Land in the south has until recently been cheap & it was in my lifetime that land here was available for $500 or less an acre depending on where. If you where away from Atlanta it was cheap and still today it can be found around 5k~7k an are where I am.
30 acres just sold behind me 2 years ago for 3k and acre but it was burdened by a couple of big gas and power easements so that drove the cost down.
I get calls frequently from someone who inherited land from their ??daddy?. I am sure most everybody gets them and for me it is usually the same song different day.
These people are land rich and cash poor and have lived off the good name of their deceased ancestor and the only thing they have done that finds them in the position they find themselves in, (being an owner of a large tract of land), is to be born with their deceased ancestors last name.
Typically, the land has been cut up and split up in ways that make it bloody difficult to resurvey and it has usually been timbered because these folks can??t rub two nickels together.
The land that has been timbered is terrible. I just cannot emphasize enough how bloody thick and overgrown with scrub and briars the land is and they squeal when they hear the cost to survey it.
I get it that the cost to survey property is higher than most folks think but this fella just thought a survey of 100 acres would be around $1000 dollars.
Dog gone it are people really that stupid?
Heck I have even offered to survey the land for a couple of acres and every single time they squeal. These folks have large tracts of land and I swear it is infuriating trying to deal with some of them. They act as if they actually worked all their life and bought it.
You would think that they would jump all over an opportunity to have their land surveyed for no money out of pocket, just cut me out a few acres of my choosing. But noooooooo. I can't help but wonder who they are gonna get to do these jobs or if he is still alive?
Am I alone in this? Do y'all get these calls also?
Avalanche of replies saying it's unethical to swap surveying services for part of the land in 3...2...1...
Followed by avalanche of replies saying otherwise or suggesting how it can by done ethically.
Avalanche of replies saying it's unethical to swap surveying services for part of the land in 3...2...1...
Followed by avalanche of replies saying otherwise or suggesting how it can by done ethically.
Andy, I know a lot of surveyors around here that used to do a lot of subdivision design and layout and it was very common for their payment to be a couple lots when it was built out and finished. Very common.?ÿ
I work for and know several large land owners. All tight as a tick, though most have eased up with age and time.
I traded surveying my neighbors land for a land locked 3 ac. parcel that joins me. Not bad for a days work.
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I work for and know several large land owners. All tight as a tick, though most have eased up with age and time.
I traded surveying my neighbors land for a land locked 3 ac. parcel that joins me. Not bad for a days work.
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No clue what right as a tick means.
I know lots of large land owners as well and most of them are fine people.
I was specifically referring to that special class of landowner who did nothing but sponge off the good name of their ancestors and can't rub 2 nickels together & they have split up the tract and timbered the land several times over and now after they have made it a survey nightmare because it is a jungle thick briar infested piece of crap with difficult property splits as well and would be god awful to survey and they act incredulous and dumb as rocks concerning the costs.
tight-as-a-tick
It was much the same in Oklahoma. If you rely on these people to put food on your table you are going to be eating more feathers than chicken. But there are clients that can and will pay.
In OK it was oil & gas, the DOT, utilities, and local government and quasi-government agencies. It's not much different in Oregon/Washington. I'm sure it's much the same in GA. Go after those clients.?ÿ ?ÿ?ÿ
It was much the same in Oklahoma. If you rely on these people to put food on your table you are going to be eating more feathers than chicken. But there are clients that can and will pay.
In OK it was oil & gas, the DOT, utilities, and local government and quasi-government agencies. It's not much different in Oregon/Washington. I'm sure it's much the same in GA. Go after those clients.?ÿ ?ÿ?ÿ
Oh rest assured I don't suffer these people but I still get the calls.
In my book, everyone has their ??dumb?? moments, and if grossly enderestimating the price of a survey is your ??dumb?? moment, then you aren??t doing half bad. Certainly much better than the average ??dumb?? moment behind the wheel of a car.?ÿ
In school, it was pounded into my brain that surveying is both a science and an art. At the time I didn??t understand, and figured that if I am Creating rather than observing, than my career surveying is going to be rather short.?ÿ
The explanation that I missed at the time is that the science of surveying is the observations of our world, while the art is the explanation of those observations.?ÿ
I would venture to guess that the surveying community has been focusing on the science, and has done a piss poor job on the art. With nobody really knowing what we do, it isn??t surprising that the average person doesn??t understand the cost (and more importantly the VALUE) of our work.
"...it was pounded into my brain that surveying is both a science and an art."
I've also heard this?ÿsince I found surveying (or did it find me??)
Anyway, one thing I have learned is that this "line" is pure bullsh!t in boundary surveying.
Science is a tool we use (measurements, mathematics, and?ÿtechnology).?ÿ The true professional level work in boundary surveying?ÿis?ÿalmost exclusively in the?ÿrealm of art and legal work.?ÿ
We need to be able to recognize and gather evidence (many times, the most relevant evidence isn't found?ÿin our data collectors), have the knowledge and experience to correctly analyze this evidence in accordance with appropriate legal principles, and just as importantly, be able to communicate with clients, neighbors, and other professionals in ways that not only solve problems, but prevent future problems from happening.?ÿ Once we realize this, and practice accordingly, the public will begin to understand the value of our expertise.?ÿ?ÿI certainly have witnessed this in my own practice.?ÿ?ÿ
Act?ÿand perform like a tradesman, you will be treated as a tradesman.?ÿ?ÿAct and perform like a professional, you will be treated as a professional.
Act?ÿand perform like a tradesman, you will be treated as a tradesman.?ÿ?ÿAct and perform like a professional, you will be treated as a professional.
No truer words have been spoken on this site. My Mother use to say that if you lie down and let people walk on you that you will be treated like a rug. The Surveyors who cave into the Client about their fee and/or schedule are acting like a rug. I believe the problem is more about many Surveyor's intelligences than the uninformed land owner. The reason they think that surveying is cheap is because of cheap surveyors. The reason they think that it is easy is because they can call two days before a closing and someone will agree to the schedule. Had a knowledgeable (former) Client tell me " you say I can't. Before this day is done, I will find two who say I can". We have found the enemy and ............
We to recognize and gather evidence (many times, the most relevant evidence isn't found?ÿin our data collectors), have the knowledge and experience to correctly analyze this evidence in accordance with appropriate legal principles, and just as importantly, be able to communicate with clients, neighbors, and other professionals in ways that not only solve problems, but prevent future problems from happening.?ÿ Once we realize this, and practice accordingly, the public will begin to understand the value of our expertise.?ÿ?ÿI certainly have witnessed this in my own practice.?ÿ?ÿ
Act?ÿand perform like a tradesman, you will be treated as a tradesman.?ÿ?ÿAct and perform like a professional, you will be treated as a professional.
Yes!
A good test of whether you are a professional or a tradesmen is the relationship between the mental effort you spend on measuring versus everything else.?ÿ
They can afford the land and pay taxes then they can afford to pay?ÿ surveyors too.