# Surveyor Fees



## gtokid1 (Oct 21, 2008)

South Western lower on a long narrow forty, Hillsdale county.
This would be 660ft. by 2640 ft.
What would be a reasonably fee and any recommendations.

Thanks.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

Call 3 local Surveyors, and get quotes. There are lots of Surveyors in "Michigan." 

I am guessing your lot doesn't have a "lot and subdivision" legal description; rather is has a "metes and bounds," legal description. Surveys for properties with a metes and bounds legal description typically cost quite a bit more to have surveyed.


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## ReelWildFun (Jan 23, 2016)

I have been getting quotes s/e mich 1300 to 2600 for14 acres don't understand the big difference thought it was all done by GPS now


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## Larry Kirwan (Oct 21, 2017)

well good luck getting a little work done in the YOOP, I have called 3-4 company's telling them I have a corner stake and just need a CORRECT property line with 1 stake about 100ft from corner stake so I'm putting a privacy fence in correct place, best quote I got for 1 stake in ground is $1300. When I asked HOW in the Hell could that be reasonable-spokes person on the phone admitted it's about 45-60 minute job, Don't need to say here what I told them, I put fence were I thought was fair, if I'm proven wrong with a certified survey I'll just move fence.


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## Forest Meister (Mar 7, 2010)

Larry Kirwan said:


> well good luck getting a little work done in the YOOP, I have called 3-4 company's telling them I have a corner stake and just need a CORRECT property line with 1 stake about 100ft from corner stake so I'm putting a privacy fence in correct place, best quote I got for 1 stake in ground is $1300. When I asked HOW in the Hell could that be reasonable-spokes person on the phone admitted it's about 45-60 minute job, Don't need to say here what I told them, I put fence were I thought was fair, if I'm proven wrong with a certified survey I'll just move fence.


Wow, I have seen 40's that didn't cost a lot more than that. Unfortunately in this 'nik-of-the-woods there are some questionable corners. They were put in way back in the day and do not quite fit the original survey. They were done before the area was subdivided the way it is today. That seems to have resulted in lot lines varying a bit depending on where the surveyor starts. When I lived on the river my frontage varied by ten feet depending on the survey! 

Not saying it is the situation in your case but maybe the excessive cost is related to the fact that they just did not wish to get involved in a potentially messy situation but if they did, they would be making enough to cover some court costs. Another big issue around the Sault is that a couple surveyors that did a lot of work in this area have retired in the last five years. Competition is about nil. FM


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

There is other work involved than field work. The last quote that I heard was around $660 for a corner stake but that was 10 years ago.


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## Radar420 (Oct 7, 2004)

We had our southern property line surveyed (1/2 mi long) a few years ago for some logging we are having done. Cost was ~2k I believe. This is in the NW lower.


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

If a previous survey is on record ,the cost should be less than if no record exists.


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## ridgewalker (Jun 24, 2008)

ReelWildFun said:


> I have been getting quotes s/e mich 1300 to 2600 for14 acres don't understand the big difference thought it was all done by GPS now


That is much lower than they pay around here. If I could get someone around here to do it for that I would jump at it. They really bleed a person around here and the property lines change every time that they do a survey. It is like a lottery waiting to see where the line goes next.


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## Nick Adams (Mar 10, 2005)

gtokid1 said:


> South Western lower on a long narrow forty, Hillsdale county.
> This would be 660ft. by 2640 ft.
> What would be a reasonably fee and any recommendations.


The quotes are going to be dependent on distance to the nearest registered survey corner and how much of your local section has already been divided by registered survey work.

A local surveyor who has done some subdivision work in that section already is going to be more familiar with the tie-ins there and may be more willing to bid a little closer than someone from further away who isn't familiar with your section and may have to put time into researching that. 

The bid isn't based strictly on field time spent on your property. There may be courthouse research, office time, map preparation and equipment costs involved. High end GPS equipment isn't cheap and has to be paid for somehow.

I have surveys done occasionally here in the western UP. I would expect a 40 survey (4 corners) to cost something on the order of $2,000-$3,000 if the local tie-ins are reasonably close. More for something out in the hinterlands where the nearest registered corner is more than a mile away.

-na


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

Waif said:


> If a previous survey is on record ,the cost should be less than if no record exists.


Question:
Where are survey records stored? 

Answer: 
In the files of the people who purchased the survey. 

Surveys are used to establish legal descriptions, when subdivision of property occurs. And the Zoning Boards might retain copies. But, not every Surveyor pounds stakes to mark their work. With Lot & Sub legal descriptions, surveys are much cheaper, as the established legal borders of the property are well documented. With Metes & Bounds legal descriptions, Surveyors have a LOT more work to do, and they charge accordingly.


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

County recorder or land records office might be where a survey company would check.
My deed indicated a survey had been done before .That led me to who performed it.


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## Spardon (Oct 13, 2005)

I got 2 quotes for marking corners of a square 40 last fall.

Both were over $6000!


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## gtokid1 (Oct 21, 2008)

Got recommendations and contacted a few surveyors and selected one.
We discussed what I wanted and have signed a contract.

Thanks


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## kingfisher 11 (Jan 26, 2000)

Be a great business to take on after I retire!


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

kingfisher 11 said:


> Be a great business to take on after I retire!


My neighbor and I were discussing that the other day after a surveyor gave us a quote of 1200 bucks to mark our line that is 1300 feet deep. We told the guy we would brush it out and clear ahead of him.


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## savage14 (Jan 10, 2013)

had a buddy same exact size done about 10 years ago cost him $3000.00 then.he had a problem with neighbors encroaching.


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## MossyHorns (Apr 14, 2011)

I don't survey, but I work for a large engineering/surveying company and can tell you that there is a lot more costs associated with a survey than what you see in the field. The licensed surveyor putting his stamp on the survey bills out between $110 to $150 per hour. The old quarter section surveys take a lot of time to convert over to the new legal descriptions and finding old section corners can some time to tie everything in. It would have cost me around $3K for my survey when I split my parents property, if I didn't work there. We ended up losing 3' of property, because every parcel down my road was surveyed wrong decade ago.

GPS units still won't work in dense wooded areas.


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## gtokid1 (Oct 21, 2008)

https://www.pointtopointsurvey.com/2016/07/professional-land-surveyor-qualifications/ 
Looks like more than a stick and compass required.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

gtokid1 said:


> https://www.pointtopointsurvey.com/2016/07/professional-land-surveyor-qualifications/
> Looks like more than a stick and compass required.


Dang it,and I have a pretty good compass too!


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