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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:
- Type of survey: Costs may increase as the required
precision and scope of the survey increases.
- 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).
- Size and shape of property: An irregularly shaped parcel has
more corners to monument than a rectangular parcel
containing the same area.
- 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.
- Terrain: A level parcel of land
is easier to survey than a mountainous parcel.
- 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.
- Accessibility: The time to
perform the surveying work varies with the distance to, and
the difficulty in reaching, the corners on the site.
- 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.
- Adjoiner Difficulties: When neighbors are cooperative, an
otherwise difficult or impossible boundary line location may
be established by boundary line agreement.
- 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.
- 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:
- Recover original government corners
1,2, 4, 6 and 8 (these are corners set by the General Land
Office, usually in the 1800's).
- 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
- Establish 1/16 corners B, C, D and
E; for example: B being exactly midway between A and 2, etc.
- 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.
Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon
15108 S.E. River Road
Milwaukee, OR 97267
(503) 654-5750 voice & FAX
Executive Secretary:
plsoexec@plso.org
© 1998-2009 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon
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