What You Need to Know About Land Surveying

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What is Land Surveying?

 

Land surveying is the art and science of accurately measuring parcels of land. Measurements such as dimensions, lengths, boundary lines, including structures within the area are all precisely determined through a land survey.

These measurements are used to establish land maps, boundaries for ownership or for governmental purposes. It is a detailed study of every physical and cultural property of the land, whether above or beneath it, to illustrate it in usable form.

Data is gathered through observations, research, field measurements, and data analysis for establishing property boundaries. Records from previous surveys and government records will strengthen the reports made after the survey.

What covers land surveying?

A land survey is classified according to the purpose or why the survey is being performed. Some of the common types of land survey are boundary surveys, topographic surveys, partition or subdivision surveys, flood elevation survey, property line adjustment survey, and extended title insurance coverage survey.

Other services such as mapping, construction layout surveys, judicial surveys, registered land surveys are all part of land surveying. It is an essential element in every development of the environment especially in the fields of construction, transport, communication, mapping, and most especially in the definition of legal boundaries for ownership.

The key component in the field of land surveying is the land surveyor. A land surveyor is a person that takes charge of every activity that transpires during a land survey.

It is the surveyor who makes the research and data gathering and even interpretation and analysis of all data wherein translation of all data gathered is crucial and should be checked, attested, and sworn in the law to be true and correct.

It is important then for you to choose a land surveyor with the highest degree of expertise and who can assume responsibility for the complex tasks at hand. It should be emphasized that only a surveyor who has knowledge of the elements of geometry, trigonometry, engineering, mathematics, physics, and the law are expected to have the best land survey outcomes.

Land surveying – dated back in history

Land surveying is a profession as old as the Egyptian times yet its importance to the human race still lives on. It is the best method to settle disputes over land ownership, it gives a clear picture of what buildings are suited to be constructed in a given land area, and it’s a convenient way to determine the exact dimensions of real estate to be purchased or sold.

Optimum potential of the land you own can only be defined once you have a land survey. Whether you are planning to put it on the market, or should you want to use it for commercial purposes, a land survey must back you up if ever questions regarding everything about the land arise.

Land surveying will provide a sense of security and peace of mind to every land owner and even to the future buyers.

Land surveying will always be an integral part in protecting real estate and upholding of laws governing the utilization and distribution of your land assets.

 

Land Surveying: Estimating the Cost

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Land surveying, in short, is the science and art of establishing or re-establishing property corners, property lines and/or boundaries. There are different reasons why someone wants a lot surveyed.

Essentially the most common is to check if a piece of land is vulnerable to flooding, to subdivide a property to sell or deed to family members as well as to determine if there are any encroachments. This may happen if a neighbour disputes that you are using a piece of his lot or viceversa (for more on this, go here).

The Cost of Land Surveying

If you need to have a piece of land surveyed, the first thing that will come to mind is “how much will it cost?”There are plenty of factors determining exactly how much land surveying for your land would cost.

The fact that this type of service must be carried out by an expert contributes a great deal to the overall cost of the service, but choosing a non-professional to survey your land is dangerous and possibly illegal for the non-professional. Because of this you have to take a good look around before settling with a surveying company.

If you must work within a particular budget, discuss this with the surveyor up-front. Very often he may be able to offer cost saving steps to get the work you need done within these cost limits. The form of the land must also be looked into. A square or even a rectangle piece of land is somewhat easier to survey than an odd shaped parcel, or one with many different sides.

With the latter, the surveyor would have to take more time in surveying the curves as well as the bends which means the cost of the service would go higher.

The overall measurements the land is also key factor here. Understand that the cost of land surveying is normally proportionate to the time and effort that the land surveyor would spend on the project. If the land that you’re having surveyed isn’t accessible, or has thick vegetation, then the total price of the survey might go higher.

This is true of the varying weather conditions that might impact the work. Surveying in warm weather is somewhat slower to keep from putting the crew members in danger. Also, most surveying can’t be done in the rain.

When requesting for an estimate, bear in mind that surveyors base the estimate on expected conditions at the site. These conditions could change, bringing about additional costs. Always ask about these potential additional cost scenarios.

All that being said, competitive prices are also to be expected, this is why we recommend deciding on a surveyor based upon his experience and reputation rather than on the price he writes on a piece of paper. Usually it is better to invest a good amount of money on a survey that’s well-done rather than choose a company with a very “affordable” price but have the survey repeated because the results were wrong.

To sum it up, you should always discuss the expenses of the survey before you decide to ask the surveyor to start his work. It’s also wise to receive a contract that lets you know what is expected of the land surveyor. This is one of the most important steps in getting your land surveyed.

For a free land surveying quote, call us at (888) 936-8426 or send us a message by going here.

What Is A Land Surveyor?

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Land Surveyor

A Land Surveyor is essential whenever you plan on building a house, buying or selling a property, or dividing your property amongst your children. Many land surveyor made it down to history.

In fact, three of the four faces carved in Rushmore are land surveyors (Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln were all three surveyors, Teddy Roosevelt was not.).

Others popular names were Daniel Boone, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (Lewis & Clark), Sir George Everest, Charles Mason & Jeremiah Dixon (of the Mason-Dixon Line fame) and author Henry David Thoreau practiced for a time in Concord, Massachusetts.

What is a Land Surveyor?

Aland surveyoris a person with the academic qualifications and technical expertise to measure and plot the lengths and directions of boundary lines and the dimensions of any portion of the earth’s surface (including natural and other structures). That definition is quite a mouthful, but in actuality the field of surveying (geomatics) includes many other facets.

If you plan to purchase a lot, build your dream house, divide your property to your children, or simply want to know the details of a land property, a land surveyor is the best person to help you out. A land surveyor locates theboundaryof your property and the location of your home within that boundary to determine if there are any encroachments by your neighbors onto you or vice versa. Common encroachments are fences, driveways, etc.

These days a land surveyor in the United States is regulated and licensed by the various state governments. In Alabama, theAlabama State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyorswas established in 1935 to protect the public.  A land surveyor’s duty is “to safeguard life, health, and property, and to promote the public welfare by providing for the licensing and regulation of persons in the practices of engineering and land surveying. This purpose is achieved through the establishment of minimum qualifications for entry into the professions of engineering and land surveying, through the adoption of rules defining and delineating unlawful or unethical conduct, and through swift and effective discipline for those individuals or entities who violate the applicable laws or rules.”

How to become a land surveyor?

As of 2007, a newly licensed land surveyor is required to finish a four year degree in surveying or a closely related field, a four to eight years of on-the-job training under a licensed practicing surveyor. In addition to that, licensed land surveyors are mandated to attend 15 hours of continuing education annually to ensure that they are kept updated with the new know-hows that would help them on their professional growth.

What does a land surveyor do?

As part of a standard lot or mortgage survey of a property, expect your land surveyor to review tax maps, aerial maps, deeds, subdivision plats, zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations and possibly even flood maps. For a typical lot survey, the subdivision plat is the most important of these because it tells the exact dimensions of your lot and the relative location of your property corners. The surveyor uses this to locate and/or re-establish your property corners.

In the field, a land surveyor will search for your property corners along with some of your neighbors’ corners. If yours can’t be found, they’ll measure the distances and angles between all of the points, locate the improvements on your property, including your house, pool, out-buildings, retaining walls, fences, driveways, sidewalks, and other home improvements. Other improvements like sanitary sewer mains, storm drainage ways, overhead power lines and the like are located because these might indicate an easement across the property. The plat should show these, but may not in all cases.>

Once all of the field information is gathered, the crew chief takes the field notes and prepares a preliminary sketch of the work. This is passed along to a draftsperson who prepares the final outline for your use. The draftsperson will check all of the maps mentioned earlier to make sure that all building setback lines and easements are shown on the draft. The surveyed distances and directions are compared to the plat distances and directions as well. Any discrepancies or encroachments are shown on the drawing. Your lawyer may use the draft to determine if any other legal work is needed during the closing. The mortgage company or the bank may also use the survey for their records.

So now, what do you have for your money. You have a drawing which shows your house on your lot. You should have stakes and/or flagging by all of your property corners. Make sure you know where they are located. The actual corner is marked by an iron pin or pipe of some sort. (The type of monument should be shown in your survey drawing.) You might also want to take a look at them at least once a year to make sure they’re still there. (Even animals mark their territory more often than that.)