Questions to Ask When Hiring a Land Surveyor to Set or Find Property Lines

If you are hiring a surveyor to investigate or set property lines, there are several questions you may want to ask them before you get started. To ensure you are hiring the right professional, here are some essential questions you may want to ask.

Is Finding Boundary Markers Going to Disrupt the Land?

If you are having a land survey done to find boundary markers, you may want to find out how that is going to disrupt the land. More importantly, you want to find out what steps the surveyor will take to minimise disruption.

Most boundary markers are below ground level, and they're not easy for a novice to find. You don't want to hire someone who's just going to be haphazardly digging and looking.

What Experience Do You Have With This Type of Project?

Surveyors go through a lot of training. In most states, they need to have a degree in surveying and a certificate of competency. Luckily, it's not all just theoretical training, most surveyors also log a couple years training under a licensed surveyor.

Because of all those requirements, you can trust that you're working with a competent professional anytime you hire a surveyor. However, there's always a chance that the individual you are hiring hasn't had a chance to work on this exact type of project with this particular type of layout. Ask the surveyor about their experience and make sure they are well equipped to handle your particular needs.

Can You Handle All the Paperwork for a Real Estate Survey?

In some cases, you may be hiring a land surveyor to help you split up a plot into smaller properties. In those cases, you don't need a surveyor to find the property markers. Rather, you need them to set the property markers and create maps and legal documents for the upcoming real estate transaction.

Make sure that the surveyor can do that and more importantly, make sure that they can draft up the required documents. If they can't, find out what type of additional professional you need to hire. That's critical if you want to stick to a budget.  

Can You Investigate Easements?

Whether you're trying to set new property lines or find out about existing ones, you need to know if there are any easements on the property. That could be roads running through the property, access for utility companies or a range of other things. You need to know about easements so you can plan around them.

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