Lady calls asking for a survey so she can replace a dilapidated fence.
She goes I have a copy of the blueprint (I'm thinking blueprint??ÿ I tend to associate blueprints with construction drawings from... before I was even born.?ÿ I thought maybe she had a site plan or something unofficial).
So I asked if her lot was in a subdivision and she said yes, 1992.?ÿ So I thought OK great this might not be so bad.?ÿ So she asks if she can use the dimensions from the plat to replace the fence.?ÿ I said yes, absolutely, that's what I would use to locate the boundary if I were to do the survey.
And then I go but how are you planning to place the lines from the map onto the earth??ÿ You know, so you build the fence in the right spot??ÿ And then... silence as that sinks in.?ÿ And then she quickly asks how much it would cost to do the survey.
I give her a ballpark range and she goes Wow, really??ÿ I need to do what you guys do; I thought it would be about a hundred bucks.
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I think some ppl just think you just get the coordinates from the court house or online and just stake it out. Haha?ÿ
seriously, a lot of ppl don??t realize how involved surveying is. ????ÿ
Did she ask if you would put the fence up for money you're charging?
A common variation on this theme is "I called another surveyor and he said it would be about a hundred bucks." I ask what his name was, they can't remember; I tell them if they can get it done for that, go for it.
Why not put the new fence in the same place as the old fence?
I was wondering if anyone was going to mention that...
thanks for being a voice of reason!
The "cold-call residential market" is more trouble than it is worth.
Why not put the new fence in the same place as the old fence?
She didn't know who's property the fence was on so she was hesitant to just tear it down, and she said her neighbor likes to "call in regulators" whenever she does anything with her property.?ÿ But I think that was sort of her plan because she said when she measured between the fences she was getting the distance the plat was showing.
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Perhaps we need to start a "Surveyors Within Borders" to help out the truly poor here at home.?ÿ It really bothers me when I receive a call from someone who clearly has little to no resources to do something but is being bullied by a neighbor or the local bureaucratic BS.
30-year old brick houses along this street, nice looking neighborhood-- probably $350k+ houses.?ÿ Lotta trees though which triggers the pain-in-my-ass formula in the pricing spreadsheet.
If it was surveyed, most surveyors would hold the old fence as the boundary and set pins for reference, stake it in a straight line for the new fence, and have license to back up where the line is for when the chips fall. ?ÿHowever, I have seen ppl replace an old fence without getting a survey done and then the new fence might not be the boundary anymore. Then one or both sides get a survey done and find out the old fence wasn??t in a straight line or the deed bearing is off from the old fence bearing which has been the accepted boundary for years. ?????ÿ
Oh, yes, there are plenty of examples of that.?ÿ The situation to which I refer is the widow lady getting by on Social Security in a neighborhood full of 100+ year-old shacks in the original plat of Nowheresville.
The "cold-call residential market" is more trouble than it is worth.
Yeah, I hear that a lot from guys.?ÿ I don't get enough of those calls that it would waste days of my time to return them personally, but I can see how well established surveyors might.
I actually don't mind talking to people for a couple minutes and sticker shocking them.?ÿ I'd rather do that and then have those people turn around and talk to their friends and family who turn around and talk to their friends and family, and get the word out that way than taking ten thousand of the exact same clueless shopper calls over my career.
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So here is a real question:
If an existing surveyor feels compelled to help those in need (aka charity), why don't those surveyors literally do the work for free?
Or, charge $1, if you need to have a contract, etc to have your insurance cover you?
Anything less than full price for professional services continues to hurt the rest of the proprietors trying to make a living.
Yet, you will read newspaper stories about a group of local dentists setting up a one-day free clinic for indigent children.?ÿ Those young people would never see a dentist otherwise.?ÿ A great deal of good is accomplished and the publicity shows that true professionals care for people.
Some surveying societies have taken on tasks for the benefit of a community.?ÿ One example I can cite is when KSLS members showed up in the tornado ravaged town of Greensburg, Kansas in 2007 to set control so new construction could get started.?ÿ Block after block was completely wiped out.
