Straight answers about land surveys.

It depends on the parcel: its size and terrain, how good the record maps are, how many original monuments can be found, and whether a record of survey must be filed. Rural acreage and parcels with missing corners usually take more work than a lot on a recorded tract map. Send an address or APN and we’ll give you a firm written price at no charge.

It depends on the job and how quickly the records and monuments come together. Once you approve the proposal, we’ll give you a schedule. Parcel maps and lot line adjustments take longer because the county’s review sets the pace — often several months.

An address or APN is enough to quote. Your deed, title report or any older surveys help, and so does knowing what you’re planning — a fence, a sale, a split or construction.

Usually not by law, but a fence built in the wrong place can turn into a costly dispute with a neighbor. A licensed land surveyor is the only professional who can tell you where the line legally is, and we can mark it for your fence builder.

Maybe. Corners are usually marked with an iron pipe, rebar or a spike, often capped or tagged with a surveyor’s license number. A marker can be disturbed, reset or belong to another survey, so we check it against the record and other monuments before relying on it.

A boundary survey locates and marks your property lines. An ALTA/NSPS survey follows national standards for title insurance and lending: it adds easements and other matters from the title report, improvements and any encroachments, plus optional “Table A” items your lender or title company selects. ALTA surveys are mostly used for commercial property.

SB 9 (Gov. Code §66411.7) lets a qualifying single-family lot in an urbanized area be split into two, each at least 1,200 sq ft and no smaller than 40% of the original. There are other conditions, including an owner-occupancy commitment. Many rural High Desert parcels fall outside the areas SB 9 covers — we can check yours before you spend money on design. More on lot line adjustments, SB 9 and parcel maps →

A lot line adjustment moves the lines between existing neighboring parcels without creating new ones. A parcel map creates new parcels — generally four or fewer — and goes through a tentative map, conditions of approval and a final map recorded with the county. More on lot line adjustments, SB 9 and parcel maps →

When state law requires it, yes. A record of survey is filed in certain cases — for example when we set monuments not shown on a recorded map or find a material discrepancy with the record (Bus. & Prof. Code §8762). Corner records are filed for certain corners we use or set (§8773). Filings are part of the public record and protect you and your neighbors.