HOW THE SURVEYING PROFESSION SERVES THE PUBLIC
A Guide to Selecting a
Professional Land Surveyor

Provided as a courtesy by
the Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon

INTRODUCTION

Since you may require the services of a Professional Land Surveyor only once during your lifetime, you may not be aware of the logical steps to be followed when selecting a Land Surveyor.

To help in making such a selection, the Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon have prepared this brochure with the answers to a few commonly asked questions.

In general, a survey should be made before purchasing real property, when dividing any parcel of land for sale or when adjusting existing parcel boundaries (in conformance with state laws and local ordinances), and prior to the construction of any improvements on property in which you have an interest.

Remember, the services of a Land Surveyor today will cost less in time, worry, and money than the cost of moving improvements or defending a lawsuit later!

HOW DO I CHOOSE A LAND SURVEYOR?

Only a Professional Land Surveyor licensed by the State Board of Registration is legally permitted to perform land surveys in the State of Oregon.

Most active Land Surveyors are listed in the yellow pages of the telephone book, or a listing may be obtained from the Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon.

A Land Surveyor is an integral part of a professional team composed of attorneys, engineers, architects and planners. Some land surveying companies offer comprehensive services including some, or all of the above.

Choose a reputable Land Surveyor in whose skill and judgment you can put your trust. A Land Surveyor should not be selected by price alone. Competency is of first importance. Your selection should be made when you are sure that the professional you have chosen has all of the facts, and is completely aware of your requirements and/or the requirements of the governmental agency having jurisdiction over the property.

Land Surveyors, like other professionals, vary in knowledge and ability. The experiences expressed by clients have shown that the majority of Land Surveyors provide competent work for a reasonable fee.

HOW MUCH WILL A SURVEY COST?

The cost for most land surveying work is based on the following variables:

1. Type of survey: Costs may increase as the required precision and scope of the survey increases.
2. Record search: This varies by (a) the number of parcels involved; and (b) the number of past transactions. (This necessary step is complicated by the casual manner in which land transactions have been handled in the past, resulting in many vague, incomplete, and often contradictory legal descriptions and land records).
3. Size and shape of property: An irregularly shaped parcel has more corners to monument than a rectangular parcel containing the same area.
4. Sectionalized Survey Work: This could require the survey of the entire section (640 acres +) in which the land being surveyed lies, regardless of the area of the parcel. In some cases, a survey of more than one section is required, depending on the location of the parcel in question in relation to the sections shown on the government plat.
5. Terrain: A level parcel of land is easier to survey than a mountainous parcel.
6. Vegetation: Branches, brush, and small trees must frequently be cleared to afford a line of sight for the surveyor. Shrubs, flowers, and trees on home sites are normally not disturbed, but may require additional field time to perform work around them.
7. Accessibility: The time to perform the surveying work varies with the distance to, and the difficulty in reaching, the corners on the site.
8. Amount of existing evidence on the property: Existing evidence such as iron, wood, or stone monuments, old fences and occupation lines and monumentation is a considerable aid to the Surveyor.
9. Adjoiner Difficulties: When neighbors are cooperative, an otherwise difficult or impossible boundary line location may be established by boundary line agreement.
10. Time of Year: In summer, foliage may present problems making traversing difficult. In winter, weather may slow travel to and on site, and sometimes conceal field evidence.
11. Title Company Requirements: Title companies may require considerably more documentation than is normally required by the average land owner.

Because of these variables, it is difficult to determine exact fees. However, based on general experience and the requirements for the work, the Surveyor can usually furnish an approximate estimate of the costs. Land Surveyors familiar with an area or locale are usually more efficient than those who are not.

WHAT WILL A LAND SURVEYOR DO FOR ME?

Question: Will a Land Surveyor tell me what I own?
Answer: No. It is your responsibility to furnish the Surveyor with a legal description, current title report, or policy concerning the parcel that you want surveyed. The Surveyor will then locate the property on the ground, marking the corners with physical monuments, and provide you with a record of the survey map showing the results of the survey. The Surveyor will also disclose the areas that are in conflict so that the title company and/or attorney can resolve any problems.

Question: Will I be shown if there are any encroachments on the property?
Answer: Yes, if you instruct the Land Surveyor to show encroachments in the area of concern to you.

Question: Will I be shown if there are any easements on my property?
Answer: Yes, if you instruct the Surveyor to do so, and provide a current title report or title policy to use for this purpose. The Surveyor will supply a map, plat, or exhibit showing this information.

Question: How will I be shown what has been surveyed?
Answer: Corners of the property will be marked with steel pins, or other such monuments with the Professional Land Surveyor's license number indicated thereon. The corners on the parcel will be pointed out to you, if requested. A map of survey will be filed when these monuments are set, indicating dimensions of property lines, monuments, and other relative data as required by Oregon State Law, the client, or others.

Question: Should I explain why I want a survey made?
Answer: Yes. If the Surveyor knows why you want a survey, the Surveyor can recommend the type of survey you need, and how much detail should be shown on the map, plat, or exhibit.

Question: Why are there conflicting boundary and easement lines?
Answer: It is often true that boundary/easement line disputes, gaps, and overlaps are a result of legal descriptions which were originally written and recorded without the benefit of the services of a competent Land Surveyor. It is important to have these lines properly described and surveyed, if necessary, when property or easement lines are created or changed. Any newly created or adjusted boundary line requires processing through the local governmental agency as required by Oregon State Law and local ordinance.

METHODS OF SURVEYING

Most Surveyors use electronic distance and angle measuring equipment, as well as the traditional transit and tape. Modern computer systems aid in efficiently gathering measurements and in evaluating all collected evidence required to perform the survey. The Land Surveyor takes pride in being able to use these instruments and computers to perform land surveys efficiently, accurately and cost effectively.

LAND SURVEYOR-CLIENT RELATIONS

The Professional Land Surveyor renders a highly technical and complex service. The Surveyor is a member of a professional team--attorney, title company, architect, engineer, and others and prepares the foundation upon which your project is built.

In case of controversy, a Land Surveyor appears in court in your behalf as an expert witness. No one else can assume responsibility for the correctness and accuracy of the work performed by an individual Surveyor.

Many Land Surveyors also act as their clients' representative at planning commission meetings and at other public hearings when city or county approval is required for certain developments.

Members of the Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon have subscribed to a Code of Ethics and are committed to the highest possible standards in the public's interest.

DID YOU KNOW? ... that to correctly survey a 40 acre tract such as the NW 1/4 of the SE 1/4 (fig. 1) requires a survey of almost the entire section?

Consider the steps that are necessary:

1. Recover original government corners 1,2, 4, 6 and 8 (these are corners set by the General Land Office, usually in the 1800's).
2. Establish the center of the section (point A) which is the intersection of a straight line between points 4 and 8, and 6 and 2
3. Establish 1/16 corners B, C, D and E; for example: B being exactly midway between A and 2, etc.
4. Establish SE 1/16 corner (F) which is the intersection of straight lines between point B and D, and C and E.

The above steps are necessary to locate the four corners of the NW 1/4 of the SE 1/4. Since most sections have dimensions such as in figure 2 (exaggerated to show that the lines are not straight nor parallel, due to difficulties encountered in the "1800s" surveys) it follows that the distances around a "40" will not always be 1320' nor will the sides be at right angles to each other.

A Typical Section: 1 square mile

CONVERSIONS

7.92 inches are 1 link.
25 links are 1 rod.
4 rods or 100 links are 1 chain.
A rod is 16 1/2 feet.
A chain is 66 feet or four rods.
A mile is 320 rods, 80 chains or 5,280 feet.
An acre contains 43,560 square feet.
An acre contains 160 square rods.
An acre is 208.7 (plus) feet square.
Square chains x 0.10=acres.
40 chains equal 160 rods or 2,640 feet.

© 1998-2009 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon

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