Adjusting Rates

I usually just figure out how much I can possibly get them to pay. Then the I check it to make sure it more than covers the rates. If not, don't bother.

> ... then adding half of our field rate for each additional acre. ...
If I follow you, you are saying that you can topo an additional acre in 1/2 hour. OK. That might be easily done in open country, but if it's not it could take much longer. You risk pricing yourself out of the job on the easy sites and losing money on the tough ones. Your proposed method may be a good rule of thumb for order of magnitude talking but for actual pricing & bidding I think you need to sharpen the pencil a bit more.

> Another thought I had was to adjust the cost by a certain percentage based upon what municipality the property is located in. If it is in an area where property values are 10% higher, our price would be 10% higher.
So, you should punish the rich? The rich aren't stupid. It may be that these communities demand more service and that would justify higher fees. It may be that the market bears it in these places. But charging more simply because the property values are higher isn't likely to work in a competitive environment.

I use a combination of linear feet of boundary, estimated time to complete the project, and the value to the client.

I work the project up those three ways, and then take into consideration what the market will bear in my area.

Every project is different. A lot of the time it depends on my workload, if I want the project, and if it is a good, repeat client.

figure based on how long it will take to do the survey, make sure you have a good overhead factor to apply and then add your profit percentage. Get a 50 percent deposit before you start and a signed contract. If the client balks at paying a retainer, they wont pay at the end. If they say the price is too high..dont lower it..let them find someone else to do it.

No sense working for nothing.

I agree on the topo, I was speaking merely on the boundary aspect. I figure the additional acreage adds more adjoiner deeds and courthouse time as well.

It wasn't about punishing the rich. Maybe I should of put it this way, "Is the value of a property survey worth more if the property is worth more?"

> I usually just figure out how much I can possibly get them to pay.

Ahh..the Stand and Deliver approach. Nice

> Get a 50 percent deposit before you start and a signed contract. If the client balks at paying a retainer, they wont pay at the end. If they say the price is too high..dont lower it..let them find someone else to do it.
>
> No sense working for nothing.

That's my experience/M.O. also.
Jim

> It wasn't about punishing the rich. Maybe I should of put it this way, "Is the value of a property survey worth more if the property is worth more?"

Title to a property is worth no more than the survey, that is a fact.

While fixing fees in accordance with property values is an interesting concept; in my practice I charge the maximum amount to cover all my services for any survey. The property value is not a factor. I may be old fashioned, but I perform the same services on a P.O.S. property as a multi-million dollar property.

I will agree however that the client's "budget" for a survey is generally tied loosely to the property value.

> It wasn't about punishing the rich. Maybe I should of put it this way, "Is the value of a property survey worth more if the property is worth more?"
Only if every other surveyor in your market thinks the same thing.

It may be that people with more valuable property will be willing to pay more for better service, but just charging more simply because the property value is higher isn't going to work because someone will be there to undercut you.

That said, when the property values are higher the stakes are higher. The penalty for mistakes is greater, therefore your degree of care must be just a bit higher. If the land value is $1000 an acre people won't care or notice if your stakes are +/- a foot or two. If its $1000 a square foot, they will notice hundreths. So there is definitely cause to charge differently in those cases because there is a substantial difference in the service provided. But a property value difference of 10% isn't going to trigger that.

> I usually just figure out how much I can possibly get them to pay.
I've heard about New Jersey. I don't think that it will work in Oregon.

:good:

That is the method/methods I use as well. Seems to work. Rush jobs demand higher fees. It's all about value. If they don't value the service and are just looking for the lowest price I give them my price and I don't usually hear back which is what I expect. Don't chase cheap skates!!

I just raise my rates until I lose about 20% of my proposals.

That's how I know what the market will bear.

a couple of economic principles to consider from the clients point of view...

Marginal propensity to consume = as the price goes up less of a product is consumed, and as the price goes down more of a product is consumed

i.e. too much of a price rise leads to less of a client list

opportunity cost = what would i (or my $) be doing if i (or my $) weren't doing what i'm doing now

i.e. they can probably spend their money on something other than an over priced survey

more surveyors need to understand and ponder these principles when they b_tch about the lowballers or when someone is complaining about the cost of a job

Why would you want to price boundary surveys per acre?
While larger surveys generally do take more time there are a lot of variables that are more important. 40 acres in an open field that was surveyed and monuments five years ago will take dramatically less time then a 5000 sqft lot in a 70 year old subdivision that hasn't been surveyed since and has been resubdivided by deed. In my experience lot size is way down on the list of things to consider when estimating cost.

I've been doing this for a long time. There is no quick and simple answer to charging for any given survey project. Property value has very little to do with what I end up charging. Area is usually irrelevant to the big picture. Linear feet of perimeter is not a factor for me. Time investment is a factor but not the only factor. And, I do not believe in nickel and diming the client with all sorts of little add-ons like some surveyors do. It's either a lump sum or time multiplied by a couple of different base rates. I do not do "not to exceed" projects. They can ask, but the answer is always no unless they agree to my lump sum which I know is higher than normal by a very significant figure.

Some of the most complex jobs I've ever had were tiny tracts. Many of the easiest jobs cover hundreds of acres. A significant factor for me after all these years is just how badly I want to have the client as a client. I can be terribly busy, terribly expensive or terribly evasive when I get the urge, which is frequently. It's a nice problem to have. Maybe you will get there someday, too.

There are simply too many variables involved. I wanted to try and develop a program to calculate base costs depending on drive time, area, circumference, road frontage, quality and availability of documents and terrain.

The fact is there are just too damn many variables. I continue to do estimates on a case by case basis, and even after the best research I can do we still make a killing on some, and lose our asses on others. The critical difference is usually problems within the deed or title.

If you are just doing topo and not dealing with boundaries, then gps or robot will factory differently, as will the usage of the site during the Topo. As we found out last week, topoing an active big rig garage will take significantly more time than an open field.

Best of luck, but if you are seeking a better wage, I would pursue other avenues.

I don't think survey costs can ever be profitably calculated on a "per acre" basis. We don't really survey acres, we do perimeters. I've done 1 acre jobs in rural Maine that took a week (because the research was a horror show) and I've done 10 acres in a day.

Pricing projects by size, location and value isn't going to make your boss any money. If he is a seasoned owner the suggestion isn't likely to impress him.
I suggest looking at processes and work flow to improve income. Again, tread lightly and propose ideas with personalities in mind. Surveyors can be grumpy and prideful if your approach isn't right...

:good: