09/24/2026
Boundary retracement concepts. Maybe some readers will come here to learn some things about what all is involved in the cost to just ‘do a survey.’ Maybe not! Read on if you wish.
We get a lot of messages asking for the cost to ‘just do a survey’. I read an article once where the writer compared that question to calling an auto repair shop and asking them ‘how much to fix my car?’ Of course you know the answer to the car question depends on what’s wrong with the car, how well the car was maintained, how old is the car and how old are the parts, did you crash the car, is it leaking fluids, and on and on.
Well, similarly there are lots of moving parts that go into retracing and marking a boundary. While a lot of people own cars and drive them daily, gas them up, change the oil, and are generally familiar with what they’ve got. However, most people do not commission boundary surveys very often and so they are not familiar with the process. Most people don’t walk their properties once a year and check on the markers to make sure they’re visible and in good shape. Corner and line markers get grown over, knocked with lawn mowers, dug out when a fence is installed, etc. I’ve found many landowners assume that ‘someone’ had their property surveyed before too. They wouldn’t have sold it to me if there was an issue, right? I’m sure the last owner had markers set? Many times people also assume that their title insurance will cover any issue with the boundaries. You should know the difference between lenders title insurance (which protects whatever institution gave you a mortgage), and owners title insurance, which theoretically protects you. Most title insurance companies are just fine if you do not commission a survey before purchasing a property, because they simply add a ‘survey exception’ to the policy. It is a CYA for the insurance company stating that they are not responsible for any issues that a boundary survey would show. This includes encroachments and other issues that may not be apparent before you buy a piece of property.
Retracing and marking boundary lines for real property is a practice. If boundary retracement were simply closed geometric shapes, described perfectly in each deed, with no gaps or overlaps, and all the markers are found and check perfectly with the deed description, and you know how to measure with your instruments, with error reduced properly, well then why would there be any discussion?
After working at it a few years, a good property line surveyor glimpses the tip of the boundary retracement iceberg. Going back to the car example, two mechanics can look at the same issue and approach it differently. There are good mechanics and not so good mechanics. There are mechanics that are great at engines, some may be good at transmissions. Along the same vein, there are surveyors who are good at construction layout and topographic surveys, who wouldn’t touch a boundary survey. If you are concerned with property lines, look for a surveyor who focuses on property lines, because there is SO MUCH to it. There are civil engineers who prepare subdivision plans, but do not practice surveying regularly. In Delaware, civil engineers can prepare and sign for a subdivision plan, and they do. And frankly, many of those plans are awful to try to follow. In Maryland, a licensed surveyor is required to sign subdivision plans. I’d like to mention here that there is a difference between being qualified to do something (you passed a test, got a degree etc), vs having real experience and practice at doing something well. Just as I would never at this stage in my career feel I could ethically design a bridge with my civil engineering degree, there are civil engineers and some surveyors who ethically should not practice boundary surveying and sign for boundaries.
The reality regarding boundary line retracement: many deeds don’t mathematically close, many deeds contain errors (which can include typos, omissions, quadrant errors, failure to cite any outconveyances, takings, or additions to the property since the last time it was transferred, and just plain bad math), many deeds don’t match your next door neighbors deeds, and may describe shapes that leave a gap between the properties, or may describe overlap areas shared by the properties (although there can truly be no overlap, since the same property cannot be transferred to another after transferring it to a first party – enter junior/senior rights). Maybe the property markers are missing, or they are there but they don’t measure for distance with the same measurement the deed says, or they don’t measure at the same angle the deed says (does your state hold angle over distance? some do some don’t), or you find multiple markers at one ‘corner’ (we call this a pincushion corner – which one is original, which one holds?), or you find that there are no markers remaining (or they were never set). Or you find a fence that’s been in place over 20 years which has been accepted as the boundary line but the property corners tell you another story. Water boundaries can be tricky as well, many of the old river communities in Cecil County for exmaple have lots that were recorded on plans that have very little information on them to start from.
Oh and the instrument should be calibrated regularly, you should perform checks and/or redundant observations on the same points to reduce error, run a closed loop traverse and check everything to make sure all your measurements reach your state’s published tolerance.
The surveyor should carry professional liability insurance for errors and omissions in our litigious culture, carry insurance for loss, aging, replacement or breakage of equipment ...you name it in the insurance world there is an insurance for that! They pay employees for their time, business taxes, franchise tax, business license fees, professional license fees, development hour and continuing education session fees, pay for gas and maybe tolls to drive to sites, pay for rebar or pipes or monuments to mark the corners, wood stakes, ribbon, nails and other supplies to do the work. The truck needs to carry the equipment and the employees safely. The employees on the sites work in some extreme temperatures, bugs – think mosquitoes and chiggers, they walk through muck and mud and need boots, jackets, bug spray! They have to carry shovels, machetes, tripods, metal detectors, stakes, hammer, and the instrument, all over the site to set up at different places to locate everything. Heavy vegetation and steep terrain can really slow things down out there too.
Every property is different, every single one! And while we truly don’t know how long something will take until we work through it, from experience we have a good idea of how it may go. My cost estimates are based on how long I think a retracement will take to do. The factors that I consider are quality of the deed and surrounding deeds and plans, terrain, vegetation, have we worked near the job before and have some control to start with, what surveyor did the original work (some way better than others and reputed to set corners while some surveyors and engineers have a reputation of rarely every setting corners – and this is very important), and even the time of year. A good boundary line retracement with corner markers is an investment in what is likely one of your biggest assets. Take the time to select a good surveyor, talk to them and ask questions, understand the markers, what they mean and where they come from, and maintain them! Commission the surveyor to include a signed and sealed boundary survey plan, and keep it with your important papers when you purchase a piece of property. This may be invaluable when you get a new neighbor, get involved in a dispute, want to add a shed or fence or add on to your house, replace a septic system or well, or otherwise change improvements on the property.
If you’ve read this far, thank you! I have been meaning to post something like this for a while.. I keep wanting it to be perfect and include everything, but I now realize that is just impossible. Have a wonderful week.
