Guide to Hiring a Professional Land Surveyor

Whether you are buying a tract of land for your home or business, it is always advisable to commission a land survey to avoid future disputes on misplaced boundaries. Using standard surveying protocols, an expert surveyor will help you define the area of land that belongs to you.

This process will help you realize where all the property lines are, what you are buying, and whether any natural or manufactured features near the boundary lines are on that property.

These are necessary measures to prevent you from unlawfully encroaching on your neighboring property or determine if your land is being encroached by another. Land Surveyors ensure that the buyers are informed about what belongs to them, what they are paying for, and conclude upon the annual taxes owed based on ownership of a set area.

Separating one tract of land into two or more individual parcels can be a time-consuming process. Contrary to what many people think telephone poles, fences, or cracks in the sidewalk are not the property corners.

Every town municipality has its guidelines, size requirements, and process for apportioning land. That is why, it is incumbent that you hire Certified Land Surveyors, who are trained and authorized to make property line determinations.

How is a land survey done?

Step 1 The Surveyor you hire will most certainly start the work on your survey before you meet them at the site. This is because they need to carry out necessary research to define your allotment of land and the adjoining tracts of land, to verify that there are no overlaps or breaches in the properties. This information will help them during the fieldwork, which will be conducted at the site of the survey.

Step 2 Next, the Surveyor will conduct a field survey to study any missing corner or other marks – such as drill holes, disk, and concrete monument – on their initial trip. Upon analyzing, if the site survey does not pan out according to their initial calculations, they may have to return to the office and recalculate, before returning to set any missing angle.

Step 3 Lastly, the Land Surveyor will draw the final map of the site and hand it to you. The map will contain all the land boundaries and give you an idea about the nature of the property you are investing in.

When to hire a professional land surveyor

Except for the time you are investing in a new piece of property, you may need to hire a land surveyor during the following:

For extension of your home: If you are planning for a home extension then, a land surveyor will help you decide the outline of your extension. The practicality of the project can gauge via this exercise as the surveyor will inform you of what can be done with the status of the land.

While erecting a fence on your property: When you are building a new fence on your property it is necessary to make sure that your boundaries are where you think they are. It is important to ascertain that you are not encroaching on the land that is not yours.

To resolve a boundary dispute with a neighbor: A land surveyor can help resolve any boundary dispute by clarifying the details about boundary lines owned by the disputing parties. The parties can obtain a legal document showing the true locations of individual titles which will help in ending such a dispute.

A qualified surveyor will take the time to recognize your survey needs and deliver a quality survey. When hiring a surveyor, always choose those who are members of their local, state, and national professional organizations, as they are the most reliable.