How much does a lot survey cost?

Lot surveys, Boundary surveys, Property surveys, all terms you might hear or use to describe a survey of your property whether it is vacant, developed, a business or needs developing.
So how much does a lot survey cost?
The simple answer is, they vary. Think of your property like a finger print, you can not draw a precise finger print by simply understanding the basic concept of what a finger print looks like. The artist approaches the task of drawing a precise finger print by studying the finger print, the curves, the scars and all the different angles and spacing of each individual plot of skin which makes that fingerprint yours. So when your surveyor approaches your property he needs to study the property; the title, the history, previous surveys, the landscape, and much more depending on where each piece of information leads him. After your surveyor does all the research from an office stand point they will then give you a quote, estimate, or fee for doing the survey. Once you have officially hired your surveyor, that is when the surveyors adventure begins as he begins to recover your property corners and adjoining/adjacent properties corners which may have been used to create your property. This is the part of our job that caused us to fall in love with our trade.
Cost is affected by several factors:

Does your property require a Corner Record?

Does your property require a Record of Survey?

Has your property been surveyed before?, If so when?

How well does the survey map match what is found in the field?

Does your property need to be recreated from surrounding surveys due to significant loss of original monuments?

These are just a few of the basic questions that run through the mind of your surveyor as they tackle the task of giving you a quote.



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Things to ask when requesting a quote

Is the company insured?

What is the name of the Licensee? You can call 1-866-780-5370 to check on the status of a licensee.

What are the hourly rates for a field crew? (one-man or two-man)

What is the accuracy you plan on achieving when establishing my property?

Are the county/city fees included in your quote?

Based on average hourly rates and if the surveyor takes care to prove his work and uses proper methods/procedure with proper survey ethics it should run a minimum of $1,000 in most cases. It could be less if they find all your corners in good condition and good position it could be significantly more depending on the evidence found. Be cautious if the price is to low they may not be licensed/insured or they may be using inexperienced labor which may hurt the integrity of accuracy on your lot make sure you ask questions to assure an accurate survey. This is why you should always ask for proof of insurance and the Licensees name and PLS/RCE number and check with The Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists Why is this critical? If a neighbor contests the survey and another surveyor can prove poor method or negligence your survey may not be correct and could be costly if you are making improvements on or near a property line.

Now to clarify:

Just because two or more surveyors disagree on a boundary line does not mean either are incorrect. Sometimes the puzzle of a survey can be solved in multiple ways and it is the surveyors understanding of the evidence found that will determine their decision on the boundary line. There may be some surveys where the surveyor may need to refer you to a real estate lawyer to answer issues such as who owns what. It is the job of the surveyor to establish and retrace to the best of there ability the original lines and it is the lawyers job to defend your ownership and a judges job to make the final judgement in the disputed cases that are not easily resolved.

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