Same could be said for any kind of insurance.  And, since no insurance companies pay out more in claims than they collect in premiums, your logic would mean that all insurance is not worth it.  For example, my auto insurance at $600 per year would not be worth purchasing unless they pay for over $600 worth of claims on the average policy each year.  Obviously they would not be in business if that were the case.

When you are purchasing a home, you are risking a pretty large investment.  A survey for $400 is a good idea - unless you can take other steps to minimize the risk.  For example, if there haven't been any new additions, you might be able to get a copy of the seller's survey and see if there are any potential problems.  In this case, it was an REO property, so getting an old survey from the seller was not an option.  The prudent thing to do would be to get the survey (and survey coverage).

Your idea to check with the government office, or file the notices in the public record won't always help.  It may have in this case... but what if the problem didn't come up unitl after the purchase - I mean, if no notices had been sent out, but the Land Use Office discovered the encroachment after the purchase, the homeowner would be in the same boat.  He would still have the expense of compliance unless he had survey coverage.

Best,
Robert A. Franco
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