Discovered that common sense may be rare but not completely extinct.
A rare super-simple boundary job. Cutting out a tract around an existing house to be at least three acres. Elderly lady is keeping the house but selling the remainder of the 60-acre tract to the farmer who owns the land to the north, south and west. East line is a section line in middle of county road.
Meet buyer and seller in the road near middle of east side. Instructions are simple. North line is to follow an existing straight fence to northwest corner. South line is to be straight line separating lawn from tilled cropland to southwest corner where lady has placed a flag. West line to go north from flag, parallel to east section line, to wherever it intersects fence line that is to be the north line. Great. Simple.
Both buyer and seller leave. Find section line per monuments from a record survey from 1989. Set temporary nails at northeast and southeast corners of new tract. Then I decide to take a closer look at the intended west and north lines. Discover the northwest corner would fall across a stream that drains several hundred acres and has water standing about 20 feet wide as far as I can see in both directions. I'm on the high bank side at a curve. Projected northwest corner would fall on the low bank thus producing about enough space to place a picnic table to be swept away by the first toad-strangler.
Contact the seller, then the buyer. Recommended we chamfer the corner to keep the house tract entirely out of the steam area. Then, when the farmer decides to construct a livestock fence there will not be two insane stream crossings required that will need major repairs at least twice each year. It turned out the fence we were to follow stopped about 15 feet from the top of the high bank. Neither buyer nor seller had noticed that detail previously. They both readily agreed to go with my recommendation.
Good job.
I've had few jobs that came with "simple instructions" that turned out a lot different than expected. I remember one where I was instructed to prepare a description and new boundary for "5 acres" that included the house, the drive, the barn. lateral field and the water well. Trouble being all that criteria required about 7.5 acres to encompass.
I'm glad your clients readily agreed to your suggestions. Down here something like that is usually followed by cricket sounds and deer-in-headlight looks....
Holy Cow, post: 456830, member: 50 wrote: Discovered that common sense may be rare but not completely extinct.
A rare super-simple boundary job. Cutting out a tract around an existing house to be at least three acres. Elderly lady is keeping the house but selling the remainder of the 60-acre tract to the farmer who owns the land to the north, south and west. East line is a section line in middle of county road.
Meet buyer and seller in the road near middle of east side. Instructions are simple. North line is to follow an existing straight fence to northwest corner. South line is to be straight line separating lawn from tilled cropland to southwest corner where lady has placed a flag. West line to go north from flag, parallel to east section line, to wherever it intersects fence line that is to be the north line. Great. Simple.
Both buyer and seller leave. Find section line per monuments from a record survey from 1989. Set temporary nails at northeast and southeast corners of new tract. Then I decide to take a closer look at the intended west and north lines. Discover the northwest corner would fall across a stream that drains several hundred acres and has water standing about 20 feet wide as far as I can see in both directions. I'm on the high bank side at a curve. Projected northwest corner would fall on the low bank thus producing about enough space to place a picnic table to be swept away by the first toad-strangler.
Contact the seller, then the buyer. Recommended we chamfer the corner to keep the house tract entirely out of the steam area. Then, when the farmer decides to construct a livestock fence there will not be two insane stream crossings required that will need major repairs at least twice each year. It turned out the fence we were to follow stopped about 15 feet from the top of the high bank. Neither buyer nor seller had noticed that detail previously. They both readily agreed to go with my recommendation.
Well pin a little rose on you.
I am glad to hear of a recent sighting of a condition thought to be extinct.
Can you post your description when done? From reading your posts, I enjoy your take on surveying and am curious of your description language. Thanks, Jp
Quite neighborly all around. A concept that seems to be fading as I get older.
