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Surveying For The Future

Upholding Standards in a Competitive Landscape

I just got off a short call with someone looking for a “simple” or “non-official survey” for a fence line. “I just need two corners of my property”, the prospecting caller exclaimed. I get calls like this every day. After letting these potential clients know a Record of Survey or Corner Record will be required and the costs associated with that work, I usually don’t here back from them.

I know these callers will find someone else to do the work. There is always someone willing to cut corners by setting corner markers illegally. On a regular basis, I find evidence of non-recorded surveys: recently flagged lines, boundary markers without licensing information, a rebar and cap with no associated Record of Survey or Corner Record. These remnants of cheap survey work litter the landscape. Attestations of “I got a better deal from the guy because I helped him with the field work” or “he showed me the line and I set t-posts where he pointed” are commonplace in my neck of the woods.

Professional Responsibility and the PLS Act

California's Professional Land Surveyors' Act (PLS Act) is clear about our responsibilities, especially when it comes to filing maps with the county after establishing or re-establishing property boundaries:

8762 (b)(4) The location, relocation, establishment, reestablishment, or retracement of one or more points or lines not shown on any subdivision map, official map, or record of survey, the positions of which are not ascertainable from an inspection of the subdivision map, official map, or record of survey.

California surveyors are rigorously tested on this material, and are charged with following these codes. Unfortunately, there are surveyors—and sometimes unlicensed individuals—who skirt these regulations, leaving behind no record, no accountability, and in many cases, inaccurate work. By interpreting the recording requirements laid out in PLS Act 8762(d) “establish (or re-establish)” to mean “only if monuments are placed by my own hand” many licensees feel they can avoid recording requirements. These surveyors are not, in their minds, re-establishing a property line if they aren’t setting the monuments themselves and instead the homeowner is following behind them and placing t-posts. They are not finding material discrepancies if they shut their eyes, cover their ears, and shout “LA LA LA” when issues are encountered.

If they were to truly re-establish a boundary, they have to spend more time working in the field and with the county. More records need to be researched and the boundary knowledge they learned to pass the licensure exam would need to be recalled. Brown’s Boundary Control and Legal Principles would need to have the dust brushed off. It would cost the client more money. As a result the work gets done illegally and for cheap. The next surveyor in the area has no idea who did the work or how the boundary was established because the previous surveyor (if even licensed) has operated anonymously and left nothing in the public record.

Why does all of this matter? That surveyor saved their client a few bucks by bending the law. Is that so bad?

The Real Cost of Cutting Corners

When a surveyor performs work without filing a map, the client may feel like they got a good deal. After all, they saved thousands of dollars, right? But what they don’t realize is that this “survey” is nearly worthless in the long run. No other surveyor can determine how or why some improvements appeared, or how or why monuments were set. When a surveyor files a Record of Survey, they are not only marking boundaries but also accepting long-term liability for that work. This legal responsibility is key to protecting property owners, ensuring that fences, buildings, and other improvements are placed correctly and can stand the test of time—without boundary disputes.

The client, either without the knowledge or care to ask for a recorded survey, thinks the work is done with the same level of care and liability absorption that a filed map holds. They tell their neighbor about their $1,000 survey that they got for a deal. “The other guy wanted $10,000! I’m glad I avoided that grifter!”

The Value of Doing Things Right

I am a surveyor estimating $10,000 (or more) when others estimate $1,000. That $10,000 quote reflects the time spent researching records, locating original monuments, setting durable markers, preparing a legally compliant map, and accepting liability for the long-term accuracy of the work. It includes employee wages, liability insurance, and the investment in high-quality equipment, all of which ensure the job is done right. Boundary issues such as an overlap or gap of title are uncovered and resolved rather than swept under the rug for the next survey to discover. Durable monuments are set that can be relied upon for hundreds of years to come, instead of cheap wood markers that will disappear in a few years. Additionally, neighboring properties have their future survey costs decrease because much of the work to define the neighborhood has been recorded and can be relied upon. In short, the public is well served and protecte

A Profession Under Pressure

Unfortunately, the clients who understand this value and are willing to pay for it are few and far between. They see the price difference and call the expensive surveyor a rip-off. As a result, surveyors who follow the law and are passionate about solving boundary issues get less work than their unscrupulous colleagues. The law abiding surveyor is forced to find clients with larger bank accounts and a better understanding of the value in a survey done right. Surveyors are required to be licensed to protect the public and the public interest, sometimes this means protecting them from themselves and from the cheapest survey in town.

Recently, my company has grown from a solo practice to myself and 3 employees. With the additional costs of employees, my company will need to find new clients. As we scale up, our need for consistent work that will cover the costs of following the law and practicing professionally will increase. Taking the time to prepare an estimate that will be rejected outright will become less viable.

Meanwhile, our industry is struggling to find new licensees and employees. Those who compete for the cheapest of the work at the lowest of margins cannot afford to train and mentor staff. Land Surveyor Licensees are retiring or dying out of the industry at an increasing rate, and there is no one coming up behind them. We struggle to inspire young people to pursue surveying as a profession, because we offer insufficient wages and an industry hell bent on cost cutting and using a cheap survey as a loss leader.

All of these issues are caused in part by the cheap and quick fence survey. The cost-cutting surveyor has more work than they know what to do with because every professional practitioner has long since been priced out of the niche of boundary work. When attempting to operate legally, there is little a surveyor can do to be cost competitive with the corner cutter.

Policing Ourselves for the Greater Good

Professional Land Surveying is far from being the only profession with bad actors. Malpractice occurs in every profession to some extent. If your doctor prescribed a less effective medicine for you or a loved one because it makes their job easier or more profitable, while also having no documented medical record for the next physician to refer to, would you appreciate their practice?

The solution is not to hope that clients wise up or that the market corrects itself. Instead, it’s up to us, as a profession, to hold each other accountable. Substandard practices need to be reported to the licensing board. While it may feel uncomfortable to report another surveyor, doing so is essential to maintaining the integrity of the profession. Due to the anonymous nature of some of these poor survey practices, whenever the slippery rule breaker can be caught, they must be. However hard it may be, reporting other surveyors to the Board must happen so disciplinary measures can be taken. If we don’t take action, we allow illegal and unethical practices to flourish, further eroding trust in the industry.

By making the bad actors face the repercussions for malpractice and cutting corners  we improve the market. Why would a substandard surveyor take on a “quick and easy” weekend job where you may bend the definition of the law, or blatantly break it, if it means risking your license?

Building a Future Worth Surveying

By holding ourselves and our peers to the standard of care called for in the PLS Act, we can ensure that our work—our maps, monuments, and records—stand the test of time.

Operating to the standards set by the law demonstrates respect for other professional surveyors. Instead of undercutting each other and leaving a problem for the next surveyor, we would be working in concert toward a future where each surveyor who visits a property improves it for the owners and neighboring properties for years to come. Mysterious boundary, title, and ownership issues would be either resolved or noted so the following surveyors can be better informed.

By having more work serving residential clients, the professional surveyor following the law would be able to charge appropriately for projects, allowing them to hire and train  more young surveyors. More potential surveyors would be attracted to the profession as they see the profits rise for surveyors and survey staff. By working with other surveyors to determine the boundaries of properties, a good example would be set for the next generation of surveyors.

I hope to see this change in our profession come to pass not just for my own professional practice, but for the profession at large. As surveyors, we are problem solvers. We cut through brush, scale mountains, and leave clear markers for others to follow. It’s time we approach the challenges within our own profession with the same tenacity. It’s time we stop causing problems and start solving them for our clients and for the clients of the future.