Here, here.
>In the future make sure your contracts state that you own all your work product and that you license a copy to client for their use on the project.
:good:
My $0.00 (no license)
You need an updated title check, however that is done in your area. You need to make sure nobody moved a pin or built a new structure across the line.
The fact that you probably will find undisturbed pins and you have almost all of the history means that you have less work to do than the first time. Tell them that you had to recheck things and draw a new plat, and charge somewhere between the effort required and the original price.
“I do business in a small town, so word will get out if somebody thinks I'm price gouging. My thought is, even though said survey is only a month old, I would charge Client B the same as I did client A. What say you?”
In my world the first seven words answer the question. 🙂
Put it in the contract.
In all our contracts we make it clear we own the work product, not the person ordering the survey. Sure they get copies of it, but we own all the rights to it.
Put it in the contract.
You are on good terms with client A right?
Have you discussed this with them? Call them up and tell them that you have been contacted to survey the tract and that per their request you are not going to give them a copy of the survey you did for them but you will go resurvey it and make a new survey if need be. One way or another it is getting done. I see no reason why they wouldn't want to sell their survey. What good does it do them? Do they think if they don't sell that somehow the property won't be sold and they might have another chance at buying it?
My 2 cents are...you are now giving the ability to be sued by another party no matter how trivial. Insurance premiums are not cheap.
Updating and recertifying the survey is basically saying you will take responsibility accepting them as another certified party. For that, I would want to at least gain the base costs again.
That's realistic and my way of justifying..."Why am I ever not allowed to be thrown a bone?"
That first survey would already be filed at the courthouse for the entire world to find. End of discussion.
I had a similar situation including living in a small town. I went back to the field to make sure nothing changed since the first visit, drafted a new plat and wrote a new description. Client B wanted a little more info that required a few hours of field time and drafting.
I charged by the hour which was about 50% of the first survey. I made money and everyone was happy. Both Client A and B have been return clients.
> .... I state I cannot give it to them b/c it's not mine to give....
I believe that it is yours to give. The data is yours, at any rate.
A large part of what you charge for is not the survey but the liability you accept for its correctness. As things now stand, for all practical purposes, you are now free and clear of liablity for this survey. Typically, B's right to sue you for errors in a survey prepared for A are limited. (This liability issue is separate from issues of competence that your board may pursue for any product of yours that may come into its hands). If you reissue it to Client B you restart that liability. You should be paid for that.
It's not fair of Client A to expect you to protect his personal interests - beyond boundary matters - in perpetuity. The only fair thing to do is to prepare a new map for B and charge him exactly what you charged Client A. It would also be fair to let Client A know that this is what you propose to do, so he can have a chance to make the best deal he can for the survey he has in hand.
> >If you reissue it to Client B you restart that liability. You should be paid for that.
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This is exactly what I was going to say. Also, as Kent pointed out, unless you've stated otherwise in your contract for services, Client A cannot keep you from pursuing your business of making a living. I go back to the old example of the title company. If the title company issue a title commitment and Client A paid for it, but the deal never closed, do you think the title company would use that same information again, put a new date on it and reissue it to a new Client B? Of course they would. Like you, they are in business to make money. You are not a charity. Why would it be considered gouging? It's what the survey is worth to someone, plus your liability isn't it?
> If the title company issue a title commitment and Client A paid for it, but the deal never closed, do you think the title company would use that same information again, put a new date on it and reissue it to a new Client B? Of course they would. Like you, they are in business to make money. You are not a charity. Why would it be considered gouging? It's what the survey is worth to someone, plus your liability isn't it?
What's a bit odd to me is that the map of the survey made for Client A didn't bear a certificate stating that it was for Client A's benefit in connection with a specific transaction and certifying the correctness of the map specifically to Client A and some named other parties such as seller, title insurer, and/or lender. I realize that title insurers (at least in Texas) have gotten relaxed about relying upon old maps prepared for other transactions, but it still seems to me to be of value to name the parties. That way, the product is clearly tailored to some specific contractual agreement, not just a generic map for all time and all subsequent purposes.
If this lot had been sold to Client A, then a month later was put back on the market listed with the same realtor, would the realtor list it for a lower percentage than the previous sale? No! Would the attorney peform title work on the same property for a reduced fee? No! After I field verified that all monuments are still in position and prepare a new plat, I would charge the same amount for this resurvey as the original survey. The liabilty we assume is the same for the second survey as the first, and someone needs to pay for it, preferably not me.
:good:
"Why isn't the survey being made for the current owner?"
Good question - we would only rarely perform work without the owner being the client - can't lien a non-owner in this state.
Put it in the contract.
"...we own the work product, not the person ordering the survey"
:good: Can't imagine anything else!
