Got a call from a man who is worried about a building going up on an abutting property. He has an in town lot listed at 4.5 acres. He says there are no corner pins. He wants me to survey just the one line between he and the abutting property. He cant understand why I have to survey the whole lot plus adjoining property monuments. "But I just need the one line done!"
Then he asks how much does a survey cost? I tell him typically a lot that size could be $3000 or more depending on many factors. (insert long pause).
"But my brother just paid $500 for a survey in New York State. He says it should not cost much".
Let me pull out my magic wand and magically recreate his boundary line.
Needless to say, I told him to look around. He might find a surveyor that can fulfill his needs.
I hear you Thomas, this stuff happens every day it seems. Everyone is an expert except for the expert I guess.
Yeah, I took his call, said sure $499 no problem. Now I just gotta figure out if he gets accuracy or speed???
Paul D, post: 329806, member: 323 wrote: I hear you Thomas, this stuff happens every day it seems. Everyone is an expert except for the expert I guess.
He was also certain that he owned 6.5 acres and the town said 4.5 but he never said nothing so he could get lower taxes. These type of people I alway walk away from. If you do the survey and the acreage is less, they will never pay.
let the partimers take that survey
Simple solution to that... don't turn anything over or file anything until you're paid. I guess he'd still have his corners though...
A friend of mine never used to do anything residential without being paid up front; he was the first surveyor I knew who took credit cards. Hard to get burned on a fee if the truck doesn't leave the office until the money's in the bank.
And this is unusual?
Brad Ott, post: 329809, member: 197 wrote: Yeah, I took his call, said sure $499 no problem. Now I just gotta figure out if he gets accuracy or speed???
OK, I can survey just one line. I will survey what I have to, to get that line right, and then publish JUST THAT ONE LINE. But the cost is close to the same.
2995!
Lee D, post: 329822, member: 7971 wrote: ...A friend of mine never used to do anything residential without being paid up front; he was the first surveyor I knew who took credit cards. Hard to get burned on a fee if the truck doesn't leave the office until the money's in the bank.
I have attempted this in the past with smaller private properties (platted residential) and have been generally successful. I've found a few drawbacks however. First off, once someone has paid they will pester the peewaddin' out of you until the crew arrives. Don't take their money if it's gonna be a week or two 'til you get there. Second, some folks never are satisfied. If the client has prepaid I prefer they meet me (or the crew) at the site for a verbal approval of the work. One lady called me back several times to "put more flags in" along the marked line. All it takes is a couple of go-backs by the crew and your profit disappears "like a fart in the wind"...(my apologies to Warden Norton).
paden cash, post: 329828, member: 20 wrote: One lady called me back several times to "put more flags in" along the marked line. All it takes is a couple of go-backs by the crew and your profit disappears "like a fart in the wind"...(my apologies to Warden Norton).
I had a lady that wanted her lines marked. So, we marked them as usual for our area. Then she wanted a steel fence post every so often. We were nice and went back and set them so that you could see from one to the other. Next day, she called and said she wanted them every ten feet. I told her she needed a fence crew, not a survey crew. She got a little irritated and said she'd pay extra. When I told her it would be $XXX/hour instead of the $20-25/hour she wanted to pay, she nearly hyperventilated. I politely gave her the number of a local fence guy.
Me. "What's the difference?"
T.C. Carroll "It's the difference between right and wrong!"
paden cash, post: 329828, member: 20 wrote: I have attempted this in the past with smaller private properties (platted residential) and have been generally successful. I've found a few drawbacks however. First off, once someone has paid they will pester the peewaddin' out of you until the crew arrives. Don't take their money if it's gonna be a week or two 'til you get there. Second, some folks never are satisfied. If the client has prepaid I prefer they meet me (or the crew) at the site for a verbal approval of the work. One lady called me back several times to "put more flags in" along the marked line. All it takes is a couple of go-backs by the crew and your profit disappears "like a fart in the wind"...(my apologies to Warden Norton).
I agree... my friend was doing a lot of residential work, mostly for closings, and was able to get a crew on stuff within a day or two. Once in a while you may lose out by having to do work that wasn't in the budget, but at least you never get burned.
Hmm, I have a 9,000 acre ranch. There is one mile (a North Section line) that I need to fence. Corners and quarters unknown.
Do I really have to pay to survey all 23 miles of boundary? I bet that is like a $250,000 job!
🙂
M
Thomas Smith, post: 329805, member: 980 wrote: He wants me to survey just the one line
I just roll my eyes when I get those calls. Everybody around here thinks that is $200 max job.
$500 in NY? Guy was robbed. I know of a surveyor doing residential lots for $250....They're rubbish, but the average client can't tell rubbish from good work, and both maps will have the required seal and signature.
Happens all the time.
Them: "Give me a price for a survey."
Surveyor: "$1600"
Them: "Okay, so one line is $400 then, right? Cause that's all I need..."
Surveyor: "Nope, one line is $1600 but I'm running a 'buy one get three free' deal this week..."
Them: *click*
Broken Lath, post: 329824, member: 7397 wrote:
I almost put the following on my letterhead years ago...
LAND SURVEYING
FAST - CHEAP -GOOD
PICK ANY TWO
We do a lot of property line staking due to lots of reasons , landscaping, neighbors selling, somebody new bought next door;
The way that we approach it is to send a clear scope of services, staking which line(s), and we, now, include an option for a certified plot plan that shows structures in relation to the property lines, with dimensions and stakes set, corners found, etc. Then there is a third option to include semi-permanent markers at the corners. Either IP's with a cap, or concrete bounds.
This expanded scope of services has resulted in the clients usually picking option 2 with the plot plan, or having corners set. It has certainly increased the revenue stream from a simple lot staking.
Don't drop prices, expand scope!
Dtp
PS We aren't cheap either. We can't seem to leave the office for less that $540.
Sergeant Schultz, post: 329961, member: 315 wrote: $500 in NY? Guy was robbed. I know of a surveyor doing residential lots for $250....They're rubbish, but the average client can't tell rubbish from good work, and both maps will have the required seal and signature.
They may even both meet the "Minimum Standards"!
I occasionally get this, from someone looking for a discount ... on a 4 corner lot:
"I'm putting a fence down both sides of my property, so I don't need to know where the front and back pins are, I just need the side pins"
OR... someone who started by asking the price for a full boundary survey, then ...
"So, if I can get a four sides surveyed for $XXX, then I can get one side surveyed for $XXX / 4, right?"