Property surveying comes from a need to define boundaries between
separated parts of land. Boundaries are closed by property lines. Property
lines are usually marked by monuments in the points of their intersections
(property corners).
Property surveys consist of determining locations and lengths of
these
boundary lines.
Locating property lines without the assistance of a Surveyor is a bad idea
City of Oak Ridge is suing two men for $50,000 in damages
for cutting trees
that did not belong to them
after
they located the property lines without the assistance of a
surveyor.
City of Oak Ridge is suing two men for $50,000 in damages
for cutting trees that did not belong to them
after they located the property lines without the assistance of a
surveyor.
Iron fence at cost of $2,500 installed over the boundary
The decorative wrought iron fence in front was installed at a cost of
$2,500. The previous owner guessed the boundary. The fence on the left-hand
side is 1.5 m over.
Surveyor had come out when the neighbor informed the current
owner of their belief that the fence was encroaching onto their property.
The fence on the left-hand side is 1.5 m over the boundary
The contract was cancelled after survey
The drawing below shows the occupation lines in green. The bold black
lines are the actual property boundary.
The survey revealed that occupation lines (in green) do not follow the boundary of the lot
The buyer of property insisted
on survey although mortgage company did not require it. It first sight,
everything appeared to be in order with the property. However, the results were
so shocking that the seller let the buyer step away from the contract. It harms
the bank, real estate agents, and seller, but the buyer is protected.
Occupation lines consist of visible improvements, fences,
hedges, trees, etc. which suggest claims of ownership.
Occupation lines
can be very deceptive in that owners tend to rely on them as a kind of
boundary mythology while the true boundary lines may be very
different from appearances.
The home on improper land
There were no apparent disputes. The property owner orders a survey, the result of which are shown at the second picture.
1—There were no apparent disputes. The property owner orders a survey,
2—the results of which are shown at the second picture.
Drainage pipe of 1 m diameter under the home
Construction of the residence pictured was just completed. The house was located in a modern new subdivision.
During the survey pipe of 1 m in diameter was
identified under the house (blue color). Finally, pipe had to be cut, sealed and moved
close to its proper area (green).
The proud future owners were looking forward to closing the contract in
just a few days when surveyor was contracted to do a land survey. While
performing the survey, they discovered that a 1 m corrugated metal pipe was
running straight under the foundation as indicated by the blue shaded area in
the graphic. The grading contractor had decided that the design route for
drainage was too circuitous and that he could save a fair amount of money on
the pipe by following a more direct route straight through the lot. It apparently
did not occur to him that an active metal culvert with water flowing underneath
the foundation could cause potential structural problems.
Is there a need for a survey somewhere?
People spend thousands of dollars on fences or landscaping features with
no clear knowledge of their property limits.
Oftentimes things do not work out
well. What is the cost to build this wall (pictured below)? How much to tear it
down and build it again? The survey would have been cheaper.
What is the cost to build this wall? How much to tear it down and build it again?
A property survey might be required when
parcel of land changes ownership,
parcel of land is being divided into smaller parcels,
parcel of land becomes deposit for a loan,
parcel of land becomes subject of resurvey (upgrading documents from old ones),
location of buildings within land is demanded.
Should be mentioned here that other kinds of reports (non-geodetic) are common too:
A home condition report. This gives basic information about the condition of the property.
A valuation report. A certificate for a mortgage lender, which tells him whether it would be able to recover the value of the loan if the property had to be sold.
A house-buyer's report. More detailed, and provides information on the condition of the property in a standard format.
A building survey is the most thorough type of survey. It can look into specific concerns and, for example, the potential to alter or adapt the property.
Property surveyor is a specialized branch of the surveying profession.
Property surveyor needs to have surveying skills.
Property surveyors may face dire consequences of their mistakes.
Because he is responsible for factual state of lands, which are highly priced (cities).
Property surveyor needs to have knowledge of local legal principles.
Property surveyor must be licensed.
Property descriptions
Property description is a necessary part of the legal document that transfers ownership to a new owner. The description defines in undisputable form
the land,
its size, shape and
location.
The land document might be described either by
Metes and Bounds method or
coordinates.
Metes and Bounds method
Mete: to measure; bounds: boundaries.
First, Point of Beginning (POB) for the parcel must be clearly identified,
described and shown in the plan. POB should be permanent marker at one of the
property's corner and referenced by other permanent monument in the
neighborhood.
The measurement starts at POB and continues further.
Examples of a survey plan demonstrating the Metes and Bounds survey system
State Coordinate system
Procedure for a resurvey
Resurvey is a property survey for parcels that have already been surveyed.
The purpose is to record current description.
Collecting data
Surveyor must collect all available documents describing land plot and its adjacent parcels.
Finding property corners
It is the surveyor's basic objective to "retrace the footsteps"
of the original surveyor, that means to reestablish original position where
needed. Even if the boundary is not in complete agreement with documents then.
Traversing the property
The most straight-forward way is to place setup over POB and property corners. Because of obstacles
it is usually not possible, and control traverse is run inside the property. From the
control traverse, side shots are taken to the property corners.
Preparing new map with all expected and required information.
An accurate, well-drawn, and comprehensive document is of great value
to the property owner; it can serve much more than just the single purpose
of obtaining a mortgage from a bank.
Traversing the property
1—Parcel with a house is subject of resurvey. POB is known, the other POB is known as well.
2—Setups can not be placed into POB or into property corners (obstacle—fence). New traverse loop will be established.
3—Traverse loop is being measured (distances).
4—Traverse loop is being measured (angles).
5—Traverse loop needs to be determined within local coordinates.
6—Determining traverse loop within local coordinates.
7—Traverse loop still not determined within local coordinates.
8—Traverse loop determined within local coordinates.
9—Additional measurements to improve accuracy.
10—Taking points of interests by distances and angles then.