Land surveying is one of the few tasks that you can’t escape. Property owners are often unexcited when it’s time to conduct a survey, mainly because it’s not cheap. The costs for a land survey aren’t too expensive either, but they’re blown out of proportion by residential landowners. Land surveying is one of the few tasks that you can’t escape. Property owners are often unexcited when it’s time to conduct a survey, mainly because it’s not cheap. The costs for a land survey aren’t too expensive either, but they’re blown out of proportion by residential landowners.
In Okanagan Valley, getting a residential land survey can cost as little as $500, and as high as $6,000 depending on the nature of the property. On average, however, property owners can expect to pay $1,500 for their residential land survey in Okanagan Valley.
While these numbers aren’t too huge, they aren’t too comfortable either. This begs the question, what justifies the cost of land surveying if it’s just tracing boundaries and drawing a diagram? Obviously, there’s much more to the process, and here’s why land surveys can be “expensive”.
Why Is Land Surveying So Expensive?
A land survey isn’t just a diagrammatic representation of your property. A land survey can help you look for any encroachments inside your property, as well as display any interference with the adjacent properties or right-of-ways.
A real estate deal based on an accurate land survey can smoothen the process of buying a property quite a lot. On the contrary, if there are any issues in the land survey, an owner must fix them and generate another survey that shows an updated picture of the property.
For a buyer too, a land survey can be incredibly helpful since it can prevent them from getting into a sub-optimal deal. These issues, that come to light after a transaction, can cost the buyer a ton of money to fix.
Plus, if any improvements on the property such as a fence interfere with the neighboring property, the current property owner might invite lawsuits onto themselves. These lawsuits can cost a fortune to fight, and therefore referring to an accurate land survey is the prevention you need rather than the cure that’ll burn a hole in your pocket.
Now that we’ve looked at how a land survey protects you from a bunch of future expenses, here’s a brief on where a land survey finds its value. Broadly, there are two factors that determine the cost of a survey.
Time
Before beginning a survey, a professional will estimate the time it will take to perform the survey. Here are a few factors considered by a land surveyor.
● The size of the property as it directly varies with the cost of the project.
● The extent of uneven nature on the property, such as heavy tree covers that makes the task of surveying more difficult than normal.
● The age of the property can determine the cost of surveying as well.
● Marking points on a property costs more than just marking the corners.
Expenses
● Research and documentation make up for significant costs in a surveying project.
● Cost of surveying equipment
● Travel & employee costs
● Software costs
● Professional liability insurance
While all of these factors influence the cost of a surveying project, there’s a lot of preparation for the job that demands both time and money. To start with a surveying professional must get a bachelor’s degree, complete their training which usually lasts 4 years and keep themselves up to date with all the local bylaws; all of which require years and a considerable amount of investment
In essence, the value a land survey provides justifies the amount you pay upfront. With that being said, you can always strive to find the best prices. Core Geomatics, with its years of reputation for exceptional surveying jobs, are known to be highly cost-effective. And you can turn to them for all your surveying needs without a second thought. Need a residential land survey in Okanagan Valley? CoreGeomatics have you covered.
