LAND SURVEYING
Part one of a series
BOUNDARY SURVEYS

By Katrina M. Olsen, L.S. 7058

Land Surveyors provide a wide variety of services for the property owner, and this series will explain several of these services together with the costs associated with them. This information is pertinent to property located in Fresno County and it should be noted that other counties may have different requirements and costs.

When having your property surveyed it is important to consider not only cost but also the qualification of the professional you will be using. California requires a surveyor to be licensed with the state in order to practice land surveying. You will want to consider the surveyor's knowledge of the area and credibility as a professional. In addition to consulting the yellow pages for a list of qualified professionals, you may also consider contacting individuals who work with surveyors on a more regular basis such as realtors or contractors and ask for their recommendations. A professional organization such as the California Land Surveyors Association is another source for finding qualified professionals.

The surveyor will provide you with an estimate prior to starting work. The surveyor must consider many items when preparing his estimate including the type of surveying services which have been requested. By researching and reviewing previous work done in the area, he can estimate how much field work will be necessary. The size and shape of the property will also affect the amount of survey work required. Other key items which will need to be considered are the terrain, vegetation, and time of year during which the work will take place. All of these items can affect the time it takes to perform the necessary field work. The surveyor draws upon his experience when reviewing these items and is able to prepare a fairly accurate estimate of the time and costs involved.

Part one of this series addresses boundary surveys. A boundary survey entails having your property corners located and verified. This procedure is an advisable if you are buying or selling your property or if your are going to build. Before investing a large sum of money on a fence, a house or a well, it would be wise to know that these improvements are gong to end up on your property and not on your neighbors. A boundary survey is an investment in your property and will increase its value and assist with avoiding future problems down the road.

Your property may or may not have already been surveyed. If it has been surveyed in the past and there is some documentation that the survey established the property corners, the surveyor will locate the existing corners and replace any which are missing. If your property has never been surveyed or there is no record of the corners having been set, the surveyor will have to establish their location. A Record of Survey map is required if a property corner or line is established of which there is no previous record. The mapping procedure will affect the cost of the survey since, in addition to the field work, the surveyor will also need to prepare a more detailed map to meet legislated standards and pay a fee to the county for checking and recording the map. Fresno

County's fees are currently $424.00. The surveyor will be aware of the map requirements and will have included it's cost in his estimate if appropriate.

In addition to marking your property corners you may also need your property lines marked. This is especially helpful if you can not see directly between your corners due to the terrain. The surveyor will mark points along the property line so you will be able to follow the line between the corners. Having your property lines marked is a good idea if you are going to be making improvements near your property's perimeter or are trying to determine if there are any encroachments.

Katrina M. Olsen is a Licensed Land Surveyor in the State of California and is employed with McPheeters & Associates, Inc.

Next article: Property Line Adjustments