Need Surveying Advice

   / Need Surveying Advice #1  

TNhobbyfarmer

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Dec 23, 2004
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Location
Middle Tennessee
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Kubota L3430 Polaris Ranger 500
I am thinking about having the property line on part of my farm surveyed. I don't know the last time it was surveyed, many decades I'm sure. The property line will go through mostly a wooded area. The approximate area is 150 acres. I have never had any surveying done so I'm not quite sure what to expect from a cost standpoint. Does anyone have any wild guesses?

Assuming I have more that one bid to do the job, what is the best way to determine the competence or lack thereof of prospective survey companies? I am always cautious when paying money for something I don't know much about. Please comment with suggestions, experience, wild guesses as to what it will cost, etc. etc.
 
   / Need Surveying Advice #3  
Good luck! We've had fits trying to get any surveying done around Gainesboro! One of the main local firms (Thaxton) left Cookeville and is now in McMinnville, but they are still decent, just hard to get to respond as they are way too busy. If you are just interested in figuring out how your lines lay, and you don't need super-precision, you might try entering all of your "calls" into some surverying software (I used "Plat-Pronto"; about $100), then I printed out the resulting boundary on mylar and scaled an aerial photo and topo map to the same scale so that I had an overlay of the boundaries on both the photo and topo. I figure it's good to within a foot or less.
 
   / Need Surveying Advice #4  
Shop around, ask locals. Referals..etc.

I paid about $600 for my 1.9-acres. The dude ripped me off, said it wass 300-400. Not much hacking to do either. I found another guy to cut out 35 acres of my BIL's place. Down a branch creek for a 1/4 mile, hacking through the woods for a couple hundred yards...open field on the rest. Charges about $1000 if I recall. I pleasure to do business with to.

Good Luck!
 
   / Need Surveying Advice #5  
When you talk to the companies ask whether they have GPS or optical equipment. Anybody who has GPS will probably still have their older optical total stations but not vise versa. GPS will be cheaper method where a prop line requires a lot of brush cutting in order to sight down it, but the cost per hour is higher. Are the lines clear, or if you want to clear them the the guy that up front. As far as the quality goes, it's hard to mess up a closed boundry where the borders are clear. The mathmatics will check themselves.
 
   / Need Surveying Advice #6  
If the property was surveyed before there is a good chance you can find the old markers. Why do you need a new survey??

Zeuspaul
 
   / Need Surveying Advice
  • Thread Starter
#7  
zeuspaul said:
If the property was surveyed before there is a good chance you can find the old markers. Why do you need a new survey??

Zeuspaul
The farm is the old family homeplace and probably hasn't been surveyed in decades. The deed starts out as follows; "Beginning at a wild cherry, the southeast corner of Milam Woods tract of land, and a corner to the Rough and Ready Iron Works Company land etc. etc." You get the picture.

The Rough and Ready Irons Works Company hasn't owned land in the area since the 1930's. I don't have a clue what is meant by Milam Woods. This land has been in my family since 1920. The property line runs through the woods and I would just like to have it marked. I suppose land should be surveyed every now and then even if it doesn't change hands. The old timers who could walk the lines are gone. I think it would just be nice to know.
 
   / Need Surveying Advice #8  
TNhobbyfarmer said:
... The deed starts out as follows; "Beginning at a wild cherry, the southeast corner of Milam Woods tract of land, and a corner to the Rough and Ready Iron Works Company land etc. etc." ...

WOW! A metes and BOUNDS description that starts out with two (apparently tracable) qualifiers !?!? You're in a lot better shape than a lot of folks :D

Can you post the entire description, as it is written, exactly?
 
   / Need Surveying Advice
  • Thread Starter
#9  
HomeBrew2 said:
WOW! A metes and BOUNDS description that starts out with two (apparently tracable) qualifiers !?!? You're in a lot better shape than a lot of folks :D

Can you post the entire description, as it is written, exactly?

OK, you asked for it.

Tract 1: Beginning at a wild cherry, the southeast corner of Milam Woods tract of land, and a corner to the Rough and Ready Iron Works company land, and running thence north 1/2 degree east, 155 1/2 poles to a stake, formerly a dogwood; thence south 89 1/2 degrees east, 75 poles to a stake in an ore bank; thence north 1 degree east, 32 poles to a stake in a coaling; thence north 89 1/2 degrees west, 203 poles; thence south 182 poles; thence south 88 degrees east, 125 poles to the beginning, containing 153 acres, more or less.

Tract 2: Begining at a Beech at John Stalls' southeast corner, thence south 89 degrees east, 138 1/2 poles to a red bud; thence north 187 poles to a small hickory; thence north 86 1/2 degrees west, 57 1/2 poles to a stake in Tucker's line; thence south 9 poles to a small red oak, M.W. Tucker's southeast corner; thence south 60 1/2 degrees west, 94 poles to a hickory; thence south 131 poles to the beginning, containing 147 acres more or less.

A county road runs through the land, thus the two tracts. Would a surveyor have any chance of getting an accurate line? I have my doubts
 
   / Need Surveying Advice #10  
Take your lot and block info down to the town municipal building and then lookup the surrounding plats of land common to yours and record their lot and block numbers. Then go to the town deed book and lookup all adjoining lot descriptions, which may have better or worse lot descriptions, and possibly point you in the right direction to find that old cherry or birch tree.
 
 
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