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Unable to find a surveyor for the past 9 months!
Unable to find a surveyor for the past 9 months!
To the surveyor community:
I am posting on behalf of my 92-year-old mother. I am new to this forum and am very grateful to post my question here!
My next door neighbor built a fence on their property that restricts access to my mother’s property. The neighbor disagrees. The only way to settle the dispute is to get the property bounds (< 0.5 acre plot) officially surveyed. This property is in Cumberland County, North Carolina. I have called over 10 surveyors and only 2 returned my call. One told me he was too busy and to call back in 3 months – I did call back but he did not return my call. The other surveyor was very nice and told me there is a severe surveyor shortage (this was back in September 2022) and he is no longer taking new non-commercial jobs. I thought maybe there was some post-COVID back-orders that needed to be cleared and that I would just have to be patient. However, it is now July and surveyors are still not returning my call.
I fear the neighbor may be planning more infringements on my mother’s property. I am posting here in the hope that someone has some light to shed on how I can get this job done ASAP. Any advice and recommendations are greatly appreciated!
Sincerely,
Gwen Stritter
- 102 Replies
Consider calling an attorney on your mother’s behalf and ask him to secure a surveyor. If there is a problem you may require the attorney’s services anyway, plus the phone call from an attorney may sound more “secure” to the surveyors than an individual calling.
As a surveyor (not licensed in N.C.) I hope you get the service you need soon.
JAC
It is difficult times and Surveyors are busy for sure. I would expand my list of surveyors to call. Even outside the county as many work in multiple counties. I do hope you can get this resolved for sure. You might be able to pull a plat or deed from the courthouse and see who previously did the survey on the place or even the adjoiners which might make it easier for a Surveyor to get out and perform what is needed as they may have more knowledge of that particular lot already.
Contact the Survey Society and ask if they can send a message explaining your situation to their members on your behalf. contact link
@olemanriver makes a good point: do some research and find a surveyor that has worked in the area. That’s probably the best place to start. Not many surveyors want to do residential boundaries anymore. Nobody wants to pay todays fees and we can make a lot more money with commercial and municipal projects.
Good Luck! @gstritter
I hope everyone has a great day; I know I will!@dougie And these and rural boundaries family divisions is why at my age i am wanting to get licensed. One of the main reasons i came back to land surveying side of the house. I just missed that work. Now will i make any money doing it probably could make a lot more going after fed work with my background and credentials but heck i like having fun these days lol.
If it ain’t fun; I ain’t doin it!
I like helping people, even if they don’t like it…
And I like to be compensated.
It’s tough to help someone, like Gwen’s mom. She probably can’t afford much and she might not like the results of a proper survey.
The best advice we can give clients in this situation; make friends with the neighbor. Win, lose, or draw; you will still live next to them; when it’s all over. It will take months; probably years and the only ones that win are the attorney’s.
You can’t tell me what I can do on my own property, within reason. I can’t tell you what to do either. If I don’t like it, I’d move…
I hope everyone has a great day; I know I will!
If you’ll PM me with your contact information, I’ll pass along the numbers of a couple of surveyors who may be able to help you.
@jacavell Thanks! I wanted to avoid using lawyers and the neighbor seems interested in resolving this with the just the results of the survey. But if that is the only way to get a surveyor…
@olemanriver Thanks for your reply! I did look for surveyors out of the county, but they were all booked up also. Love the idea of pulling the plat or deed from the courthouse. I will follow your advice.
@norm Thanks so much, Norm! But NC Society of Surveyors list was my source for which surveyors to call.
@dougie Thanks for replying! I had a feeling that surveyors don’t like to do residential anymore. Is there a particular reason for that? Is it that it doesn’t pay well? Or is it that bickering neighbors are a hassle to work with and that someone is bound to be unhappy with your results?
@dougie I hear what you are saying! Fortunately, the neighbor seems to just want to know where the property line is so that they can do what is right. We are all hoping that is the best resolution.
@murphy Thanks! Will do.
@murphy Looks like my level of membership doesn’t allow DMs. Feel free to DM me, though.
I make a 50 minute commute to and a 1:10 from my job every day. But I really make that commute to Survey, not to work.
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose@stacy-carroll love that. When I worked for the agency my commute average was 2hrs one way. Traffic sometimes up to 4 hours. I literally slept at rest areas overnight before because of traffic or wreck. Now I loved what I did and knew it was a very valuable role and serving my country. It. An get to you for sure. I 95 is horrible in northern va. A lot of that was my choice as I wanted to raise the kids in rural area so I sacrificed. Glad those days are behind me now. I just concentrate on getting my job done now and studying for licensure. All the other time is family time. I thought atlanta traffic was bad when i lived in Georgia. But on its worst day it doesn’t hold a candle to VA northern area. Especially on a holiday weekend as govt agencies let people out.
My mother was from Winchester and I have a brother in Stafford.
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose@stacy-carroll Oh wow. The wife and my daughter just returned from Winchester today. They took the youngest to meet grandma halfway. Winchester is a neat area.
Keep trying. Get a commitment from a licensed land surveyor, but, it still may be several months before they can do it. If they say call back in a few months, you will still be told it will be several more months from then. You want to get on their list NOW, knowing it will be a few months before they get to it.
@holy-cow Thanks for the sound advice. I will try calling around again. Wish me luck!
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