I went to survey the damage and was dismayed.

Here we have subdivisions with pipe farms with streets in.Some have 30% houses being occupied.These properties are worthless to me.They sit on maybe 1/4th an acre.Taxes are say 600 a year and HOA is 150 a month.So I would be dropping 2k to 3k a year until the market recovers.If at the height of the market the lot sold for 18k and I buy for 5k.Then if I put 2k to 3k in holding costs each year for 4 years waiting for market to come back I will have 5k plus about another 10k in.Take out resale costs and I am making almost zero on the investment.Now mountain view,ocean,lake view,golf course lots that can be bought cheap is a different story.You need to survey the property and have title checked and insured when buying.The docs have a title or attorney draw up for you.No legal advice.

Attorney fees may be less than just the survey cost plotting all the improvements on 6 acres which a lender may require, do yourself and your parents a favor, see your attorney

In my state we used to have easements for things like power lines that were listed on entire sections of land with no surveys. 

I remember back in the 90's, a survey of several hundred "millionaires" found only 10 or 20% had a Gold or Platinum Visa/Mastercard/Amex (status card), but over 70% of them had a Sears credit card!

@Haider ZamanProperty Manager Job Purpose: Maintains property rentals by advertising and filling vacancies; negotiating and enforcing leases; maintaining and securing premises.Property Manager Job Duties:Establishes rental rate by surveying local rental rates; calculating overhead costs, depreciation, taxes, and profit goals.Attracts tenants by advertising vacancies; obtaining referrals from current tenants; explaining advantages of location and services; showing units.Contracts with tenants by negotiating leases; collecting security deposit.Accomplishes financial objectives by collecting rents; paying bills; forecasting requirements; preparing an annual budget; scheduling expenditures; analyzing variances; initiating corrective action.Maintains property by investigating and resolving tenant complaints; enforcing rules of occupancy; inspecting vacant units and completing repairs; planning renovations; contracting with landscaping and snow removal servicesMaintains building systems by contracting for maintenance services; supervising repairs.Secures property by contracting with security patrol service; installing and maintaining security devices; establishing and enforcing precautionary policies and procedures; responding to emergencies.Enforces occupancy policies and procedures by confronting violators.Prepares reports by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing data and trends.Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.Accomplishes organization goals by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.

I'm not 100% sure but assuming you're purchasing in this scenario.The next 60-90 days will include: Home inspection; contract negotiation; contract signing; mortgage application/approval process (if you're using financing); title search + survey (attorneys typically take the lead on this); securing homeowners insurance; commitment letter from the lender; final walkthrough; closing.The 2 parts of the process that will take the longest will be financing and title. 

He's going to try to talk to Chicago Title's underwriting attorney and cite some case law to see if we can get it removed from our owner's policy to bypass the survey science project we'd need to notice folks.

I'm a commercial real estate appraiser and we survey lenders frequently to keep tabs on the market.

The soft costs include all the design costs: architect, structural engineer, mechanical, electrical and plumbing for the building itself, but you will also need civil engineers who need surveys and geotechnical reports.