Cost of Land Surveying

[fireant911]

My wife and I are looking at purchasing 26 acres of undeveloped land in northern Alabama. I realize that the cost of surveying varies greatly depending upon one's geographical location and the condition of the land but we are really curious as to what others had paid recently in regards to a boundary survey. The reason I am inquiring is that we received one quote that was... well, absolutely ridiculous!

We have contacted other surveyors since getting the original quote (oddly, the quote we received was by the firm that performed the survey when the current owners bought the property and all records and associated drawing are on file - we saw them yesterday). It has been a few years since we have required a survey and I am curious if the price has increased that much.

I thoroughly understand that survey is a professional endeavor so I am not disputing that - it is that the cost we were quoted was INSANELY expensive.

[nota]

lots of things can boost the price

but building is happening again NOW
so you will not see will work for food deals anymore
like after the housing crash

very remote location
lots of trees
odd shape
meets and bounds [to things that are not there anymore]

but the guys doing a resurvey that they did should be the best deal
REFINDING is eazyer the doing it the first time

why do you need a new survey if there is a survey on record ?
why can't the existing survey be reused ?

how much $$$

retired surveyor

[bpu699]

Paid $1500 for 5 acre survey 2 years ago.

Bo

[MBAtarga]

Not sure why - but I couldn't even get a quote from two attempts with the previous surveying company to mark my property line boundaries for the house we currently own. I simply wanted them to identify the corners of our 3.5 acre plot. I ended up finding the corners by using the county property tax web site which included aerial photos and overlayed GPS coordinates to give me a general idea of the location. By using my iphone and a metal detector, I located all 4 of the corner pins. I was able to then locate 2 additional pin locations that identifies lot lines of adjacent properties.

[DUK]

We paid $2200 for a 13 acre boundary survey earlier this year.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I'd figure on a couple thousand bucks - including a stamped surveyors drawing and an electronic version of it (AutoCAD)

[vash]

interesting thread.

i figured the cost depends on where the closest fixed monument is...if it is a mile down a twisty road and the crew needs to bring it up, the cost skyrocket.

[dad911]

Typically time determines price. Prior surveyor has all the data, and possibly benchmarks, so should be the cheapest.

[pete3799]

I (and my bro. and sister) paid $6000.00 to have an 80 acre parcel (Grandparents farmstead) divided up into 3 equal pieces.
Mostly heavily wooded so line of site was not very good.

[fireant911]

This morning I received the second quote and it was higher than the first! The earlier surveyor quoted a price of $3,000 for the boundary survey and he held the drawings from the survey in performed in 1999 for the same property. I realize that it would have to surveyed again but having that drawing with all of the benchmarks, locations of the pins, and other details would be of much aid the second time around (and presumably reduce the time and expense).

We found a smaller company close by that surveys and expected this to by less expensive but were given a quote of $4,000 for a boundary survey.

The property had most of the timber removed about eight years ago and adjoins a county (paved) road so it is very accessible. The land we want surveyed is currently a 40-acre tract and a six acre tract. A creek runs approximately in the middle of the 40 acres thus dividing that property in two halves. The current owner wants to keep one half (that section in landlocked) so we are looking at the other 20 acres and the adjoining six acres. We understand that surveying using a creek as a boundary is more time consuming - we just were not prepared to hear how expensive this would be.

Based on the cost that others here stated, it looks as if this is not out of line - I just (naively) was expecting something less. I certainly appreciate the information that you folks have provided. I better just pull up my big boy pants and my checkbook!

nota: as you are a retired surveyor, I would be very interested in you sharing any words of wisdom, points to avoid, and any other pertinent information regarding boundary surveys.

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

Area where survey work is to be done. Some surveyors are more reliable than others...

We paid less for 60 acres than our friends were charged for a city lot. City lot had to have exact measurements, ours was generalized with exact borders.

If you have good line of sight, the cost is lower. If you use someone who has already been out to survey they might minimize some of the charges.

I would shop several to find out how I felt about them. Take an arial view of the property and ask them for a generalized price.

[Mark Henry]

If buying a property I've always asked for the survey to be included.

[GH85Carrera]

See the cost from the surveyors point of view. He is a real professional with certified credentials and is authorized by that state to provide a survey. None of that certification was cheap. His equipment is expensive. He has overhead and taxes to pay. He signs his name to that survey as accurate.

Call any commercial professional photographer in the phone book. All they need is a camera and a car. Ask for the price to drive to your property and shot a few photo of each corner of the property. No certification or no professional license or college degree was needed. I bet the price quite would surprise you how close it is to the survey cost.

[Taz's Master]

The story I heard goes like this: George Washington was contracted to do a surveying job, he did it and submitted a bill for $1,000, he was then asked for an itemized bill and responded with: Stakes: $4.00, Ribbons: $2.00, Knowing where to put them: $994.

The point is, you aren't paying for the labor, you're paying for the accumulated knowledge and experience. If it isn't worth it, don't have it done. If it is worth it, then the price is fair.

[BeyGon]

Line of sight doesn't even matter any more, the GPS is a walk up set the point machine. But it costs over 50k. per instrument. One or two guys, plus the maps and filing the paper work with the county. Even though they did it once, 15 years ago, they aren't going to refile without seeing the corners. That acreage probably isn't square, lots of points to check, maybe re set. 4k would be cheap around here.

[fireant911]

BeyGon,
Thanks for the insight - I had no idea that GPS technology is being used for this (although it does make really good sense). I bet that a plot of land this size (26 acres) would be prohibitively expensive in your area (Cali) - and the cost of the survey would basically be a non-issue!

Luckily, the 26 acres we found is affordable. Oddly, I found this property, by chance, in visiting the town hall and speaking with one of the police officers (his grandfather's property borders this land). We have always wanted to build beside some running water and this property is absolutely beautiful. We had two goals - the water be 'kayakable' and 'fishable' - the 1,320 feet of water frontage far exceeds these two parameters!

To unnamed others: we have absolutely no issue paying for one's experience. My wife is a physician (MD) and her education, expenses, and experience probably FAR outweighs that of a surveyor and I can guarantee that her salary does not equate to the charges that we were given (in looking at a cost per hour comparison). I have no desire to debate any of this... as I originally stated, I was just looking for the charges that others had incurred for obtained a survey as we both felt the costs we received were EXTREMELY expensive.

Our knowledge level was basically non-existent with surveys and several posters here provided some really good information and that is much appreciated.

[nota]

btw
if the stream is navigable in most state's it is state land
navigable is very subject to dispute because of that
then there are all the wet lands rules for building
and floods to deal with

[dad911]

Originally Posted by fireant911

......We have always wanted to build beside some running water and this property is absolutely beautiful. ....

Are you certain you can build a house on this 'lot' and build it where you want?

Don't know your area, but around here not only are there wetland buffers around obvious wetlands, a permit and further engineering is required, and the whole site is analyzed for wetlands, steep slopes, and whatever else the town has thrown in to deter building.

Then there is testing and engineering for a septic system. Again, don't know your area, but in NJ I could throw 10-20k at a lot (try) to turn it into a building lot, only to find out the soils aren't suitable.

[fireant911]

dad911,
The information I am about to share is real even though it may be seem otherwise. There is NO inspection required for building a home here other than for the County Health Department to sign off on the septic system. We spoke, in length, at the city's town hall regarding this and their is no building inspector and no inspection process. We met with the land lawyer who confirmed this. We also went to the county seat and verified it a third time. Before proceeding with this project, we will ensure to get this information in writing from the appropriate officials.

I have the FEMA floodplain maps and flooding is not going to be an issue. The banks on either side of the creek are quite steep are sufficiently elevated. It is our understanding that although the property is not in a floodplain, it is the responsibility of the homeowner to PROVE this to the insurance company - else we would have to purchase some very expensive flood insurance.

One of the contingencies of our contract is that we are able to build on the property. We have more homework to do in order to verify that we are able to build that cabin - plus there are the issues of electrical power, city water or well, ...etc.

[dad911]

Wow, considering there is a national building code, I never would have expected no inspectors/inspections. I suppose your town doesn't need/want the fees, it's a money maker for them here.

What does the Health Dept need for a septic design/permit?

A local well driller should be able to tell you if well water is available/potable.