What do you pay for a land survey?

[timster2]

I need to get a land survey to get a zoning permit to build a shed, however, I have no idea what to expect to pay. When I bought the property the only description of the property was on the deed and I found all the pins etc. but there is no indication of current building locations. Seems current building locations are needed to get a zoning permit. The property is not too big about seven acres and there are only two buildings on the property currently house and garage. Does anyone have an idea what is the going rate for a set of drawings indicating current buildings and a proposed shed location?

 

[newbury]

Depends on your location. We've paid about $1,000 to $1500 for rural parcels in Mississippi on the order of 80 to 100 acres. Last year I think I paid about $1500 for an intown lot in Northern Virginia.
/edit - Mississippi had minimal marking, Virginia had 4 corner posts on a half acre lot. On the Virginia half acre they deployed 2 trucks and four people for about an hour.

 

[dodge man]

I'm a land surveyor and asking that is a loaded question. It's like asking "how much does a tractor cost." It varies so much.

IF your corners are really in, that will save a lot of money. I say IF because I've done a lot of surveys where they said there corners were in but they weren't.

Based on the limited data I have, I'd say between $1000 and $2000. Depending on the zoning office needs it could be more.

 

[timster2]

The wife and I walked the property from pin to pin with a tape measure and found all the pins exactly where the deed said they would be. Even had a copy of the neighbors deed to verify the pin location there all there. I marked them by sliding a three foot pvc pipe painted blaze orange over the rebar to make them visible from a distance as well.

 

[bcp]

About 3 years ago I asked a surveyor. Cost was about $900 per corner.

Bruce

 

[newbury]

Well I thought I pretty well knew where the corners were in my Virginia lot. Until they marked it :


On the left is my neighbors, on the right is my property

My survey and a subsequent survey showed that when the county put in the driveway apron they shifted the line well onto my land. My neighbor on the left was about to put in a concrete driveway going straight back from the pink flag and bordering the wooden well cover you see in the back. He was going to effectively go straight back from the concrete apron and a little wider.

After he got his survey he changed his mind.

My parents bought 20 acres (so they thought) in Vermont in 1963, fully fenced but not surveyed. When they went to sell it in 1980 and had it surveyed it had grown to a little over 30 acres.

 

[dave1949]

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.

 

[timster2]

If the cost is excessive then out comes the tape measures and drawing tools. I would rather have a surveyor do the drawings and provide a computer generated map for future use if I plan to subdivide. For the shed project I will attempt to do the drawings if the town will accept them. I looked up local surveyors and will get an idea of what they think it is worth. I was looking for some estimates just so I am not shocked too bad.

 

[kneedeep]

I have to provide plats of property regularly for building permits at work. Most of the time, I use graph paper and draw the property to scale showing the structures, planned construction and the distance in feet from each side to the property line.
Most Building departments will accept that if it is not close to the setbacks. Some, however require a stamped survey for any construction addition.
In Central Alabama, in town average lot surveys start at $350 and acreage starts at about 1K depending on how far it is to a known point.
If the original surveyor is still around, finding his corners usually runs about $150.

 

[AGRIMAN]

I had a 130 acres surveyed last Dec and it cost me $3,400. The last time it was surveyed was in the 30's and my guy spent more time researching old plats and scratching is head then shooting lines.

 

[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