FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Residential Property Surveys
We are going to construct a rear yard fence (or we are going to add on to our house). Can you tell us where our property line is?
Simple Answer: Yes, that is what we do.
Extended Answer: As Professional Land Surveyors we can identify the location of the property line defining your property. What you own is guaranteed by your title insurer and, as usual, may ultimately be determined through the legal system if boundary location conflicts arise.
Why does it cost so much?
Simple Answer: There is much more work involved in determining a property line location than most people realize.
Extended Answer: In order to properly locate the property lines for a single residential property, a major process must be undertaken in order to insure that the location ultimately defined accurately reflects the legal limits of the subject property. The goal is to establish property limits that neither unlawfully encroach into an adjoining property owner's legal ownership limits nor improperly vacate property that is legally included in the subject property owner's ownership.
The process typically involves:
Will it be less expensive if I only need one side surveyed?
Simple Answer: Probably not.
Extended Answer: In very specific instances, a previously mapped property may be resurveyed, and lost property corner monuments replaced, without the need for the required filing of a Record of Survey map. Upon installation of monuments at reestablished property corner locations, a document known as a Corner Record document, showing the replaced monument character and the field survey information used for location reestablishment, may satisfy the requirements for survey recordation and may be acceptable to be filed with the county surveyor's office instead of filing a Record of Survey map. The very specific requirements that must be met in order to file a corner record document to satisy the Land Surveyor's Act requirements for licensees renders this option for survey recordation of residential property surveys generally unacceptable.
How long will the survey take?
Simple Answer: Survey within 1 week, Recordation 2 to 3 months.
Extended Answer: The research, field survey, boundary determination, and map preparation and submittal will take between 1 and 2 weeks. The county surveyor's office will then take 4 to 6 weeks to review and return a plan check print. Clerical revisions will be made, property corners set, and the final map resubmitted for recordation with 1 week. Notice of availability of a copy of the recorded map will be forwarded to the surveyor within 2 to 3 weeks from resubmittal.
When can work begin?
Simple Answer: Immediately
Extended Answer: We respond based on your requirements. If you have a time constraint and need the work quickly, we will perform as needed. We can immediately begin the field work, however, prior to boundary determination and map submittal, an owner provided legal description of the property will be necessary.
We are going to construct a rear yard fence (or we are going to add on to our house). Can you tell us where our property line is?
Simple Answer: Yes, that is what we do.
Extended Answer: As Professional Land Surveyors we can identify the location of the property line defining your property. What you own is guaranteed by your title insurer and, as usual, may ultimately be determined through the legal system if boundary location conflicts arise.
Why does it cost so much?
Simple Answer: There is much more work involved in determining a property line location than most people realize.
Extended Answer: In order to properly locate the property lines for a single residential property, a major process must be undertaken in order to insure that the location ultimately defined accurately reflects the legal limits of the subject property. The goal is to establish property limits that neither unlawfully encroach into an adjoining property owner's legal ownership limits nor improperly vacate property that is legally included in the subject property owner's ownership.
The process typically involves:
- Review of the subject property ownership claim (ownership deed).
- Research of public records for historic survey related data necessary to retrace the original surveys for the property from which the subject parcel has been created.
- Performance of a field survey of the subject property. The field survey is a measurement of the specific property as well as the entire block within which it is located. If conditions exist (lack of existing monumentation or material discrepancy from recorded dimensions), the field survey may be required to be extended outward from the specific property until enough monumentation has been retrieved, surveyed, and analyzed so that an accurate establishment of the property boundaries can be determined. Additional factors that can affect the effort required for the field survey include lack of existing monumentation from which to base the survey, physical obstructions such as foliage or shrubbery restricting visual line of sight, refuse or building material piles restricting property corner search, or an adversarial relationship with adjoining property owners limiting access and cooperation.
- Analysis of survey data and professional determination of property boundary line location.
- Preparation of a map showing the survey results, the property boundary line locations determined, and the property corner monuments found or set to identify the location of the subject boundaries as established.
- Setting the actual property corner monuments, as shown on the survey map, to clearly identify the location of the property boundaries on the ground.
- Filing and recordation of the survey map through the county surveyor's office in order to satisfy licensure responsibilities of the signatory professional surveyor.
Will it be less expensive if I only need one side surveyed?
Simple Answer: Probably not.
Extended Answer: In very specific instances, a previously mapped property may be resurveyed, and lost property corner monuments replaced, without the need for the required filing of a Record of Survey map. Upon installation of monuments at reestablished property corner locations, a document known as a Corner Record document, showing the replaced monument character and the field survey information used for location reestablishment, may satisfy the requirements for survey recordation and may be acceptable to be filed with the county surveyor's office instead of filing a Record of Survey map. The very specific requirements that must be met in order to file a corner record document to satisy the Land Surveyor's Act requirements for licensees renders this option for survey recordation of residential property surveys generally unacceptable.
How long will the survey take?
Simple Answer: Survey within 1 week, Recordation 2 to 3 months.
Extended Answer: The research, field survey, boundary determination, and map preparation and submittal will take between 1 and 2 weeks. The county surveyor's office will then take 4 to 6 weeks to review and return a plan check print. Clerical revisions will be made, property corners set, and the final map resubmitted for recordation with 1 week. Notice of availability of a copy of the recorded map will be forwarded to the surveyor within 2 to 3 weeks from resubmittal.
When can work begin?
Simple Answer: Immediately
Extended Answer: We respond based on your requirements. If you have a time constraint and need the work quickly, we will perform as needed. We can immediately begin the field work, however, prior to boundary determination and map submittal, an owner provided legal description of the property will be necessary.