What Affects the Cost to Survey Land? Lot Details, Type & Region

Hiring a land surveyor service is a necessary task if you have a question on where your property line is or if you are plotting some possible construction on a new lot of land.

Don't think that the old marks of the property boundaries are still valid. Often times those are old and inaccurate.

Land Surveying Costs #

Hiring a land surveyor typically costs $450 to $950 on average for a basic single property land or boundary survey. Key cost factors include:

• Lot Type - More complex lots with irregular shapes or dense trees cost more. Simple, open lots are cheaper.

• Lot Size - Cost for high acreage rural lots is greater than small residential properties.

• Improvements - Structures, fences or obstructions mean more complex surveying.

• Terrain - Steep slopes, heavy brush, or water add difficulty and price. Accessible land is cheaper.

• Survey Type - Additional boundary or mortgage surveys cost more than basic surveys.

Keep in mind regional rates also impact pricing. For standard residential parcels under an acre expect to budget $400 to $800. Large, rural or complex lots easily exceed $1,000+.

Land Surveyor Cost Examples #

• "I purchased a vacant wooded 5 acre parcel and needed the exact property boundaries marked before clearing it. A survey company charged me $775 to survey and flag the land." - Amanda T.

• "Before closing on my rural 80 acre plot, the bank required an official mortgage survey to confirm the legal boundaries. The full survey for the large, wooded property cost $1,850." - Michael S.

• "As part of a land subdivision project, I paid a surveyor $4,500 to formally divide a 120 acre plot into 4 separate 30 acre parcels including boundary markers." - Melissa D.

• "I wanted to confirm my existing fence was inside my property line. A surveyor came out and placed markers to verify the line for $500. They also noted a couple encroachments." - Steve W.

As shown, costs ranged from $500s for basic residential surveys up to $1,000s+ for undeveloped land, multi-parcel subdivisions or complex surveys. Quotes are a must.

Land Surveying For Existing Homes #

The biggest mistake you can make as a homeowner is not getting your land surveyed because of the cost of doing so.

Getting your property lines established is necessary if you are installing a fence or planting trees anywhere close to your property line.

Basically, anything you want to erect or take down close to your property line should be of concern. It's all good cause for hiring a land surveyor.

Discuss plans with your neighbors and tell them what you intend to do. Talking it over with your neighbor before hand and hiring a surveyor is a lot better than the alternative.

I once installed fences for a living. We ran into quite a few property line disputes that could have been avoided. If you do not get your land surveyed ahead of time you could be wrong about where your property line is.

Your neighbor can legally make you move off his property line. You could be paying a fence company to put a fence up, take it down, and put it up again! You don't want that.

Questions To Ask Your Land Surveyor #

• Have you performed land surveying on areas like this in the area before? What type of surveying do you regularly do?
• How long will it take you to survey the land?
• Do I need to have extra copies of the "land survey" for legal or documentary purposes?
• Where are the traverse lines vs. property lines ?
• What is the cost for hiring the land surveyor? Is the cost for the job or by the hour?
• When is payment needed?
• Are they going to file the "land survey" report anywhere and where will that be filed?

List of all state surveying organizations

Use Our Free Service and Find Land Surveyors Near You #