What do you pay for a land survey?

[dave1949]

About a year and a half ago I had one corner stake located and set that had gone missing. Cost around $550, two guys about 3 hours total. The missing stake is near a large road culvert that was replaced several summers ago. I think it got dug up or whatever.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

are you sure you need a survey, or a site plan? Here we need a site plan, and it can reference a survey. Usually they are looking for setback distances, distances from well and septic, distance from other buildings. I've always drawn my own and they have always been accepted here.

 

[tallyho8]

I had a 50'X150' surveyed about 10 years ago and they marked the corners and the fences and buildings on the property and charged $450.
Two years ago I had a 100' X 3500' surveyed and they only marked the 4 corners. They were the cheapest surveyor I could find and it cost $12,000. This is not a typo.

 

[newbury]

You can't just measure yourself? It sounds like your boundary corners are well known and you could measure using a 100' tape where your buildings and planned buildings are. That would more than suffice around here.

Actually, as long as you are meeting the setback and septic field minimums, nobody here cares where your buildings are on a non-shoreland zone lot. Shoreland zoning if a lot different in terms of distances, percentage of the lot covered, etc.

In Fairfax County they require a stamped survey. And they seem to lose the records about every 25 years.

I had a 50'X150' surveyed about 10 years ago and they marked the corners and the fences and buildings on the property and charged $450.
Two years ago I had a 100' X 3500' surveyed and they only marked the 4 corners. They were the cheapest surveyor I could find and it cost $12,000. This is not a typo.

They get paid well and have expensive tools.

 

[timster2]

are you sure you need a survey, or a site plan? Here we need a site plan, and it can reference a survey. Usually they are looking for setback distances, distances from well and septic, distance from other buildings. I've always drawn my own and they have always been accepted here.

Here is what is on the application. Not sure what is the difference between a site plan and survey.

"Site Plan;
A detailed Site Plan drawn to scale is required to determine compliance
with setback distances, lot coverage etc.. Such plans are usually prepared by a
Surveyor Architect, Builder or similar experienced person. A lot survey is not required."

I guess a Site Plan would suffice. What is the technical difference between the two?

 

[oosik]

You can scale up(draw to scale) a site plan and submit it. A survey is completed and stamped by a surveyor. Be certain you know exactly what they want. Maybe the local zoning department has a sample copy they can give you. The sample should show all the distances required and what improvements need to be shown.

My property was surveyed in 1890 to comply with the homestead act in WA state. I know approximately where the corners are but only one of the witness trees - and its cryptic notations - still exists. Two years ago I had one additional corner set by a survey team that had to back survey and go well beyond my property to an established, recognized survey marker. They were surveying an original 160 acre homestead - that survey cost a little over $15,000 because of the time involved in back surveying to an established & recognized corner. From the recognized survey marker to the 160 acres was a little over 2.5 miles. There are VERY FEW recognized survey markers out here in the boonies.

How much does a survey cost - - - how high is up, how far is long??

 

[RickB]

Only way you are going to know with any accuracy is to get on the phone to local surveyors. Give them all the same exact job specs and see what you get for quotes.

What folks here think you will pay matters not a bit.

 

[newbury]

Here is what is on the application. Not sure what is the difference between a site plan and survey.

"Site Plan;
A detailed Site Plan drawn to scale is required to determine compliance
with setback distances, lot coverage etc.. Such plans are usually prepared by a
Surveyor Architect, Builder or similar experienced person. A lot survey is not required."

I guess a Site Plan would suffice. What is the technical difference between the two?

SAVE YOUR DOLLARS!!

One of the main differences is that a Survey is tied into known points (benchmarks) and has all the coordinates of the boundaries accurate and is signed off by a registered surveyor and stamped. You just need the distances between things drawn to scale. So you just need the relative measurements and do not have to tie it into the coordinate system.

You can probably look at it on Google Earth, print it out, outline the boundaries, the buildings, and any other pertinent features. Draw the north arrow and the scale bar if need be. Then draw in lines showing the accurate distance of the sides of buildings from the boundaries and the dimensions of the buildings.

In my case a signed stamped survey done by a registered surveyor was required.

 

[dodge man]

Unless you have some experience with drafting and measuring you still might want to hire a surveyor. What they are saying is you don't need a boundary survey, it doesn't have to be signed and sealed. The problem is how do you show the building in relation to the boundary if they don't locate the property corners. Most places I know aren't going to take a hand drawn thing off google earth and except it.

 

[YardBikeBob]

Unless you have some experience with drafting and measuring you still might want to hire a surveyor. Most places I know aren't going to take a hand drawn thing off google earth and except it.

Hmm. You're a surveyor? My property is 120 acres; three square 40's stacked north to south. The known boundaries are only those described in the deed. I was wondering how these would be marked. Can township/section/range & fractional descriptions be converted to very accurate GPS coordinates and that is it? Or are you always expecting posts in the ground?

I'm curious as I once thought I wanted a new fence until I learned the survey would cost as a much as the T-posts and wire.

Bob