Using an app to determine proposed boundry lines

[paulsharvey]

Illinois was laid out with a compass and a 2 pole chain (33 feet). When I started working in 1984 we taped everything, a 100 foot long steel tape. Not bad for a lot in town but for a rural survey it wasn’t easy.

13.5 paces, if I remember right, counting just the even foot.

Also, although some Surveying is kinda interesting, hunting for old section corners deep in the woods; doing 50 ft or 100ft cross sections of roadways will make you want to jump in front of a semi. Edge of pavement, good, white line, good, centerline, good, edge line, good, fricking 13 shots and move down 50 ft and do it again, for Miles and Miles....

 

[Jstpssng]

I've seen descriptions referencing trees that were gone a hundred years earlier. E.g. "11 feet SSE of large chestnut..." and stone wall stones. Not the wall mind you, a stone in a wall that disappeared who knows how many winters ago due to freeze thaw.

I like reading old deed descriptions for entertainment as I find many of them amusing. However, putting money them, isn't something I would do, but we are all different.

All the best,

Peter

The best I've seen read something like "thence 100 rods to where the old cow lies down in the afternoon."

You actually would be surprised how often a good surveyor can find where that tree was 100 years ago.

I had a survey. He got a new survey (cost him a pretty penny), agreed with mine

A lot of people don't understand this about surveyors ( or appraisers).

 

[ponytug]

The best I've seen read something like "thence 100 rods to where the old cow lies down in the afternoon."
...

Ok, you win. That's the best that I've heard of.

After years of working with cows, I wonder how close I could have gotten...hmmm

All the best,

Peter

 

[newbury]

A description is one thing, a survey by a licensed surveyor is something else again. I have seen things go sideways, and not by readily overlooked amounts.

And surveyor's are not perfect. But I bet a lot of their mistakes go unnoticed for decades.
My house in Mississippi was surveyed. Reputable surveyor, used by govt. firms, decades of experience.
Turns the survey into the county via hardcopy, to me via email, I'm sitting in Virginia. I start going over it and something did not compute, ends up he flipped one of the measurements in the description and cut out a big portion of my lot.
Panic call him up, he had bought some new equipment he blamed it on.
Now if I hadn't caught it they might have to be working it out 50 years from now.
He had to go through the paperwork to get it corrected.

A lot of people don't understand this about surveyors ( or appraisers).

The 4 appraisers I've used in both Virginia and were marginal. The worst was the guy in Mississippi that valued my 5,000+ sq ft of workshops on 6" concrete floors, which included a 1 bedroom apartment, w/ stove, full bath, at $800, the same as he valued the 20x40 car canopy which was over sand.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

My same neighbor who I'm trying to buy land from, is giving me a small piece of land, 3000 sqft. It's costing me $1156 for the survey. The surveyor is only doing it because it was so easy, and he's teaching his grandson how to become a surveyor. The piece is roughly a triangle, 40x153x156. He is semi retired, only doing easy jobs for teaching.
Anyway, to go with the odd duck someone posted, this guy is like a detective in his research, our meetings last at least 45 minutes with the stories, tells of how he has been called into court as a expert in land cases. Never lost. He keeps a list of all the area surveyors taped to his drafting table light. 8 marked R for retired, 6 marked D for dead, and 3 marked A for active. No one wants to do the work anymore. No GPS for him. All transom? etc. Not sure what surveys go for in other parts, but I was quoted $4900 for a 7 acres, plus placement of monuments etc. This was the original deal I had with neighbor, before I decided to go for 12 acres. Not sure what the 12 acre open field will cost now.

 

[dodge man]

Transom is a window that can be opened over a doorway. Transit is an instrument used by a surveyor to measure angles.

 

[paulsharvey]

We are in process of buying 14 acre piece, just a mortage survey, was recently surveyed about 6 years, and got a quote of $3500; which funny enough was what I told wife it would probably be. The last company I worked for did inspection, utility locating, and survey, and although I'm Not a surveyor, we charged $2500/day, and around $250/hr for the office guy to that side. So, I think that quote is realistic, but monumenting isn't that big of deal.

IF you can get the same guy that did your original subdivision off the neighbors parent parcel, he can do the work cheaper, as he did all the leg work on tracking everything down for that. He would likely just reconfirm point, and add 4 more points; assuming things are pretty open, flat, and straight. I highly recommend digging out your old survey for your existing property and seeing if that guy is still working.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

We are in process of buying 14 acre piece, just a mortage survey, was recently surveyed about 6 years, and got a quote of $3500; which funny enough was what I told wife it would probably be. The last company I worked for did inspection, utility locating, and survey, and although I'm Not a surveyor, we charged $2500/day, and around $250/hr for the office guy to that side. So, I think that quote is realistic, but monumenting isn't that big of deal.

IF you can get the same guy that did your original subdivision off the neighbors parent parcel, he can do the work cheaper, as he did all the leg work on tracking everything down for that. He would likely just reconfirm point, and add 4 more points; assuming things are pretty open, flat, and straight. I highly recommend digging out your old survey for your existing property and seeing if that guy is still working.

The one who did our property is one of the retired... Only did corners, no sidelines or even reference marks on sidelines.
Slim pickings around here.

 

[paulsharvey]

The one who did our property is one of the retired... Only did corners, no sidelines or even reference marks on sidelines.
Slim pickings around here.

So, a typical survey, as in a mortage survey isn't going to do more than corners and check encroachment. They aren't going to put you a property line stake every 200 ft, or any of that, as part of a basic survey.

We kinda need to separate surveys into what I would call Construction staking vs mortage/real estate stuff. Sure, any surveyor can drop you some stakes, but what you need is corners set, legal description, and the documents required for the property split. Most guys will put a lathe and ribbon marking where they found the corner, but after 5 years, termites remove those. The corner itself should be pretty permanent, 5/8" rebar, nail and disc, 3/4" iron pipe, or 4x4 concrete monument with nail, and they are often about 4-6" below the surface, to help protect them; although that's not always the case.

For your future use, assuming a pretty rectangle property, if you have atleast 2 corners you can find, and a copy of the survey, you should be able to lay out anything you need with a 300 ft tape and a helper. If we are talking about a $300k home, close to required set backs, nope, hire a professional; but setting a fence line; find the corners; set back 6-12" and pull a string.

 

[ArlyA]

We are looking at properties and following this most interesting thread.