Just had a conversation with a lady needing a survey to add a 20x85 strip to their lot cut from a larger adjoining parcel. The parcel is owned by a state agency that has agreed to sell. The agency told her she would have to have a survey and an appraisal. So she went over how it was so simple that even she could draw the map as three of the four corners have been done by surveys quite recently (corners are in). All one needs to do is pull a tape from two directions. I agreed that it is probably a simple survey but it takes my time to get there and check it out and then also time to draw the plat. It also requires a land surveyors license and must meet a bunch of regulations.
So basically even at the lowest possible time I think it would take to complete the job the survey is going to cost about as much as the land purchase. She just couldn't make that work for her. Said she'd maybe get back to me. Her husband is a retired medical doctor and they have at least three homes. Go figure.
I've never done one of these types of projects where I gave a fixed price that I didn't regret before is was complete. Little deals that end up taking a lot of time. So I'm not waiting by the phone.
> Her husband is a retired medical doctor and they have at least three homes. Go figure.
I figure there's the problem. As a rule, doctors are not great clients and are cheapskates, nurse. If they can buy the land for less than it costs to survey it, great.
I just had a call from a client today who wanted me to tell him how much it had cost in 2003 to survey about three acres of land that the record owner quitclaimed to him. My fee was his main expense and, together with the attorney's fee for drafting the deed, was the cost of the land. It was a bargain, considering.
(And for the record: he wasn't a doctor and wasn't a cheapskate. The point was that surveying should cost what it costs. Everything else is probably negotiable.)
The point was that surveying should cost what it costs.
That's basically what I was telling the caller. Regardless of what the land size is or cost my work has a value and takes my time (about all I have to sell).
Once upon a time...............all good stories start out this way!
Once upon a time a fellow purchased a sizeable chunk of a small town block at a tax sale for $10. A couple years later someone came along wanting to buy it from him. He decided that he wanted to keep a portion of it, so needed to get it surveyed. He had listed the property for sale through a local real estate firm and agreed to pay them a $500 fee for handling the transaction. My survey was a very, very nice deal at only $480. The problem was that he had agreed to sell it for $1000 and pay the expenses. So he netted $10 and had a small junk of ground left. That's $10 less the few dollars of property tax he had paid while he owned it and the income tax assessed for his $10 profit.
> As a rule, doctors are not great clients and are cheapskates, nurse.
With the exception of anesthesiologists. Both I've taken on as clients were very laid back, reasonable people who didn't worry excessively about survey costs. There may be a pattern.
Kent
My wife was a Post Anesthesia Care Unit (Recovery Room) nurse for about 10 years and dealt with a bunch of anesthesiologists. As a rule they were laid back and easy to get along with (as opposed to surgeons). BUT if you really want to rile them up just bring up professional liability insurnace. Most pay more in yearly fees than I have ever made surveying.
Andy
Back when I was doing private surveys I did one for an Anesthesiologist.
Just like you said, he just paid the bill, didn't blink.
AND when my daughter was having back surgery he personally checked on her and made sure they did the Anesthesia part right. He is one of the good guys, for sure.
Anesthesiologists are the best! Nurse anesthetists, I'm not so sure.of.........
I love the sellers that say how easy and cheap something should be. Hmmm...well, why don't you just tack on $50 to the price of the property and have a surveyor swing-tie that mark in....? (Don't tell them that three surveyors already turned down the job and another said it would be $3,000. Those pins aren't in the right place...etc. Obviously they can claim that they didn't know it had all these problems.)
Same with buying a used car. "All it needs is a Blah-blah. You could do it yourself for $10"....Gee why didn't you go ahead and do it then, it's so easy and cheap, and it will increase the value of the car? (They don't tell you that they already put in 4 of those things, and it keeps going out. Now they can claim that they didn't know it was a bigger problem.)
Buyer beware.
Kent
> .....Most pay more in yearly fees than I have ever made surveying.
[sarcasm]Maybe, we should start selling insurance....[/sarcasm]
😉