I got myself into a "brother-in-law" deal kind of survey and, as always, it looks like it might blow up in my face. I'm performing the survey for a friend of a good client. He's amicable enough, but the seller is paying for the survey and he is one bull-headed fella.
The property consists of 4 platted lots that front on a N-S section line with a metes and bounds area behind the lots. The two gents want the property split with an E-W line that is the south line of one of the platted lots extended to the west. I've got the survey complete and the acreage of the entire original tract comes out to 7.87 acres, mol. This is less than the 8.5 acres the seller thought he had...the county assessor agrees with him. 🙁
He's called me three times this morning with a "this is all wrong" routine as he's looking at the survey. Just FYI, I found all the corners. He's arguing that he bought "eight and a half acres by God" and cannot understand why there isn't that much there. The only thing in his eyes is that I've "screwed something up". The recorded deed mentions no area.
I finally told him he needed to check with someone (another surveyor) who's work he trusts. He wants to spout off this "that's what I'm paying you for" BS. I've got a queasy tummy and my back hurts today; I'm in no mood to deal with numbskulls.
Casting my pearls before swine...
i wonder if there's another profession on earth wherein the clientele can maintain the cognitive dissonance of deeming the professionals both experts and morons simultaneously.
ed: i guess the practice of doctor shopping probably answers that question to a certain extent...
Tell him God has a sense of humor.
Recently completed a family farm division into several tracts.
6wks later, the oldest and most dense family member calls me and says that my numbers don't add up to the deed numbers and is a couple of acres less.
Said his brother in law came up with the same numbers he had.
I was real busy and said I would get back in touch next week after I had found the file and checked the numbers.
When he called back, I had to tell him to get out his calculator or use the one on his phone cause it must have been too long since he had been in math class cause his longhand wasn't working, everything is correct.
That was nearly 3wks ago and haven't heard from them again.
Thru the years I've had hard headed clients that really did not know what surveying was all about and everything we did really did not fit what the hard headed client felt should be going on.
Several fired me on the spot and others were like yours, could not understand why their acres were not there and would not shut their mouth about it.
I have found satisfaction after they have sent their emissary my way to attempt to show me my failings and they leave extremely frustrated and put in their place as a mouth for hire rather than an expert on surveying.
I have also found it really disappointing when they went out and talked another surveyor into the game and had them taking me on without any ammunition.
My disappointment was for how the other surveyor allowed themselves to become a mouth for hire without actually making a visit to the property.
Looking at it from a layperson's point of view, it is hard to imaging how your 8-acre tract suddenly has a half-acre less than what you bought. Math is easy, and how can you possible have over a half-acre difference. That's the size of my whole property.
Learning how to explain it to someone in a way they can understand has to be a real art.
Isn't nice when you come up with MORE acreage.;)
Tommy Young, post: 448484, member: 703 wrote: Tell him God has a sense of humor.
Yea, that's why we're here. 😉
I did a survey for this idiot one time. His road frontage call had a bearing somewhere about South 4 degrees East. He called me to let me know that the road was running south, not east.
Bill Engvall is not a comedian. He's a social scientist.
I got angrily cussed out by a woman client I gave the nickname 'Wolverine' for reporting several acres less than what they thought they had. Eroding bluff ate up the majority of it. When she was done berating me I calmly told her that she would need to take the matter up with a higher power. I just measure the land, I don't make it or take it away. Later she called asking if I'd be interested in doing another survey for them..... Told her I'd get back to her (on a freezing day in he!!)
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
Tommy Young, post: 448499, member: 703 wrote: ..Bill Engvall is not a comedian. He's a social scientist.
I do believe I did a survey once for one of Bill's "dorkfish"...
"And if you have had it surveyed when you bought it you would have paid for 7.78 acres by god". "Now go ask your Tax Assessor friend to give you a rebate on the 0.72 acres per year he's been overcharging you."
Have one right now where the deed says it is the East 90 acres of the southwest quarter. The appraiser's office shows the total including county road r-o-w to be 93.0. That's based on where it looks like the existing fence/tree rows are located. They may have certain rights to all 93.0 but I'm not going to award it to them automatically.
The worst was when we had to tell a Lady that she had 40 acres less than the 360 that she was expecting. She honestly fainted on the site. It was not uncommon back in the 30s for the local surveyor to inflate the area so the farmer could get a bigger loan from the Federal Land Bank.
lmbrls, post: 448522, member: 6823 wrote: The worst was when we had to tell a Lady that she had 40 acres less than the 360 that she was expecting. She honestly fainted on the site. It was not uncommon back in the 30s for the local surveyor to inflate the area so the farmer could get a bigger loan from the Federal Land Bank.
I also have spoken with a lot of land-owners that are truly "uneducated" (the real word is ignorant, but most folks misunderstand its meaning) about their land. I remember one family owned the W/2, NW/4. Family lore had it sized at 180 acres... I remember another that had it in his head an entire quarter section was 400 acres (instead of 160)...so his quarter-quarter was 100 acres in his mind instead of 40. I don't know how many times he asked me, "Are you sure?!"
[USER=20]@paden cash[/USER]
I learned something new in correctness this evening. When referring to students, the ones without some sort of label are to be known as students without disabilities. Not normal students or common students or regular students. That would suggest the others are abnormal, uncommon or irregular. I'm thinking a little Kaopectate might help that last group.
Holy Cow, post: 448584, member: 50 wrote: [USER=20]@paden cash[/USER]
I learned something new in correctness this evening. When referring to students, the ones without some sort of label are to be known as students without disabilities. Not normal students or common students or regular students. That would suggest the others are abnormal, uncommon or irregular. I'm thinking a little Kaopectate might help that last group.
Reminds me of the whole https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression&apos ;">Micro-aggression non-sense. Apparently it's been around since about the time I was born, but I wasn't blessed with the knowledge of it until last year. Someone was stirring the pot at the local university about Gender Neutral Pronouns and Micro-aggressions and caught the attention of one of the local radio talk shows. After listening to a few of the examples given, I commented to a friend who was riding with me that if I was ever accused of committing a micro-aggression, my response would likely be classed as a macro-aggression. The accuser would be left with no doubt as to weather or not I had intended to offend them. :innocent::innocent: The whole world (including me) needs to get on with life and quit keeping score of every little perceived slight (real or imagined). Now get off my damn lawn.;)
Stephen Ward, post: 448586, member: 1206 wrote: Reminds me of the whole https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression&apos ;">Micro-aggression non-sense. Apparently it's been around since about the time I was born, but I wasn't blessed with the knowledge of it until last year. Someone was stirring the pot at the local university about Gender Neutral Pronouns and Micro-aggressions and caught the attention of one of the local radio talk shows. After listening to a few of the examples given, I commented to a friend who was riding with me that if I was ever accused of committing a micro-aggression, my response would likely be classed as a macro-aggression. The accuser would be left with no doubt as to weather or not I had intended to offend them. :innocent::innocent: The whole world (including me) needs to get on with life and quit keeping score of every little perceived slight (real or imagined). Now get off my damn lawn.;)
I Dare to offend those who are easily offended.
Stephen Ward, post: 448586, member: 1206 wrote: The whole world (including me) needs to get on with life and quit keeping score of every little perceived slight (real or imagined).
The Zeitgeist of our times is to trivialize the serious and treat the trivial with undo seriousness.
Stephen Ward, post: 448586, member: 1206 wrote: Reminds me of the whole https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression&apos ;">Micro-aggression non-sense. Apparently it's been around since about the time I was born, but I wasn't blessed with the knowledge of it until last year. Someone was stirring the pot at the local university about Gender Neutral Pronouns and Micro-aggressions and caught the attention of one of the local radio talk shows. After listening to a few of the examples given, I commented to a friend who was riding with me that if I was ever accused of committing a micro-aggression, my response would likely be classed as a macro-aggression. The accuser would be left with no doubt as to weather or not I had intended to offend them. :innocent::innocent: The whole world (including me) needs to get on with life and quit keeping score of every little perceived slight (real or imagined). Now get off my damn lawn.;)
Stephen Ward, post: 448586, member: 1206 wrote: Reminds me of the whole https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microaggression&apos ;">Micro-aggression non-sense.
Is that anything like Northern Aggression?