Business Advice and Tips

When Should You Ask For A Professional Land Survey?

Land surveying is an essential part of many types of property ownership and use. Not every situation calls for a professional survey, but it's wise to know when the circumstances might. Consider paying for land surveying services if you're trying to handle one of these situations.

Property or Resource Disputes

One of the simplest reasons to conduct a survey is to solve the question of who owns what land. People fight over property lines all the time, and land surveying is often the answer.

You might also need to do a survey if there's an issue involving resources. For example, someone might claim an underground water source is shared between your property and theirs. A survey can address who has what rights.

Similarly, surveying is sometimes helpful in determining whether certain laws apply to a particular use of a property. For example, a business might have to keep storage bonds for brackish wastewater so many feet from a nearby stream. A survey can determine where that limit is.

Civil Engineering

Civil engineering projects often require you to have a strong sense of the literal lay of the land. Surveying can provide the measurements needed for a project. For example, you might need to calculate how much earth you'll have to move from Point A to Point B to create a level surface for building a house. Once you have a professional survey of the dimensions of the land, you'll be able to calculate whether you'll need to move soil away from the area or bring fill in to build the location up.

Noticeable Inaccuracies

A visible inaccuracy involving property data always has the potential to cause problems. Even if there is no ongoing dispute or concern, it's prudent to engage land surveying services whenever you see a clear issue. This can avoid problems down the road that might affect the sale, transfer, or use of the property in some unexpected way. If you see something, survey it just to be sure.

Changing a Building's Footprint

In most jurisdictions, a property owner has to report anything that changes the footprint of a building. Whether you're dealing with construction or renovations, the structure's new footprint needs to go into the property records.

As a bonus, you should probably conduct a survey to make sure everything will be where it's supposed to be for the project. Contractors can use the data to line things up better, and that will ultimately lead to a more precise result. 

For more information about land surveying, contact a local company.