Surveying

John Giles, post: 414156, member: 57 wrote:
By the end of the court day, the magistrate ruled in my favor and the people that took me to court hired me back to do the same survey again.

You didn't seriously work for these people again did you?

Your first paragraph has a similarity to a book I recently read! 😉

I have a handful of cases where I have taken someone to small claims court to get paid then have gone on to do another job for them-----100 PERCENT CASH UP FRONT WITH A PROMISE TO RETURN ANY EXTRA IF THE JOB IS FAR EASIER THAN EXPECTED. I did return roughly $100 once when it really was easier. Some people simply need to be trained.

John Giles, post: 414156, member: 57 wrote: Hope all are doing well.

I haven't posted in a while. I've been around just lurking here and there.

Just finished a survey for a gentleman out of state. The property sits about a half mile from the nearest county road and it was a pain in the rear to get access to it. The guy the right-of-way was through had no intention of letting us use it. We sent letters asking him to use it. That didn't work. We then visited his house and he wouldn't come to the door. He just cussed us out and basically told us to leave, though you couldn't understand a word he was saying, except for the cuss words. We finally gained access over another neighbor. He informed us we were lucky we didn't get shot. Turned out the guy is pretty crazy, so says the neighbor. And I believe him. The right-of-way has no width and we were initialing hired to survey the right-of-way too. But after we were denied access and the client talked to his attorney about getting access, he decided not to worry about it right now as it wasn't going to be cheap to take the guy to court.

I also got taken to magistrate court by former clients. They decided they shouldn't have to pay me as I didn't finish their survey. I require a retainer and they paid that, and that was the money they wanted back. I believe in retainers for this reason alone. I only didn't finish their survey because they told me not to after I had already had a couple days in it, office, courthouse, and field. They didn't like where it was ending up. By the end of the court day, the magistrate ruled in my favor and the people that took me to court hired me back to do the same survey again. So I don't know what that makes me. A people person? No, a glutton for punishment, maybe? That was the first time I've been to court over survey matters, though it really wasn't about the survey I performed, it was about the money they wanted back.

I did another survey a month or so ago. The deeds were all bounded. The only evidence was the fence and yes, I used it. It was kind of funny, all the neighbors thought we were going to go in and 'steal' their property. We didn't have to do much but follow the old fence that was freshly flagged, posted, and painted by the neighbors. We did have a couple traverse points on one neighbor and he let us know. He pulled the nails and drove them in trees in the fence line. Try as we may people just don't understand traverse points aren't marking boundaries. But a few of mine did, courtesy of the neighbor.

Why would you not have contacted your local law enforcement authority to assist you with the uncooperative guy? Or the guy that moved your traverse points?

It is good to hear this update from you John.

Thanks man.

Totalsurv, post: 414157, member: 8202 wrote: You didn't seriously work for these people again did you?

Adjust rates to include court time and preparation, 100 % retainer in advance

John Giles, post: 414156, member: 57 wrote: Hope all are doing well.

I haven't posted in a while. I've been around just lurking here and there.

Just finished a survey for a gentleman out of state. The property sits about a half mile from the nearest county road and it was a pain in the rear to get access to it. The guy the right-of-way was through had no intention of letting us use it. We sent letters asking him to use it. That didn't work. We then visited his house and he wouldn't come to the door. He just cussed us out and basically told us to leave, though you couldn't understand a word he was saying, except for the cuss words. We finally gained access over another neighbor. He informed us we were lucky we didn't get shot. Turned out the guy is pretty crazy, so says the neighbor. And I believe him. The right-of-way has no width and we were initialing hired to survey the right-of-way too. But after we were denied access and the client talked to his attorney about getting access, he decided not to worry about it right now as it wasn't going to be cheap to take the guy to court.

I also got taken to magistrate court by former clients. They decided they shouldn't have to pay me as I didn't finish their survey. I require a retainer and they paid that, and that was the money they wanted back. I believe in retainers for this reason alone. I only didn't finish their survey because they told me not to after I had already had a couple days in it, office, courthouse, and field. They didn't like where it was ending up. By the end of the court day, the magistrate ruled in my favor and the people that took me to court hired me back to do the same survey again. So I don't know what that makes me. A people person? No, a glutton for punishment, maybe? That was the first time I've been to court over survey matters, though it really wasn't about the survey I performed, it was about the money they wanted back.

I did another survey a month or so ago. The deeds were all bounded. The only evidence was the fence and yes, I used it. It was kind of funny, all the neighbors thought we were going to go in and 'steal' their property. We didn't have to do much but follow the old fence that was freshly flagged, posted, and painted by the neighbors. We did have a couple traverse points on one neighbor and he let us know. He pulled the nails and drove them in trees in the fence line. Try as we may people just don't understand traverse points aren't marking boundaries. But a few of mine did, courtesy of the neighbor.

I had a similar situation a few years ago regarding an unimproved dirt road being used by the adjacent neighbor for access to an illegal rental property on the bay located in the back of their lot. When we showed up to begin the field work the neighboring trespasser asked what we were doing and I explained to him that we were surveying his neighbor's property. Little did I know this dirt road was an issue of heated contention between the neighbors for years. After my explanation the neighbor became infuriated, went into abusive rants, physically and verbally threatened my and my crew and then he and his wife jumped on their quads and proceeded to run up and down the road recklessly close to us jacking up so much dust that it was difficult to even see.

We packed up our gear and I sent my crew on their way while I went to speak with my client about the situation. I then went to the local Police Department, explained the situation (he was already aware of the tension) and advised him that I would forward him a copy of the State Statute regarding a Surveyor's right of entry (he was unaware of the statute). Fortunately, he was very understanding and quite cooperative.

I then returned to my home office and emailed the statute to the Sgt. along with a copy of the letter I was sending to the adjacent owner announcing when I would be back on the property, what I was doing, how many people and vehicles would be there and the estimated duration of my work. I gave him 2 weeks notice via certified return receipt letter and kept in touch with the PD so they were aware of my scheduling.

When we arrived back at the site there was a Police Officer waiting for us. He gave us his personal cell number and routinely patrolled the area incase of further issues. When we tried to access the site again we found that the adjacent owner had cut large trees down across the road and used a back hoe to make the road impassable.

Not being deterred by this we went in on foot only to find that this guy was sharp and obliterated the called for corners totally disturbing the surrounding area so there was no hope of recovering anything. By this time I had invested 2 weeks of field time and considerable hours of calculations before I went back to the client and advised that per our contractual agreement I had already gone above and beyond the scope and would require them to sign a new proposal affording payment on a time and materials to complete the survey. They then demanded their $9K retainer back and I refused saying that I had already spent more than that to try and resolve my contractual obligations.

Needless to say they took me to court and I had to Lawyer up. My legal fees exceed $7K but I was insured for that. The clients were very hostile in court and when the Judge reviewed the contract I had with them and found that they failed to disclose the hostile history between themselves and the adjacent owner She not only found in my favor but made the Client cover my legal fees.

I would never even consider going back to resolve that resolve that survey for any dollar value with the same client or the adjacent owner involved. Once you have called my credibility and professionalism into play all bets are off!

Chris Bouffard, post: 414776, member: 12313 wrote: I had a similar situation a few years ago regarding an unimproved dirt road being used by the adjacent neighbor for access to an illegal rental property on the bay located in the back of their lot. When we showed up to begin the field work the neighboring trespasser asked what we were doing and I explained to him that we were surveying his neighbor's property. Little did I know this dirt road was an issue of heated contention between the neighbors for years. After my explanation the neighbor became infuriated, went into abusive rants, physically and verbally threatened my and my crew and then he and his wife jumped on their quads and proceeded to run up and down the road recklessly close to us jacking up so much dust that it was difficult to even see.

We packed up our gear and I sent my crew on their way while I went to speak with my client about the situation. I then went to the local Police Department, explained the situation (he was already aware of the tension) and advised him that I would forward him a copy of the State Statute regarding a Surveyor's right of entry (he was unaware of the statute). Fortunately, he was very understanding and quite cooperative.

I then returned to my home office and emailed the statute to the Sgt. along with a copy of the letter I was sending to the adjacent owner announcing when I would be back on the property, what I was doing, how many people and vehicles would be there and the estimated duration of my work. I gave him 2 weeks notice via certified return receipt letter and kept in touch with the PD so they were aware of my scheduling.

When we arrived back at the site there was a Police Officer waiting for us. He gave us his personal cell number and routinely patrolled the area incase of further issues. When we tried to access the site again we found that the adjacent owner had cut large trees down across the road and used a back hoe to make the road impassable.

Not being deterred by this we went in on foot only to find that this guy was sharp and obliterated the called for corners totally disturbing the surrounding area so there was no hope of recovering anything. By this time I had invested 2 weeks of field time and considerable hours of calculations before I went back to the client and advised that per our contractual agreement I had already gone above and beyond the scope and would require them to sign a new proposal affording payment on a time and materials to complete the survey. They then demanded their $9K retainer back and I refused saying that I had already spent more than that to try and resolve my contractual obligations.

Needless to say they took me to court and I had to Lawyer up. My legal fees exceed $7K but I was insured for that. The clients were very hostile in court and when the Judge reviewed the contract I had with them and found that they failed to disclose the hostile history between themselves and the adjacent owner She not only found in my favor but made the Client cover my legal fees.

I would never even consider going back to resolve that resolve that survey for any dollar value with the same client or the adjacent owner involved. Once you have called my credibility and professionalism into play all bets are off!

Thank you for sharing this story.
Other people are the worst.