Questions
Five, including the one about your neighbour.
- How long does a boundary survey take?
- A day in the field for a typical residential lot, then one to two weeks in the office. The office half is the research — deeds, previous surveys, county records — and it is where most of the value is. Anyone quoting you a two-day turnaround is not doing that part.
- What is the difference between a boundary survey and an ALTA?
- A boundary survey answers where your lines are. An ALTA/NSPS survey answers everything a lender and a title company want to know before they close: easements, encroachments, access, setbacks, and whichever optional table items your lender selected. It costs several times more, takes several times longer, and if you are building a fence you do not want one.
- Do you set pins I can actually see?
- Yes, on a boundary survey. Capped rebar at each corner, flagged, and shown on the drawing along with anything we found already in the ground. If a corner falls in a creek or under a driveway we will say so and set a reference point you can measure from.
- Will this settle the argument with my neighbour?
- It will give you evidence, and evidence is what these arguments turn on. It is not a judgement — a survey is a professional opinion about where the line is, based on the record and what is found on the ground. If your neighbour disputes it, that becomes a legal matter and you will want an attorney rather than another surveyor.
- What do you need from me before you can start?
- Your deed, the address or parcel number, and the title commitment if you have one. For an ALTA we also need the lender's list of required table items. Tell us at the start if there is a dispute, a fence you think is in the wrong place, or a neighbour who will be unhappy to see us — it changes how we work, not whether we take the job.
Nothing on this site is legal advice, and a survey is evidence rather than a judgement. Licence and certification details are supplied with the signed drawing rather than published here.