It seems that many missed the message Mark gave. Short translation...
"You're asking for a worthless service by it self, but it is a small part of what I would do when doing the job completely and properly. Let me know if you want a real survey.
By the way, I really love my work but have to make anliving, so it ain't gonna be cheap."
I didn't read it as him advocating or saying that he would "just dig up the corners" without performing a proper survey. Just the opposite in fact.
I have done services like this many times. A large portion of the area I cover was subdivided in the seventies just prior to the subdivision regulations. The majority of the lots are 5 acre vacant lots sold to customers over the internet who have never seen their lots. The subdivisions were staked and I have recovered the original monuments on these lots most of the time. I explain to my client that if I do not find the corners that a survey will be required to set the missing corners and if they choose not to have a survey done that my initial cost is still due. I have this conversation prior to doing the work so the client doesn't feel they were misled. I do locate the found monuments and the adjoining corners and analyse how things fit. I do not just dig up corners.
I do have competitors who are digging up corners for $75. Sounds like beer money to me.
I think we must base our responses on our knowledge of the area, analyse our client's needs and do our best to meet their needs. I disagree that recovering corners has no value, if you can find the 4 original corners to an existing platted lot, you can save your client some money. It's unlikely that another surveyor or land owner would dispute the location of the original corners.
