told me that you can get 1400 feet of line surveyed and marked for $600.
Who knew?
Not where you live. But, I'm looking out my window at a stretch of about 2800 feet that could be done for less than that. Wham, bam, hand me the money.
I remember spending 14 hours to go about 1200 feet one time, though.
Let me add some information.
This 1400 feet has several turns, no monuments, and the deed on neither side closes.
Oh yeah, it's all in the woods and there is no obvious possession.
Your client must have made a recent trip to Colorado to purchase a few pounds of fancy horseweed. And, it's almost all gone now.
Do you mean former client? I patiently educate to a point but we all have our limits...
1400 feet of line for $600? Easy. Oh, you want to be on your boundary? That's different.
I actually enjoy those clients. It's at that point that I get to tell them to make a call to the surveyor that will do it because they are getting a smoking deal! Generally get a call back a few weeks later asking me if I can still do it for the price I quoted.
I have little to no time to donate to folks that get "angry" when I quote them a price. That doesn't mean I get down on their level and bark back. On the contrary, I generally keep the conversation very civil...and short.
My favorite is the phone call that begins, "I really don't need a surveyor.." They usually continue on to explain the property had already been surveyed...in 1970. They just need someone to find and mark the corners.
I have told folks more than once "you can buy shovels at Lowes if all you need is someone to dig up the corners". :snarky:
> told me that you can get 1400 feet of line surveyed and marked for $600.
Okay, but that's if THEY provide the line, right? You just walk it and paint it. That seems reasonable to me.
They probably didn't get that you don't just have an 80-rod spool of boundary line laying around to guide the effort. That would be extra.
Hey! I know a surveyor that can do that too! Want his number?
ww CO PLS
> told me that you can get 1400 feet of line surveyed and marked for $600.
>
> Who knew?
I'm chuckling because I just went through the exact same thing. I did the job and ate an hour or two but made money. Then I run into the surveyor who referred that client to me because 'he didn't have time'. ''Did you do that job'? he asked. Yea, but the client was a cheap PIA. 'Yea I know, that's why I sent him to you, (;'
Thanks a lot.
I get the last laugh by getting a signed agreement where the client tried to sneak in two additional boundaries for me to stake (for the same prrice btw) and my fee promptly doubled, with very little extra work on my part. Nice try. (:
>
> My favorite is the phone call that begins, "I really don't need a surveyor.." They usually continue on to explain the property had already been surveyed...in 1970. They just need someone to find and mark the corners.
>
I have gotten that same call few times. It always confounded me.
I love getting that "I don't really need a survey" line. My response is, well that's all that I do, so have a great day, I'm busy taking care of people that need my services.
My experience is that the client who does not understand the value of my services is less likely to pay as what I did has no real value. A Client needs to understand that we are making a professional assessment about the boundary. I would never go to a Doctor if I knew more than him.
I had a call last week from a Realtor. He said "My client needs his corners marked. He doesn't want to pay for a "full on" survey though, he doesn't need that."
Me: What is a "full on" survey?
Realtor: Well, you know, where you have to measure everything. I've actually seen surveyors measuring things way down the street a long ways away from the lot they were supposed to be surveying. My client doesn't want to pay for that! He just wants his corners marked. He doesn't need a map and a description.
Me: Have you or your client ever seen any type of survey monument at any of the lot corners?
Realtor: Well no, that's why I'm calling you.
Me: Do you really think I could go out and locate 4 lot corner monuments in 50-year old subdivision without making any measurements? How do you envision that would work?
Realtor: Total befuddlement followed by stammering out something along the lines of "That's what surveyors are supposed to do."
Me: Do you actually had a real estate license?
Realtor: (indignantly) Of course I do!
Me: Do you have to know anything about surveying to get that license?
Realtor: Well - no, not really.
Me: Don't you think it would be best to ask a Professional Surveyor what needs to be done rather than telling him how to do something you know nothing about? You wouldn't tell your Surgeon how to perform an operation would you?
Realtor: Well - I can see you're not interested in this work so I will contact another surveyor.
Me: Thank you for calling and good luck!
Several weeks later I was recounting this to a competitor who told me the same Realtor had contacted him to do the work. He told the Realtor "I'll look at it for $2,000 but won't guarantee
a maximum fee. Realtor hung up...
Jim,
A milestone in my career came when I had a long discussion with an old-time realtor many years ago, who was complaining about a survey I had done and the bill.
Realtor: "your survey is wrong, the bearing on x line does not match the legal description"
me: "that is the correct bearing as measured on the ground between the monuments"
Realtor (long time later, after arguing the same point over and over)
"well then, go out there and move the monument over to match the bearing, so that your survey will be correct!"
Me: "have a nice day, good bye"
ww CO PLS
PS - Never got paid, never did another job for this realtor.
I should have added that sometimes they say that it will be a easy because they already located one corner. Geesh
Warren,
I felt kind of bad for a little while because I like to try to educate unknowledgeable folks about what it is we do. I have found over the years however, that Realtors, for the most part, are uneducatable know-it-alls. I still try, but I don't expect results...
On Wednesday, I went around and around and around in circles on the phone with an elderly lady that wants her two 1/3 acre lots marked. House on one, nothing on second. She wanted an estimate. I gave her one. It should have ended there, yea or nay. But, then she wanted to know WHY the estimate was so high (which it really wasn't).
I was looking at the lots on our GIS site, and she kept describing things that made no sense. A through driveway, something about some trees, a water line, a sewer line, some pavement...
Anyway, I told her that I have to do the courthouse research and calculate the lots in my computer before I step foot into the field. She didn't understand that.
I told her that if they've done any work on the water or sewer lines in the neighborhood in the 50+ years since the subdivision was created, that it might take some time to find some extra stuff to work from, instead of just her corners. She didn't understand that.
She started talking about the driveway again. So, I asked if it was her driveway or the neighbor's: the neighbors. I told her that if they dug up any ground to lay the driveway, it might have taken out a lot corner monument. She didn't understand that.
She told me she saw all of the pipes at one time, but it was over 50 years ago. I said "OK, so you see, things may have gotten dug out if they've done any work on the piped utilities or if there is telephone or cable in the ground". She didn't understand that.
We went round and round, we were both frustrated with each other, but I was trying to be as nice as I can be, because it's tough getting projects here sometimes. She finally said "go ahead and do it, as long as it isn't going to be too much." to which I just gave an exasperated sighing "yes ma'am. I'll see you soon."
She called back 10 minutes later and cancelled it until she can explain it to her daughter....
UUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>might have taken out a lot corner monument. She didn't understand that.
Jeez ... anybody should be able to understand that.
[sarcasm]But all you have to do is look through your camera thingy that shows you the lines.[/sarcasm]
