Recommendation for a surveyor

I thought I'd seen a discussion of this previously, but I can't seem to find it with search.

I am probably going to have a fence and patio installed in my backyard. In order to complete the paperwork for the Architectural Review Board, I need a site plan and landscaping plan. To develop this, the contractor to know where the property line is. My house is nearly 4 years old, so the stakes that were put in to denote the property line are long gone. To make a long story shorter, I need a surveyor to come out and put the stakes back up.

Has anyone had a good/bad experience with a surveyor? Cost?

 

actually, you need to rent a metal detector... There are copper posts buried at the corners and anywhere the property line isn't straight. It's a lot cheaper than a surveyor, esp if you have a general idea where the corners are. I'd have thought a fence contractor would know/do this.

 

What you need for the Modifications Subcommittee is a copy of the plat that you received when you signed your life away, er, obtained title to the house. That will suffice as a site plan, you can show on that copy where you want to put the fence and the patio.

As far as the fence contractor, he will need to know the exact property lines. My wife is correct, a metal detector will show you where the metal pipes are. These should have been installed when your builder had the land resurveyed either just before or after you purchased your house.

Who was your builder ??



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

I still have the plat from when I bought the house. I'm glad that's all I need. The builder was Miller and Smith (Magic collection). If they are supposed to bury those copper pipes, then I expect we'll find them. I've never heard of that before. It's rather a good idea to make the property line markings permanent. Every once in a while the government surprises you by making a sensible, useful regulation.

I haven't had the contractor out yet. It's not that easy to find landscape contractors that are interested in working on small townhouse properties. My neighbors have given me the name of the contractor that did their yard. I'm hoping they'll agree to work on mine becasue they did a great job on my neighbor's yard.

I don't plan to do anything fancy with fence except for a gate, and I know that's no big deal. I'd really love to replace all the back lawn with patio and planting beds, but that's probably not going to happen.

 

True ... townhouse fences are basically limited to the 6 ft privacy fence.


Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

BTW - Van Metre has agreed to come out and stake our property before our 11 mo. warranty work. I know our neighbors had tried the "rent a metal detector" approach and didn't have much luck. Either the markers are too obscured by the junk left in the dirt, or they never put them in for us. When VM came to mark their lot, they put in new metal pipes. I hope they do the same for us.

Pam D.