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Licensed Land Surveying

EST. 1998 · NSPS Member · State Licensed

7days

Avg. boundary survey turnaround

94%

Title issues caught pre-closing

21items

ALTA detail requirements covered

38counties

Counties served across the region

Everything you need to know before you hire a surveyor — answered by one.

Boundary SurveyTopographic SurveyALTA/NSPS SurveyElevation CertificateSubdivision PlatRTK GPSCivil 3D DraftingMonument RecoveryEncroachment AnalysisLegal DescriptionsBoundary SurveyTopographic SurveyALTA/NSPS SurveyElevation CertificateSubdivision PlatRTK GPSCivil 3D DraftingMonument RecoveryBoundary SurveyTopographic SurveyALTA/NSPS SurveyElevation CertificateSubdivision PlatRTK GPSCivil 3D DraftingMonument RecoveryEncroachment AnalysisLegal DescriptionsBoundary SurveyTopographic SurveyALTA/NSPS SurveyElevation CertificateSubdivision PlatRTK GPSCivil 3D DraftingMonument Recovery

Survey Type Comparison

Which Survey Do You Need?

Four distinct deliverables — each stamped for a specific legal or financial purpose. Match your situation to the right column before you call.

Survey TypeWhat's MeasuredWho Requires ItTypical CostTurnaround
Boundary SurveyMost Common
Property corners, lines, encroachments, deed geometryMortgage lenders, title companies, fencing contractors$400 – $900
5–10 days
Topographic SurveyDesign & Construction
Elevations, contours, drainage, utilities, existing improvementsCivil engineers, architects, general contractors$700 – $2,500
7–14 days
ALTA/NSPS SurveyCommercial Standard
Boundary + improvements + easements + encroachments + zoning + access + all 21 Table A itemsCommercial lenders, title insurers, national tenants$2,500 – $8,000+
14–21 days
Elevation CertificateFlood Insurance
Building lowest-floor elevation, flood zone, BFE relationship per FEMA/FIRMNFIP flood insurance underwriters, mortgage servicers in high-risk zones$300 – $600
3–7 days
Subdivision PlatLand Division
Lot lines, easements, dedication of rights-of-way, monument placement, legal descriptions for each parcelCounty recorder, planning commission, developers$4,000 – $15,000+
30–90 days

* Costs vary by parcel size, terrain, deed complexity, and county recording fees. Click any row to highlight. Turnaround begins after receipt of deed and tax record.

Did You Know?

An ALTA survey and a standard boundary survey can cover the same parcel — the difference is the Table A checklist. Commercial lenders require the ALTA because it forces the surveyor to certify 21 specific items (parking counts, utility locations, access rights) that a residential boundary plat never touches. If your lender says "we need an ALTA," they mean they need all 21 items answered in writing on a stamped document.

Field-Level Answers

Survey FAQ

These aren't marketing answers. They're the same explanations we give clients standing in the field with us — with the actual process included.

For HomebuyersFor AttorneysFor Contractors

A residential boundary survey produces a stamped plat — a scaled drawing showing your lot corners (marked with iron pins or concrete monuments), the record dimensions from your deed, and any gaps or overlaps between what the deed says and what the field measurements show. You'll see a legal description, a north arrow, the surveyor's seal, and certification language that says the plat meets state minimum standards.

Our Actual Process

Our process: We pull the current deed, tax map, and any recorded subdivision plat from the county. We set a control point using a USGS benchmark or known monument, then occupy each corner with RTK GPS (real-time kinematic GPS accurate to ±0.02 ft). Back in the office, we reconcile field measurements against the deed calls and draft the plat in Civil 3D. If corners are missing we set new #5 rebar with a yellow plastic cap stamped with our license number.

Did You Know?

Monument caps are color-coded by profession in most states — yellow for surveyors, blue for engineers. If you see a red cap, that's typically a state DOT control monument. Never pull or move a capped pin: disturbing a survey monument is a misdemeanor in 38 states.

A title search is a legal review of recorded documents — deeds, liens, easements, judgments — that affect ownership. A survey is a physical measurement of the land itself. Title tells you who owns what on paper; a survey tells you where those paper rights actually sit on the ground. They're complementary: a title search might reveal an easement for a utility corridor, but only a survey can show you whether your garage is sitting inside that corridor.

Our Actual Process

We regularly coordinate with title attorneys: they send us the commitment, we flag any Schedule B easements, and we locate those easements on the ground so the title company can insure over them — or the attorney can negotiate a release.

Conflicting deed calls are resolved by a hierarchy of evidence established in case law: natural monuments (streams, rock outcrops) beat artificial monuments (iron pins, concrete markers), which beat distances, which beat bearings, which beat area calculations. When we find a conflict, we write a detailed boundary analysis memo documenting each call, the field evidence, and our legal rationale for the line we've set. That memo becomes the exhibit your attorney attaches to the complaint or the settlement agreement.

Our Actual Process

We research the chain of title back to the patent, locate all original monuments of record, and perform a deed-call traverse. If the original surveyor set monuments that are still recoverable, their position controls over the written calls. If original monuments are gone, we look for "calls to" — references in the deed to adjoiner lines, roads, or fences — and reconstruct the intent of the original conveyance.

Did You Know?

"Senior rights" matter enormously in boundary disputes. The first deed out of a common grantor controls over all subsequent deeds. If a developer sold Lot 1 in 1962 and Lot 2 in 1963, and the lots now appear to overlap, Lot 1's corners govern — the 1963 deed is junior and must yield. Courts have applied this principle consistently for over 200 years.

An ALTA/NSPS survey certifies everything on the joint ALTA/NSPS standards Table A — up to 21 optional items beyond the boundary. Standard items include: (1) improvements on and within 5 ft of boundary lines, (2) observed evidence of easements and rights-of-way, (3) parking counts, (4) access to public roads, (5) building setback violations, (6) wetland delineation flags, (7) utility locations. The certificate is addressed to the buyer, lender, and title company simultaneously, making it the document everyone's insuring off.

Our Actual Process

For an ALTA we spend two to three field days on a typical commercial parcel: one day on boundary control, one day locating all improvements, utilities, and easements. We then coordinate with the title commitment to make sure every Schedule B exception is either located on the plat or noted as "not locatable from field evidence."

A topographic survey for a retaining wall design delivers: 1-foot or 2-foot contour intervals across the project area, spot elevations at grade breaks and drainage structures, locations of all above-ground utilities, trees over 6" DBH (diameter at breast height), and existing improvements. Deliverable is a DWG file in Civil 3D, georeferenced to State Plane coordinates, with a PDF of the stamped topo sheet. Your engineer can import the DWG directly into their design software.

Our Actual Process

We set two or more vertical control benchmarks tied to NAVD 88 (the national vertical datum). We shoot a grid of shots at 20-foot intervals across the site, plus break-line shots along all grade changes. Total station shots go into our data collector, then into Civil 3D where we build a TIN surface and extract the contours. Typical site under 2 acres: one field day, one drafting day.

Did You Know?

NAVD 88 (North American Vertical Datum of 1988) is being replaced by NAPGD 2022 (North American-Pacific Geodetic Datum of 2022). The shift in our region runs from +0.3 ft to +1.1 ft — enough to change flood zone determinations and retaining wall heights. Ask your surveyor which datum their deliverable is referenced to and confirm your engineer's design software is set to match.

Most legal descriptions are written as metes-and-bounds (a series of bearings and distances starting from a "Point of Beginning") or as lot-and-block (a reference to a recorded subdivision plat: "Lot 14, Block 3, Riverside Addition"). For metes-and-bounds, start at the POB, walk each bearing-distance call in sequence, and you'll trace the outline of the parcel. The bearing "N 45° 30' E" means start facing north and rotate 45 degrees 30 minutes toward east. Distance is in feet unless stated otherwise.

Did You Know?

Bearings in old deeds are often written in magnetic north — the direction a compass pointed when the survey was done. Magnetic declination shifts over time (about 0.1° per year in the eastern US). A deed written in 1880 with magnetic bearings may be off by 12–15° from today's true north. Licensed surveyors apply a declination correction to reconcile old deeds with modern GPS-based north.

Licensed PLS

Professional Land Surveyor, State Licensed

NSPS Member

National Society of Professional Surveyors

FEMA Certified

Elevation Certificate Authorized Surveyor

Court-Accepted

Expert witness in boundary dispute litigation

From Field to File

How a Survey Gets Done

01

Deed & Record Research

We pull the current deed, prior deeds, subdivision plat, and county tax records before the first truck leaves the yard.

02

Field Control

Set control benchmarks tied to USGS monuments or State Plane grid. RTK GPS base station established on-site.

03

Corner Occupation

Occupy each property corner with GPS rover and total station. Search for and recover existing monuments.

04

Civil 3D Drafting

Field data processed in Civil 3D. Deed traverse reconciled against field measurements. Plat drafted to state minimum standards.

05

Stamped Deliverable

Signed and sealed plat PDF delivered via secure link. Hard copies mailed same day if required by county recorder.

Did You Know?

RTK GPS (Real-Time Kinematic) requires a cellular or radio link to a base station to achieve ±0.02 ft accuracy. In valleys, dense tree canopy, or areas with poor cell coverage, we switch to a conventional total station — a laser-based instrument that works in any conditions. The choice of instrument doesn't change the accuracy of the final plat; it changes how we get there.

Same-Week Turnaround

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Fill out the parcel details below. We'll review the deed, pull the tax map, and send a fixed-price quote — no hourly estimates, no surprises.

Quote delivered within one business day

Fixed price — no hourly billing surprises

Stamped plat accepted by all major lenders

Surveyor answers the phone — not a call center

No commitment required. Quote valid for 30 days.

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