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I'm in the process of buying land, and I'm looking for advice on what type of survey to have done. I know there's a basic survey that's required for the purchase. I asked the survey company whether it would make sense to go ahead and do the topo survey at the same time, since that's required for building, which we plan to do eventually. The response was that it would be cheaper in the long run to have the topo survey done after the land has been cleared. I'd like to believe that they're really trying to help me out here, but on the other hand, part of me wonders if that's just their way of getting me to pay for another survey later. The land is certainly overgrown with tan-tan and whatever that horrible thorny bush is, but it's possible to walk through it. There's also an extra fee for marking the boundaries... which seems helpful, but since the land is rectangular, it seems like it wouldn't be difficult to mark our own boundaries if we know where the corners are...?
Thanks for your help!
Posted : November 23, 2010 7:37 pm
road runner.....see your pm. let me know if you didnt receive
Posted : November 23, 2010 9:30 pm
I used St. Croix Survey. As I remember it was $600 and I always include a minor topo and monuments at the boundaries. Make sure you get a title search too. Title insurance is cheap on land and it helps to protect whatever improvements you make. Usually the setbacks are minimal so when you build you have some flexibility with the location of the structure. The thorny bush is Acaisa. (sp). You need a topo to get permits. It is less expensive to get it all done at once.
Posted : November 23, 2010 9:44 pm
I always recommend GME Dospiva. The quality of their work and the timelyness of their delivery is great.
(and hes hot);)
Posted : November 24, 2010 10:01 am
Topic starter
Hahaha, DixieChick! I got your PM, and I'll send you a proper reply once I recover from working overnight last night. Just peeking in at the forum over my cereal. Thanks!
Posted : November 24, 2010 10:34 am
When I bought my land in 2006 I also needed a survey. Someone else had looked at the land and ordered a survey, but then backed out of the land purchase. According to the survey company, they were never paid for that (recent) survey, so they would not give it to us for a reduced price. Might be true... might be a lie... I had no way to know. Survey company recommended a topo survey, but I was a bit suspicious of them at that point. So, I didn't get both at the same time. They said it would be cheaper to do both together. I have to believe that it is cheaper to do both at the same time.
Later I had them do the topo survey. I asked them for the electronic copy. It was really cool that the electronic copy can be input directly into Google Sketchup. This allows you to see the topo in 3D, from various angles.
Another interesting result of the survey. Part of my land is literally on a road that borders one side of my property. I'm glad I used a lawyer to represent me. She made sure the govn would not hold me responsible for any maintenance or other liabilities for my land being on the road. This also becomes an issue for establishing the setback lines.
Bombi: when you say that you "included monuments", do you mean that you requested the survey company to install monuments? If so, what did they use for monuments, and what did it cost for monuments?
Posted : November 24, 2010 7:26 pm
The thorny bush is Acaisa. (sp).
That would be "acacia" (pronounced "uh-KAY-shuh" ) , which is called "casha" or "kasha" locally (pronounced "KAH-shah" ) .
(I had to edit this post and de-tune some legitimate punctuation to stop it from turning into stupid winking smileys.)
Posted : November 25, 2010 1:12 am
