In the past couple weeks I've gotten some oddball calls. One from an out of state lawyer of an estate looking for research to prove access to a parcel. Another lady looking for USGS quad maps nearby. Earlier today from an elderly lady whose husband has recently passed, but did have a nicely maintained & shiny "sextant kind of thing with the tripod, and some other surveying looking stuff".
I think I'm doing the research for the lawyer. Still no contract, but it will likely happen.
I referred the quad map lady to the city surveyor since the area is in the city, and also the internet.
I talked with the sextant lady for a while and referred her to the county surveyor. I also discussed donating things to APLS for the upcoming APLS Auction for student scholorships. We'll provide a namesake kind of plaque to recognize her husband. She was pretty receptive to that. I don't think she's looking for a lot of money, just wants somebody who appreciates it to get possession. That was a fun 20 minute conversation, cool lady.
Just another fun part of being a surveyor, even if it isn't very profitable....:-) .
I had a random caller ask me what a surveyor meant by writing "EVN" on a grade stake???? I didn't know what to tell him???? I asked him if he saw one of our work trucks on this site.... he said, no I just found a stake and it had that wrote on it... so I googled surveyors and called you. Me, "Sorry I could not be more help."
Had a woman call me yesterday asking about some pink flagging down her property line and a thingy flagged up at each end of her property. She said she called downtown and the City/County gave her my number since I'm the elected County Surveyor, that was nice of them, duh...I told her to walk to the thingy flagged at the front and see if there was a cap on it....she said yes and read off the surveyor's PLS number, I gave her the company phone number and she thanked me....she was just p*ss off because she and her neighbor didn't know why anyone would be surveying there property line....glad I could help...;-)
> I didn't know what to tell him???? I asked him if he saw one of our work trucks on this site.... he said, no I just found a stake and it had that wrote on it... so I googled surveyors and called you. Me, "Sorry I could not be more help."
You should have told him, if he could figure out whose stake it is, that most surveyors offer a reward if found 😀
Had a guy this afternoon call about a wall he had constructed along a side line on his beach front property.
He swore that he put the wall 18 inches inside his line. However, his neighbor just constructed a wall that abutted his wall, and wanted to know if that wall was in the correct location.
I told him that we could survey the property to see if everything was correct, but he declined a survey, and just wanted me to certify that his wall was in the correct location.
1.2 Million, WTF?
I got a call from an elderly women I had done a survey for. She said her neighbor was encroaching on her north property line. The neighbor is a realtor who was improving his landscape and wanted to put in sprinklers over to the elderly women's fence along her north line.
The subdivder had put metal fence posts and 6' long pvc pipes over the posts to mark the property corners. This was done after the elderly lady moved in and before the realtor. The big white pipes are about 4-5’ north of the fence line.
When I got out there I was surprised to find the fence line off because I had marked the line for the fencer and figured he put it on line. I set up and checked and sure enough the northwest fence corner was at the northwest monument of the lot and the fence headed directly towards the northeast corner monument stopping about 30 short and turning south.
The big white pipes were just set by some of the crew working on the golf course development. The two for that line were at water shut offs that happened to have fence post alongside them; somewhat near the two property corners. I told the women she was fine and no one was encroaching and she could tell her neighbors. She said she would just keep that to herself. She figured that if a realtor wouldn’t spend the money to get a survey like she had then that was just too bad.
Wayne, you should have told her that old surveying stuff is worthless junk and offered her $50 to dispose of it for her.
(Just kidding, just kidding)
> Wayne, you should have told her that old surveying stuff is worthless junk and offered her $50 to dispose of it for her.
Target, I initially thought she was trying to find a buyer for stuff she has absolutely no clue of value. I did say that the value to anybody would be more of interest in antique and historic artifacts, than as actual surveying equipment. That's why I pushed for the student auction at our upcoming conference, in the name of her husband. She'll likely get a several hundred dollar tax deduction, over the $50 or so I'd have given her sight unseen over the phone.
Both the county surveyor and myself are active in APLS, so that is why I referred her to him. But I'd help the lady out too... just because I can. She did say she'll call me back and I look forward to chatting with her again. She seemed like a cool lady and one that is thinking outside the box, so that's refreshing in this day and age.
> She did say she'll call me back and I look forward to chatting with her again. She seemed like a cool lady and one that is thinking outside the box, so that's refreshing in this day and age.
That translates to Rich Widow Woman for you non-single guys 😉
Possibly, EVN = Even, No Cut, No Fill
But "Cut 0.00'" is much better.
Paul in PA
Possibly, EVN = Even, No Cut, No Fill
> But "Cut 0.00'" is much better.
>
> Paul in PA
Wouldn't F+0x0 be better yet? 😉
> That translates to Rich Widow Woman for you non-single guys 😉
Who ever mentioned non-single, having been divorced for the past 23 yrs. But I am letting my gal pal move in.
Besides, that has always been my retirement plan anyway... finding a rich widow... but I'm in the wrong zip code for that. So I'll likely have to go with Plan B - let them find me. After all, I am in the yellow pages 😛