Caller (about 25-30 year old male): Yeah, I'm calling because I need a land survey, but its only about a quarter acre.
Me: Ok, why do you need a survey? Are you buying or selling?
Caller: Yeah I'm buying this piece of land and i'm closing tomorrow so I need it as fast as possible!!
Me: chuckles yeah everybody is in a hurry and I've got quite a few lined up in front of you so there is no way I can do it that fast.
Caller: well if you can just do mine first I just really need it, I would really appreciate it. How much do you charge anyways?
Me: well I would need some information about your property before I could give you a price, either the address or preferably a legal desc. Do you have a title commitment?
Caller: ok, well I'll email you the coordinates of the property to you, but gimme a rough idea because i cant afford much and I need it cheap. No we dont have a title commitment.
Me: well, a lot survey is going to start out at $500, and it might be more depending on what kinda land your buying, and its going to be at least 10 days before I could get to it. Are you going through a title company?
Caller: well actually no, Im buying it cash from the seller and we are just handling the deal between me and him..what I really need is somebody that can do it tommorrow because I need to get out there and start clearing, its all wooded and we are the first people to build on the street, and i dont have a lot of money so i need somebody that can do it for about $300. The seller has a contract for me to sign. He said I just need to sign it and hes giving us a BIG discount for paying in cash. We have never bought land before and my wife and I are just really excited to own land.
Me: huh, I see, I'm curious how many surveyors have you called and has anyone told you that that can work within those parameters? Also it sounds like maybe your not an experienced buyer and you dont have a title company or anybody else looking at this deal for you, to be honest I would be careful, you may be vulnerable to getting scammed. I would recommend at the bare minimum get it surveyed before you hand the man cash money on a contract that you dont understand.
Caller: well i've called quite a few and most of the bigger companies are saying 2 weeks minimum turn around time, but i just cant wait that long.
I looked at the subdivision plat and the land in google earth, its solid woods, its either going to be some tough GPS shots or cutting line, depending on how thick it is, and I cant read the plat, the online copy is illegible, would need to take a trip to the courthouse to see the original. I called him back to tell him I would pass on the job, I couldnt do it within the time frame or price he wanted. He said ok, no problem i understand, but how much would you charge? I told him $1,000 - $1,500. He whistled and so oh boy thats a lot, ok bye.
I'm really curious how this deal is going to turn out and im curious as to which one of my competitors is going to take this job. Maybe I will call him back in a few days to follow up out of curiosity.
You cannot fix stupid.
You have a morbid sense of curiosity. (i do too!!)
Another good zinger that I remember him saying on our phone conversation: After I told him it would be at least $500. His response was: I just cant pay somebody that much money to walk out in the woods and put some stakes in the ground. I dont need anything real accurate, I dont care if you use a gps that you bought at Walmart. Part of me wishes I could get him to do a survey with me, just so he could see what all is involved.
RPLS#, post: 452206, member: 12280 wrote: Another good zinger that I remember him saying on our phone conversation: After I told him it would be at least $500. His response was: I just cant pay somebody that much money to walk out in the woods and put some stakes in the ground. I dont need anything real accurate, I dont care if you use a gps that you bought at Walmart. Part of me wishes I could get him to do a survey with me, just so he could see what all is involved.
Tell him it's his lucky day because the accurate survey costs the same as the sloppy one.
Maybe you could go by the local scrap yard, get some old iron...
Set about 5 pins, somewhere in the vicinity o one corner all within 15' radius, with differing color flagging, and wait....
Had my own ring ring today. WOW, is all I can say! Guy called a few weeks ago and wanted the price to mark a line for fencing, about 350 ft. It had been surveyed before recently, first question pops in my head, why aren??t you contacting them? Asks how much I would charge, I dig into it a little and call him back it is an easy job, it 2 hrs from the office through some of the worst traffic imaginable on a daily basis, I quote him $700, he responds that I need to sharpen my pencil a little more. I chuckle and tell him that for me to do it that is what it will cost. Well today he calls me back, complaining that I haven??t called him back with a lower price, I never said I would, and I proceed to tell him it would still be $700, and he proceeds to tell me to go F*** myself and hangs up. I proceed to call him back, because I didn??t really appreciate that, and leave him a voicemail, because obviously he wasn??t going to pick up, in which I proceed to ask him if he feels better about himself, and thank you for the opportunity to provide you with a proposal. All said with a smile! Zing!
I'm gonna lay odds that the cash buyer is going to get a quitclaim deed, which is legal even if the seller doesn't own it, which I'm also going to lay odds on.
2 uh-oh themes I get a lot of lately are "I've called other Surveyors and have gotten ridiculous quotes, give me a 'fair' price and you have the job" and (after providing proposal), "I don't need it filed, can you recommend someone cheaper who won't file?"
Wal1170, post: 452225, member: 10610 wrote: Had my own ring ring today. WOW, is all I can say! Guy called a few weeks ago and wanted the price to mark a line for fencing, about 350 ft. It had been surveyed before recently, first question pops in my head, why aren??t you contacting them? Asks how much I would charge, I dig into it a little and call him back it is an easy job, it 2 hrs from the office through some of the worst traffic imaginable on a daily basis, I quote him $700, he responds that I need to sharpen my pencil a little more. I chuckle and tell him that for me to do it that is what it will cost. Well today he calls me back, complaining that I haven??t called him back with a lower price, I never said I would, and I proceed to tell him it would still be $700, and he proceeds to tell me to go F*** myself and hangs up. I proceed to call him back, because I didn??t really appreciate that, and leave him a voicemail, because obviously he wasn??t going to pick up, in which I proceed to ask him if he feels better about himself, and thank you for the opportunity to provide you with a proposal. All said with a smile! Zing!
We had one the other day.
How much do you charge for an elevation certificate?
$### plus travel.
Speaking of elevation, that is steep.
Dave Lindell, post: 452226, member: 55 wrote: I'm gonna lay odds that the cash buyer is going to get a quitclaim deed, which is legal even if the seller doesn't own it, which I'm also going to lay odds on.
Sounds like the buyer is too overzealous and has not performed "due diligence". I suspect he is in for a rude awakening.
By the way if anybody is interested in buying Disney World, today only $500 via quit claim deed. 😉
RPLS#, post: 452186, member: 12280 wrote: Caller (about 25-30 year old male): Yeah, I'm calling because I need a land survey, but its only about a quarter acre.
Me: Ok, why do you need a survey? Are you buying or selling?
Caller: Yeah I'm buying this piece of land and i'm closing tomorrow so I need it as fast as possible!!
Me: chuckles yeah everybody is in a hurry and I've got quite a few lined up in front of you so there is no way I can do it that fast.
Caller: well if you can just do mine first I just really need it, I would really appreciate it. How much do you charge anyways?
Me: well I would need some information about your property before I could give you a price, either the address or preferably a legal desc. Do you have a title commitment?
Caller: ok, well I'll email you the coordinates of the property to you, but gimme a rough idea because i cant afford much and I need it cheap. No we dont have a title commitment.
Me: well, a lot survey is going to start out at $500, and it might be more depending on what kinda land your buying, and its going to be at least 10 days before I could get to it. Are you going through a title company?
Caller: well actually no, Im buying it cash from the seller and we are just handling the deal between me and him..what I really need is somebody that can do it tommorrow because I need to get out there and start clearing, its all wooded and we are the first people to build on the street, and i dont have a lot of money so i need somebody that can do it for about $300. The seller has a contract for me to sign. He said I just need to sign it and hes giving us a BIG discount for paying in cash. We have never bought land before and my wife and I are just really excited to own land.
Me: huh, I see, I'm curious how many surveyors have you called and has anyone told you that that can work within those parameters? Also it sounds like maybe your not an experienced buyer and you dont have a title company or anybody else looking at this deal for you, to be honest I would be careful, you may be vulnerable to getting scammed. I would recommend at the bare minimum get it surveyed before you hand the man cash money on a contract that you dont understand.
Caller: well i've called quite a few and most of the bigger companies are saying 2 weeks minimum turn around time, but i just cant wait that long.I looked at the subdivision plat and the land in google earth, its solid woods, its either going to be some tough GPS shots or cutting line, depending on how thick it is, and I cant read the plat, the online copy is illegible, would need to take a trip to the courthouse to see the original. I called him back to tell him I would pass on the job, I couldnt do it within the time frame or price he wanted. He said ok, no problem i understand, but how much would you charge? I told him $1,000 - $1,500. He whistled and so oh boy thats a lot, ok bye.
I'm really curious how this deal is going to turn out and im curious as to which one of my competitors is going to take this job. Maybe I will call him back in a few days to follow up out of curiosity.
I had a call along these lines a few years ago. It was a young lady who was actually in tears on the phone BEGGING me to come do her survey the next day. I felt so bad for her that if I could have done it I would have. But it was totally not possible. I wonder what ever happened.
Dave Lindell, post: 452226, member: 55 wrote: I'm gonna lay odds that the cash buyer is going to get a quitclaim deed, which is legal even if the seller doesn't own it, which I'm also going to lay odds on.
My thoughts exactly! I bet the "seller" isn't the owner. A fool and his money are soon parted!
Andy J, post: 452241, member: 44 wrote: My thoughts exactly! I bet the "seller" isn't the owner. A fool and his money are soon parted!
My thoughts exactly.
"I pity the fool." -B.A. Baracus
Wal1170, post: 452225, member: 10610 wrote: Had my own ring ring today. WOW, is all I can say! Guy called a few weeks ago and wanted the price to mark a line for fencing, about 350 ft. It had been surveyed before recently, first question pops in my head, why aren??t you contacting them? Asks how much I would charge, I dig into it a little and call him back it is an easy job, it 2 hrs from the office through some of the worst traffic imaginable on a daily basis, I quote him $700, he responds that I need to sharpen my pencil a little more. I chuckle and tell him that for me to do it that is what it will cost. Well today he calls me back, complaining that I haven??t called him back with a lower price, I never said I would, and I proceed to tell him it would still be $700, and he proceeds to tell me to go F*** myself and hangs up. I proceed to call him back, because I didn??t really appreciate that, and leave him a voicemail, because obviously he wasn??t going to pick up, in which I proceed to ask him if he feels better about himself, and thank you for the opportunity to provide you with a proposal. All said with a smile! Zing!
You should have called him back and said, "I sharpened my pencil and I have a better price..........$2000. Up front. What's that? I didn't say I had a better price for you. It's better for me."
This is the kind of situation that I would keep notes about to look up later. Just as a check on my intuition from the caller. I'd probably do some research into who the owner is and ask the guy who he is buying from.
There are so many red flags in the op I almost couldn't finish it. Kudos to the poster for listening and responding in what I deem a professional way.
Cash buyer, hmmm. Is that really cash, or just a cashier's check? Probably exceeds the federal limit for unreported cash transactions, and I'd lay odds the buyer doesn't want it reported.
Bill93, post: 452304, member: 87 wrote: Cash buyer, hmmm. Is that really cash, or just a cashier's check? Probably exceeds the federal limit for unreported cash transactions, and I'd lay odds the buyer doesn't want it reported.
https://houston.craigslist.org/reo/d/quarter-acre-wooded-property/6354937373.html
Actually I don't think he's paying that much.
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
Looks like he has a few up for sale...
https://houston.craigslist.org/reo/d/cheap-land-nearby-college/6359386409.html
https://houston.craigslist.org/reo/d/026-ac-located-in-grimes/6358952012.html
