"We were having a property line dispute with a difficult neighbor; the property survey he had for his house and the one we had for our house did not agree. Our neighbor was claiming that he owned a 3'-0" swath of land on our side of an existing fence. (And this is in the Heights where the lots are narrow!) We hired B&B Surveying to re-survey our property. With relatively short notice, Karl and his team did a thorough analysis of the property markers on our site and around our block, and created a new survey. Their work included of a detailed analysis and written commentary on two existing surveys of the properties on either side of the disputed line.

 

Overall, they did a fantastic job!

When we ordered the survey, B&B asked us to sign a form to indicate that we understood the survey might not come out to our advantage. Property surveyors are supposed to find "the truth" about property boundaries, not be advocates for the claims of their clients. So we understood getting it would be a risk.

In looking for the property boundaries, they found old iron rods from at least 6 different lots nearby ours. Using these markers, and info they had about the way the neighborhood was platted, they determined where our property boundaries ought to be. Then they searched for old iron rods on our property in those locations. Amazingly, by looking in the right place, they found a rod that was UNDERNEATH our asphalt driveway, and had been there for more than 25 years. The two surveys I mentioned earlier did not find this rod, and thus both were way off. This rod was determined by B&B to mark the true property line. They then marked the boundary with property markers.

As I mentioned, in addition to doing the survey, Karl provided an analysis of the two most recent surveys. The one that had been done on our house in 2005 was very shoddy. They didn't find even fairly obvious iron rod property markers, and they didn't even set the iron rods the survey claims they did! (By the way, this older survey was done by ________ Surveying). The one done on our neighbor's house in 1998 was also inaccurate, showing dimensions for the property that didn't accord with the deed for his house recorded with the county.

Luckily, the property line that B&B found turned out to be 8" to our side of the existing fence. (This is much better than 3'-0", so we were happy!). When our neighbor saw all this evidence, he finally dropped his original claim, and we have both agreed to relocate the fence to the newly surveyed line.

I can't imagine any surveyor doing a more thorough job than B&B did, and for a very reasonable price! The survey was money well spent. Karl clearly has a great passion for surveying; he takes great pride in finding the right answer, and will stand by his work.

 

"Karl had to locate monuments at the ends of the block. He and his partner were very thorough in placing many items of detail on the survey. I had commissioned the survey pre fence build and Karl turned up an item that will be very important this hurricane season. A dying tree was transplanted by my neighbor onto city easement, which means the city, not ME will direct him to remove the tree! That part was icing! Karl's ability to explain things would certainly be helpful if I had to bring him to court over boundary issues.

 

They were on my property with 24 hours of receiving the job. They completed the drawings the next day, but a street lamp was missing on the final drawing. Karl returned Saturday morning with the corrected maps (5 copies). He did this graciously, and fully in agreement with my level of detail. Karl & I are on the same page for detail! From the first time I spoke with him, to completion of the project, Karl patiently answered my questions. I wish the doctors I worked with could communicate like Karl does."- April 01, 2011

 

                                                                       

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This client was able to recover our fees from the previous Land Surveyors:

 

"After purchasing a home, the title company used their "preferred" surveyors that determined my garage was encroaching on City property. As a result, I obtained approval from the City and had to get a more detailed survey of this encroachment to complete the process. After attempting to get a bid from the original surveyor, I found that they were extremely difficult to work with because I had very detailed requirements (surveys to satisfy the City as well as the utilities that had easements on the City property) and they were also overpriced. I found B&B as a reputable company and decided to get a bid from them for the work. They were responsive, easy to work with, and had a detailed understanding of my requirements. They also provided a fair price. They performed the work over two or three days and later in the week gave me a call. Very politely, I was informed that my garage was, in fact, NOT encroaching and that the prior surveyors had screwed up! They also provided me very detailed opinion of recourse options I could seek. Using this new and accurate survey, I presented it to the original surveyors and was able to be re-imbursed for the cost and trouble they had caused me. B&B ultimately saved me a lot of time and money resolving a bad survey that another company I wont mention *cough* ________ Surveyors *cough* had caused. Lesson learned. When buying a home, don't let the Title Company use their survey company. Use B&B.

Additional Questions Answered when completing this report

How much did the final cost compare to the original estimate? right on

How does the value of the work compare to the price? I got more than my money's worth

How far in advance did you schedule the work? within a week

Did you find the company through Angie's List? yes

If yes, which source(s)? website

Why did you choose this contractor? reputation

Have you used this company before? this is the first time I've used this company

What did you like most about this contractor? Honesty, punctuality, responsiveness, accuracy!

What did you like least about this contractor? I had to wait a couple days, but this was not unreasonable or problematic

What surprises came up during the course of the work? I dont have an encroachment as previously though, great news! And I got my money back from the company that made the mistake...double bonus!

What words of advice would you give this contractor? Keep up the great work!" - April 05, 2011

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