Why to hire a local surveyor
In meetings in the last few weeks, I’ve heard more than one property owner mention they have quotes from surveyors outside of the area.
This throws a big red flag for me, and here’s why:
You may not be comparing apples to apples. When you get a quote from a surveyor without talking to your other design team members (your civil engineer, your architect, your wetland biologist, for example) you may not be getting a quote that’s reflective of what your team actually needs. Did you ask them to pick up topography? How about the right-of-way? Maybe some wetland boundary flags your biologist set last week? Not every project needs all of these, but if you get a quote for just property boundaries you aren’t comparing apples to apples when you look at competing bids. I like to ask my team what they need and want before we request bids.
Extra field work later would cost you a pretty penny. If your surveyor forgets something but they’re headquartered 2 hours from your property, it won’t be cheap (or fast) for them to come back later. I can’t count how many projects I’ve had to send a surveyor back to a property to pickup something else the City or County needs, or something that changed during construction. It’s not remotely feasible for a Seattle-based field crew to drive up to Whatcom County to do minor additional field work. And it won’t be for free. If you hire a local surveyor, it’s more than likely they have a crew driving by your property at a regular cadence and they can get it done quickly and cost effectively. Many projects also require as-builts—detailed documents that reflect the actual, final conditions of a construction project after it has been completed. As-builts won’t be part of your survey estimate, but the jurisdiction may require them before they’ll issue your occupancy permit.
Your survey could be set on the wrong datum. Local surveyors have not only have been access to local records, but they know the preferences and requirements of the local jurisdictions. You don’t want to find out after your survey has been completed and your project submitted for review that your survey isn’t set on the right horizontal and vertical datum. Long-term connections and rapport with planners make a difference.
Cost cutting happens somewhere. If you hire a surveyor from outside the area, it’s worth questioning how they can do it cheaper when they’re factoring in travel time and fuel. What are they missing, and at what cost?
Save yourself some heartache and hire a surveyor local to where your property is. Not sure where to start? Reach out and I can make some recommendations.
