That's the nice thing about NC we can not legally just go stake a line. We have to at a minimum do a report of survey. The only time we will stake just a line is if we have already surveyed that property and the person we did the survey for calls us out.
I remember a subdivision I was staking in the mid '80's. The owner would call in for lot corners on lots 1,3,5,7,...., every other lot. He thought he was getting them all staked for half the price.
Be awful tempting to tell some pushy price shopper, ' Why Sir/Mam, this is your lucky day!!! Only for a limited time do we have a two for one lot line staking sale going. Yes, YOU heard correct. We will stake not only your lot line, but also your neighbors lot line, same line at the same time, for the same price!!! This is a very limited time promotional offer, so to lock in this bargain rate, get out your check book and make that check out to .....
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
The recording fee for surveys in the Portland area is $400. If you suppose that the checking and recording is about, say, 10% of the total effort in a boundary survey........
Checking done correctly probably exceeds 10% of the total suvey effort. The checker has to do almost everything the surveyor did in the office, except the drafting doesnt have to be as refined. I cant speak to the completness of the checking done in Portland. I also question the need to require a municipal check of a survey that does not change or create a boundary.
Supposed to be checking the map for conformance to statutory minimums. That is - for north arrow, surveyor name, closure of figure, ... stuff like that. In practice they go far beyond. But they don't get to critique your boundary resolution. But even if you supposed the checking was 25% of the total effort that would justify a survey fee far in excess of $500. The simplest of lot surveys in Portland runs about $2k. That would be if I did your neighbors lot last month and found all the corners with no problems. Goes up quick from there.
Norman Oklahoma, post: 330286, member: 9981 wrote: Supposed to be checking the map for conformance to statutory minimums. That is - for north arrow, surveyor name, closure of figure, ... stuff like that. In practice they go far beyond. But they don't get to critique your boundary resolution. But even if you supposed the checking was 25% of the total effort that would justify a survey fee far in excess of $500. The simplest of lot surveys in Portland runs about $2k. That would be if I did your neighbors lot last month and found all the corners with no problems. Goes up quick from there.
"That is - for north arrow, surveyor name, closure of figure, ... stuff like that."
That costs $24 here - they do it at the counter while you wait.
Jim in AZ, post: 330297, member: 249 wrote: "That is - for north arrow, surveyor name, closure of figure, ... stuff like that."
That costs $24 here - they do it at the counter while you wait.
They check the closure while you wait?
In Washington, the recording fee just went up; it's now $156. The recorder checks the margins, font and makes sure that none of the text conflicts with the linework. That's it.
It would be nice to be able to blame somebody else; that approved my survey.
B-)
RADAR, post: 330299, member: 413 wrote: They check the closure while you wait?
In Washington, the recording fee just went up; it's now $156. The recorder checks the margins, font and makes sure that none of the text conflicts with the linework. That's it.
It would be nice to be able to blame somebody else; that approved my survey.
B-)
No, no, no - they only check for north arrow, scale, seal & original signature, that stuff. Our surveys don't have to be approved by anyone. What purpose would that serve (other than to collect $)?
foggyidea, post: 330173, member: 155 wrote: 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.
Where I'm at, we don't have to option of not having to produce a drawing when we perform a boundary survey. Seems to me that even if you are just staking for a fence line, you need to be able to point to a signed and sealed boundary survey that it is based upon. Even more so if you set corners out there for the public to see. What if the neighboring property owner disagrees with where you staked the line and wants to litigate? You have no survey drawing to document the boundary you just staked..
Also if he semi-permanent markers are iron pipes or concrete monuments, what do the permanent monuments look like?
Bow Tie Surveyor, post: 330310, member: 6939 wrote: what do the permanent monuments look like?
Anybody who has paid attention for even a few years knows that no marker can be counted on to be permanent.
In my opinion, permanent markers are those natural monuments such as creeks, roads, oceans, ravines etc. Yes, I know, they can migrate but it is much more difficult to move one than it is to move a concrete bound.
Dtp
Had a guy hire me and when I met him at the property, he was sweating and breathing hard and wouldn't shut up or calm down. I asked him, "What's the matter?" He said nothing but I could tell he was upset. I asked, "Do you think I'm trying to rip you off?" He stammered and said yes. I chuckled and said I was in fact not trying to soak him. I had the price at $650. He had a few points on an adjacent property (by others) and said, "I'm not trying to tell you your job is easy but this isn't hard." He then proceeded to tell me that he could understand high prices for building Mega Marts and skyscrapers etc but this is only a small rectangle.
I don't normally ask, but I did ask, "How much were you thinking?" He said $250-300. He actually said, "All I need is your signature. I can set this up with my level laser. I can practically do this myself." I offered my help and asked what do we do next? Maybe I can just do it for free. "OH MY NO. I don't want you to do it for free." I said at $250, I might as well be working for nothing. When I told him I wasn't going to do any surveying for him, he asked how much he owed me. He insisted that he pay something for my trouble. I told him$95 for the hour I researched and plotted his property. He didn't think I could have had an hour in the job yet! He didn't even want to pay for the hour! I asked him why he didn't call the other surveyor who did the adjacent property and he said, "Oh that guy is real busy with big time work."
I walked away. Sometimes you just have to stick around and ride that pony until you find out what's going on. I even asked him if he did his own dental work. I laughed but he didn't.
My attitude toward callers of this ilk comes from a professional poker player I saw interviewed on TV a few years back -- he said "An amateur is always looking for a reason to stay in the hand. A professional is always looking for a reason to drop out of the hand."
The last one to really hook me was an 80+ woman who insisted that I meet her onsite 80 miles from the office. Turned out she was a few bricks short of a full load.