains clarity and strength.
Either way, clarity costs money.
Risk vs. Control
There are three ways to approach this:
Spend the money now and control the narrative.
Offer to split the cost with the buyer.
Leave it to the buyer and risk them walking away.
In large acreage sales, I have learned that uncertainty is more expensive than information. But $20,000 is not a small decision. Especially when we all know apps are not surveys.
The App Reality
Technology is helpful. But mapping apps are approximations. They are overlays. They are not recorded boundary confirmations.
Still, buyers trust what they can see on their screen. That is the new challenge in rural real estate.
Perception can override recorded history.
The Bigger Question
- Is the acreage discrepancy a deal breaker?
- Or is it an opportunity to clarify, strengthen, and move forward with transparency?
As brokers, we are constantly balancing:
Speed versus certainty
Cost versus leverage
Control versus reaction
Right now, I am standing in that balance.
What Would You Do?
If you had 343 acres listed and the apps showed 330…
Would you:
• Order the survey immediately
• Wait for the buyer to request one
• Renegotiate price based on 330
• Or stand firm on deeded acreage
I would value your perspective.
Large land transactions test judgment in ways residential rarely does.
Looking forward to hearing how you would handle it.
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