Survey Information

WHY DO I NEED A LAND SURVEY?

- To protect the investment you are about to make when buying land.  Be sure before you purchase it, the deed describes the land you are buying.

- If you are buying or selling a piece of real property, most lending institutions will require a current survey for the purpose of revealing potential problems with boundary lines, easements, and encroachments.

- If you are getting ready to build a fence or other improvement near a property line.

- If a property line or property corner is unknown or in dispute, or if you believe someone is encroaching on your land.

- If you plan on dividing your land up to sell or if a will orders land divided up.

 WHAT IS A LAND SURVEY?

A land survey is performed by a registered land surveyor for the purpose of describing, verifying, mapping, and monumenting the boundaries and improvements of a parcel of land.  It may also include the design and layout of new lots and streets, the determination of the physical features of the land parcel, and the location of buildings and other improvements upon the land.  A land survey will locate on the ground what your deed describes on paper.

 HOW MUCH WILL A LAND SURVEY COST?

An estimate of cost can normally be furnished to your by the land surveyor.  Land surveying cost is dependent upon several factors such as type of survey required, the type of terrain, and the availability of existing records and monuments.  It will also depend on whether or not you require a map of what survey work is done.  Sometimes one only needs to have the corner monuments verified or reset, or line stakes placed along the property line to verify the line.  Be sure when you shop for survey work you know whether or not you need it mapped. Costs vary greatly between the two, mapped or not.

Shopping for the lowest priced survey does not necessarily assure the best interests of the land owner.  It is possible that the lowest priced survey is the least reliable.  A good survey that meets your need and legal requirements may cost more but will be less expensive in the long run.  The competency and experience of serveral land surveyors should be judged before one is selected to perform the survey work.

Some things that a landowner can do to lower the cost of his or her survey:  furnish the surveyor with copies of the current title policy or deed, furnish the surveyor with copies of the adjoining land owners deeds and/or plats, and clear brush off of the property lines.  Paying someone $10.00 an hour to clear the brush or doing it yourself is cheaper than paying the professional survey crew fees to do the same.

 WHAT WILL THE SURVEYOR DO FOR ME?

He will study your deeds and show you what, in his professional opinion, the records and facts indicated the boundaries of your land to be.  He will survey your property, and adjacent property, if necessary, to complete his work.

He will set monuments at the property corners and visiually mark them so the can be easily found.  A record of his work is recorded in his field book for future reference.  At this point a map may or may not be required.

He will prepare a plat or map of your property, if this is what the job was contracted for, indicating the measurements he has made, the monuments that were placed, and the computed acreage.  He will supply the client with whatever number of copies they may require, each bearing his signature, certification, and seal.  He will file a copy with the county surveyor's office, and the land information office at the county level.

In case of controversy, he will appear in court as your expert witness.  No one other than he can assume the reponsibility for the correctness and accuracy of his work.

He is the person best qualified to write a property description, when land is to be divided.

He will help you plan and layout a subdivision into lots and streets.

He will advise you if there is any defect in your land description or evidence of encroachments. 

 WHAT INFOMATION DOES THE SURVEYOR NEED FROM ME?

- The legal description of the property (metes & bounds description; lot, block and subdivision name; or deed of record)

- The exact purpose of the survey, so the surveyor can determine what type of survey you need.

- A copy of title commitment.

- A copy of plats or plans showing boundaries.

-All available information regarding disputes over corners or boundaries.

- All information you may have about the location of your lines or corners.

 TIPS FOR THE RESPONSIBLE LANDOWNER

- Don't mistake preliminary traverse lines for property lines.

- Don't move or relocate survey markers.

- Contact the surveyor well before the survey is needed.

- Don't seek the cheapest surveyor; select one who will do a satisfactory job for you.  A well prepared land survey will likely be the least expensive part of your real estate investment cost, and a boundary dispute or flawed legal description can quickly become the most expensive.