Land Survey Cost / Surveyor Recommendation Needed

[gt132465654321]

I am about to write a check for 35k upon the completion of a 2k acre land survey. There were "some" marshes and difficult markers to find buy all-n-all the survey will have been completed in a months time (not being worked on full-time/weather, etc.) There was a two man team with boss back at the office calculating and courthhouse record checking. Does that price seem "in the ball park?"

[NJProfEngineer]

"Hey JoJoLopes: Can you give me the number and name of the Land Surveyor you used? I need one. We are putting an addition on our home and the number on our survey from 2004 is disconnected. I googled the name(s) of the surveyors (the drawer and the one who signed off) and I can't get in touch with them. I did find the person who signed off, but he now works for a company that does bridges, tunnels and non residential projects. I left a message for him at this current job and he didn't call me back. I'd hate to start from scratch!"

So they're no longer in business, eh? Bet that price was cheap, though! Of course, your survey is officially worthless now that they're no longer around to stand behind their product.

Compare the cost of a survey to a home inspector??? That's rich! You'd have to understand the value of each in order to compare. People in NJ will pay $900 for a home inspector when purchasing a $2.3 million house (seen it myself). And totally miss that the finished basement had flooded in the prior year. And that the septic was on it's way to disaster (15 months later). And that the house (despite being new construction) had no home warranty.

Get the price for your survey over the phone?? Sure! I've never looked at your property, seen how many corners it has, potential boundary encroachments, extent of vegetation, or anything else but I'll give you a price over the phone??!! That's rich! Find me the body shop, painter, or doctor that will do that! Anybody that calls me up and demands a price for their survey over the phone doesn't get one - they're just looking for the cheapest price possible without any consideration as to quality. I don't want your business and I'm perfectly happy not being the cheapest.

What about insurance? Ever think to check if the surveyor you hire has professional liability insurance? No doubt you made sure to get a copy of their certificate of insurance (not!).

A little tip - anyone that quotes you a high number for setting corners is doing that so you don't ask for it. The truth is that they haven't done the necessary research work to be able to set the property corners.

If the surveyor's were smart, they would follow the lead of the real estate agents and title insurance companies - just charge a percentage of the sale price. Talk about a racket!! It's hilarious reading one guy gripe about getting quoted $650 versus the $550 he felt was reasonable - but no complaint about paying a flat percentage for your realtor and title insurance. Talk about stumbling over the dollar bills in order to pick up the pennies!

What you will spend for a good survey is peanuts compared to what a cheap survey could eventually cost you. You need to ask:

1) How long has the survey company been in business?
2) Have they done other surveys in the same area?
3) Do they carry general and professional liability insurance?
4) Can they set the corner markers when they survey the property?
5) Will the survey map show all fences and hedges located along the property lines (and whether those are on your property or the neighbor's property!)?
6) Are they surveying on Saturday, Sunday, or after 4:00 PM on weekdays (when they're not expected at their real job)? In other words, is surveying a second (moonlighting) job or a hobby for them?
7) Are they going to show up in a well-marked, company vehicle or will they show up in someone's unmarked pick-up or hatchback?

Once you get the answer's to those questions, you will have a better idea of whether or not you're getting a quality product. If you simply operate on getting the cheapest price, then you will almost certainly get burned. That's a fairly obvious conclusion for many things in life.

[ggexcavating]

I recently bid on a small bridge project for the state of michigan. The line item required surveying and staking for the bridge to be set properly and the roade to align with the bridge. 3 bids sent out, $3,000.00 to $8,000.00 received, no title search, no drawing, nothing more. Just be there when the project starts and ends correctly, any of the bids would have been worth every penny paid.

GG

[morel08]

i want to survey my property in woodbrige nj and i want to know the price and who you recommending.