Would anyone care to share a copy of their boundary survey? I’m curious what to look for, ensure it includes everything etc.
And wow, these prices are all over the price. $2200-$6500 for the same thing?!
Make sure you’ve done all you can to locate the engineers who did the last one. On my current deal the survey went from an initial $4500 Alta to a $2200 boundary from one company to a $600 update from the one that had this property on file.
Just for some extra comps on your diligence costs:
Phase 1 from local company within 60 miles was $1900.
Appraisal came in at $1500.
These prices are in a Kansas market.
Good luck.
Ken
Not sure the company that did the original is around anymore.
Should I expect anymore than this for another $2200?
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-LlXJ4ZjV0maFZlVEJHenEzYTA
I got a referral from my lender for Phase 1 at $1300, said it could be as low as $1000
I haven’t seen an appraisal estimate yet
I have dealt with what felt like colluding surveyors in small town counties before. They are all saying they are super busy and give you a really high bid and set expectation low on turnaround time.
To get around it I ended up calling surveyors over an hour away in a larger metro area and they did the survey for 50% of the cost and turned it around in about 3-4 weeks, and they naturally do other jobs up there from time to time so the additional trip charge was shared among their clients.
The catch was that I offered to grab the necessary documents from the county clerk for them to document the relevant easements and right of ways. I called the records management office and paid $50 for them to scan and mail the documents to the surveying company.
It can’t hurt to spend 20 minutes calling a few more surveyors and save $500 bucks. A survey is a survey and should be treated like a commodity IMHO. Your Phase 1 price sounds fair.
Wow, my best Phase 1 quote was $1900, and highest was $2700. My park is not too far from yours. Care to share the Phase 1 company? Thanks…
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So my lender doesn’t require a survey.
My title company MAY not require a survey, depends on what comes back from the abstractor.
I know everyone here says its necessary
So, why do I spend $2200 on this?
You want this to make sure the title policy is covering ALL of the land you are purchasing. Without a survey you cannot know this.
I remember a tale in the Due Diligence Manual about unknowingly purchasing 80% of the expected MHP and the survey legal description was different than that on the title policy. Likelihood low but impact high.
Just a couple of comments from my own experience.
The boundary survey turned out to be critical along the back side of my property. Had the scummy neighbors (several of whom live in run-down trailers I would never allow in my community) along with the local police accuse me of trespassing. Luckily, I had had the survey company mark the boundary line in several places and then I put in 1" galvanized pipe monuments in those spots. All I had to do was to cut back some brush and point out the monuments - everyone shut up real quick.
As for local contractors/vendors, yeah, collusion amongst the locals at all levels is a problem. I have solved it by purposely using contractors from outside the area. No-one seems to mind a little extra driving and the bids I get now are a lot more competitive than what I used to get. The locals seemed to think that I would automatically use them because they do the majority of the work in the town. Surprise, surprise.