Hi
Am wondering whether anyone knows of a cheap surveyor in Brisbane? I am missing one boundary marker (the property has an established home and fences on 3 sides). So far all of the quotes have been around $2000-$3000, which seems rather excessive. Or is there a cheaper alternative to a surveyor? Thanks for your suggestions!
One Boundary Marker Missing - Cheap Surveyor Brisbane
Pete10001 on 01/03/2021 - 20:36
Comments
and some string
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Just use the ol’ eyecrometer
its actually more accurate to use a theodol'eye
It's interesting when people claim a price is excessive without knowing any better. If you did know better, you wouldn't be asking here. You'd be going to the surveyors you already use as a benchmark to know that those quotes are excessive.
But ask them how many hours of work are involved and their hourly rates and then tell them that it shouldn't take that long and that you know proper professionals that don't charge that much.
When it's not you, but your neighbour that's responsible for the missing peg, then $2000+ is a lot of money. Only recourse would be to go to court to try to recoup the costs, which would not improve relations
Your understandable wish to avoid a legal situation is not the same as your OP complaining about the cost of your surveyors quotes, which is what people have commented on.
Stop moving the goal posts here, and start putting in the boundary pegs. Do it yourself if you know where they belong and have plans to prove it. You're neighbour can then complain and hire a surveyor to prove you wrong. Be neighbourly and give him your surveyors quotes to save him the hassle.
Don't cheap out on this mate an error can cost you $$$$$$$ in the future.
You might get lucky and find a dodgy surveyor that will do it for less than $2000, but they're not going to do a thorough or professional job.
$2000 is the starting price for a repeg of a near new subdivision. $3000+ for somewhere 25+ years old.
There will be additional plan search fees on top of the quote price.
Surveyors do not make much money doing these cadastral jobs, they barely cover costs.
I thought the same, then got about 10 quotes. Found a reputable company (30 years trading, with about 6 surveyors) that did a great job for our 25yo steep block with many known issues and a neighbour debate. I paid $1200+GST incl. registration of plan with state gov dept for 9 pegs on boundary, and not a 'location' survey to mark the building footprint (existing). It was about 3-4 hours on site plus time to draw the plans so not sure their costs were that high. I think some just overcharge for their 'local knowledge'.
Clients see surveyors 'on site' for a fraction of the time spent on the job. I'd estimate:
- 2 hours plan search, pre-calcs and prep
- Plans search fees + 10-20 plans ($75search + $25ea plan)
- 1-2 hrs travel (return)
- 4-6 hours surveying surrounding streets collecting boundary evidence and calculating subject lot corners
- 2-3 hours placing boundary marks
- 3 hours preparing identification sketch and report
- 2 hours drafting plan in CAD
- 1 hour plan QA and submitting to DNRME
If you paid $1200 job. $300 search leaves $900 for 15 hours labour. That's $60/hr
Hourly charge out rate is $150-250/hr depending on qualifications.
We still have the plans from when we purchased the block. Just need someone to (legally) put a peg back in, without having a dispute with the neighbour. Only other option would be to take them to court to try to get them to pay half the cost. This would not really make for a friendly relationship
If you did choose to do it yourself for, say, fencing purposes and both owners were happy, you can hire total stations.
How on earth is he going to use it though?
If he needs surgery he can also just buy a scalpel.
Actually, building a deck has more maths involved and more council regulations to abide by than setting out a peg for a fence, yet Bunnings is advertising to build your own deck. People manage.
Not true. It takes 4 years of uni plus years of experience plus several years of reports and assessment by the board to become a cadastral surveyor.
@frugalferret: Which a fence does not need, lol.
A standard surveying peg is a galv nail in a wooden stake, perhaps with a piece of random coloured tape. They are not regulated. My neighbour mowed through one of ours. They decay quickly. Recourse is through the civil courts only. Land title and boundaries apply from the plan, not some dinky wooden stake.
Check the gutter, might be a marking indicating boundary.
Reference marks in the kerb and channel do not mark the alignment.
Went through problems with surveys in Gold Coast. Doing the rounds I had quotes from $1200 to $4700 for boundary marking on an existing property.
If there are already registered plans with DNRME you can reference back to those marks as a DIY task. If you need a peg reinstated, some surveyors might do cash work. If it needs a full new registered plan submitted (i.e. possible debate with neighbours) you'll need a licensed surveyor.
I was recommended one in Brisbane by another trade I know. He didn't quote as it was too far, but might be worth asking. PM if details useful
First step definitely to get plans from DNRME which cover the property. Cost about $20.70 each from memory
Not good advice. Surveyors need to prepare and lodge an identification plan and reinstatement report for any boundary work, even if they don't place boundary marks.
I expect you work as a surveyor. I am certain marking was an option I was quoted many times, with new plan lodgement an uplift cost on top. Perhaps this might be a state based difference
Yes, I was a surveyor in Brisbane. Not any more. Too many dodgy operators (including well known medium to large firms) making it difficult for the honest firms.
I would regularly find boundary marks that didn't appear on my searches. Then I'd have to track down the owner of that property to get a copy of the survey plan. They would either have a copy of a substandard plan that was never lodged, or had no plan and I'd have to chase down the surveyor who did the work. Often their reinstatement methodology was questionable, which impacted the boundaries of everyone else in the street.
Message for OP:
If you are just putting up a timber paling or colourbond fence and you know roughly where the boundary line is (and neighbour agrees), build it without a survey.
If it's a structural fence (retaining wall etc), expensive fence, or you are building a carport or shed near the boundary you will need an identification survey. For a fence it is reasonable for you to ask the neighbour to contribute to half of the survey cost, as well as half of the cost of a reasonable fence.
Spending $2k now on a survey to ensure that your construction is in the correct location is much better than having to demolish, survey properly and rebuild in the future.
@frugalferret: The problem is that the neighbour was responsible for the peg going missing. They drove on and over the peg repeatedly until it disappeared one day. We did ask them not to, but they are not the easiest to deal with.
@Pete10001: If you know where the peg used to be before being run over, build the fence to there.
If you don't know where the peg was, and cannot work out where it was from your survey plan you will need a surveyor. For a surveyor to replace that one peg, they still need to do as much search and preparation work as replacing all your pegs. It's not just surveying that one corner, they need to search and mathematically reinstate the corners of every property up and down your street, as well as the street behind, and sometime across the road.
You might only see them on your property for an hour, but it could be a full days work in the field, as well as a day or two in the office. That's why quotes are coming in at $2,000+. I'd still be surveying if I could charge $2k for an hours work replacing a peg (that's what the clients see and think), but in fact the reality is that reputable cadastral surveyors barely cover costs.
@frugalferret: It just seems a lot of money when all of the other boundaries are fenced. I even have the original plans of the block, but I can't just put in a peg where I believe it should go
Please pm me the details if possible
What's the purpose of getting another peg? Isn't the neighbour going to drive over it again and destroy it and waste your money? Or Do you want to build a fence on that boundary? If your block is a rectangle and you have 3 points then the 4th point will be easy to establish. Either do it yourself with a few things from Bunnings or a reasonable fencing contractor will be able to do it to. You don't need to pay for new plans as you have the original.
Which part of Bne are you? North/south/East/west side?
No, the block is not a rectangle. Yes, a fence is to go up.
Still easy enough to do if not rectangle and you know the side lengths from the drawings you have.
Of course I could try and do it myself but then potentially I would have further issues with my neighbours if I am seen moving the peg.
@Pete10001: Has something changed? Initially you said "missing a boundary marker" and now you say "moving" it?? What are you actually moving? Is the peg there or not?
Saw some people on Whirlpool mention prices of $600-$850 for getting one boundary repegged. That sounds about right, given I have the original plans and all.
If you have the plans and dimensions and only need one peg verified/installed then $400 should do the trick, about 1 hours time
Not how it works in Qld. might be $600-$850 in other states, but in Qld you wont find a licenced surveyor thats willing to do it for less than cost price.
Its possibly half a days field work (more likely a whole day or more), then a day or two in the office. Then add government search fees (having the original plan will save you a whole $20 - if its the whole plan, and not just your lot), and you are looking at $2000 minimum. Your land is likely worth $300-$600k, spending 0.3 to 0.7% of your land value to know where the corner is exactly so that you can build a ~$5k fence is a no brainer.
Alternatively take the gamble, do it yourself. If your neighbour disagrees and gets a surveyor in and you're wrong you'll have to pay for half that surveyor fee, pay to remove the fence, and pay to build it again in the correct location.
Your decision
I am in Brisbane, which is in QLD and I have had licensed surveyors undertake work for my company and that is what we paid for such work. I have no idea what you are on about referring to land value and all. Your user location also says NSW, yet you are commenting on QLD prices?
@Logical: well I can guarantee that if you are paying $400 for a boundary survey in Brisbane, your surveyor is dodgy and not doing a professional job. There is no way that they could do the search, fieldwork, plan drafting and reinstatement report for that money. The only time that you can replace or verify boundary pegs workout doing all that is for new subdivisions when the checking or replacing of pegs is done before subdivision plans are registered.
https://www.bairdandhayes.com.au/surveying-and-planning-fees…
The above prices are for ipswich, which is much less complicated to survey than Brisbane.
I'd recommend checking that your surveyor is actually registered and complying with SBQ regulations, because you could both end up in a terrible situation if they make a mistake and sh!t hits the fan.
@frugalferret: Please refer above OP note in which he clearly states that he has the survey plans and only 1 peg is missing. Again you are adding to the scope of work required for no reason. We use one of the largest surveying firms in Brisbane so if you are saying that they are dodgy and unprofessional then it says more about you then them. Perhaps you are jealous or something? Very hard to explain your comments as they don't relate to the situation noted by the OP.
@Logical: I can guarantee that no survey firm in QLD could replace 1 peg on a block in an established suburb for $400 if they did an ethical job and complied with SBQ regulations. I have worked for a couple of the larger firms, and witnessed unprofessional practices by SBQ board members in their own companies - I left both times, as I didn't want to risk loss of my registration for illegal practices.
I would love to hear what @pete10001's outcome was. Did he take my advice and build the cheap fence where he thought the boundary was, or employ a surveyor if there was more substantial costs involved.
@frugalferret: OMG, you are still at it. Just accept that it can be done cheaper and move on. It is one peg, plans have been done and are available.
Yep, this plus this and eyeball it.