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DAB
06-14-2006, 11:24 AM
Thought I'd throw this out to the ***boat crowd first.. I'd rather keep the money amongst boaters.
I need to have my property surveyed as we are getting ready to put up some new fencing. If anyone out there does this or knows of someone please send me a PM.
Property is in the Whittier/La Mirada area.
Thanks-David

Jetdriver
06-14-2006, 11:32 AM
Call Eric Chiang at 323-888-8687.

DAB
06-14-2006, 11:35 AM
Call Eric Chiang at 323-888-8687.
Thanks!

ChumpChange
06-14-2006, 11:58 AM
If you can't find somebody off the boards, just let me know and I can order a survey through one of my title companies or an appraiser go out and do it for you.

DAB
06-14-2006, 12:00 PM
If you can't find somebody off the boards, just let me know and I can order a survey through one of my title companies or an appraiser go out and do it for you.
Thanks alot, I've got a crazy azz neighbor and she's been a pain in the past..

ChumpChange
06-14-2006, 12:05 PM
Crazy neighbor? Been there, done that.
Depending on where you live and if anybody else has done a surevey on your street, it can actually be easy to do one yourself. Have you ever checked the curbs on your street for survey markers?
If you get a legal description of your property, you can measure it off usually from a corner. Of course, if this is a crazy neighbor, he/she may need something official to get off your back.

Jetdriver
06-14-2006, 12:19 PM
Call Eric, he is a licensed Surveyor for the county and loves these little jobs. His nephew works for me.

DAB
06-14-2006, 01:02 PM
Crazy neighbor? Been there, done that.
Depending on where you live and if anybody else has done a surevey on your street, it can actually be easy to do one yourself. Have you ever checked the curbs on your street for survey markers?
If you get a legal description of your property, you can measure it off usually from a corner. Of course, if this is a crazy neighbor, he/she may need something official to get off your back.
Oh hell, I did that last year.. it's so obvious a blind man could see it... but NO, she doesn't believe that her dam flowers are on the property line where I'm putting the fence. Last time we started working, Sheriff's show up, laugh and tell me she's going to be a pain the ass and just get it surveyed... funny thing is, she about shit when they pulled up and thanked me for the great prices and customer service on the gear they buy from us... Classic!

buzzaro
06-14-2006, 04:23 PM
Crazy neighbor? Been there, done that.
Depending on where you live and if anybody else has done a surevey on your street, it can actually be easy to do one yourself. Have you ever checked the curbs on your street for survey markers?
If you get a legal description of your property, you can measure it off usually from a corner. Of course, if this is a crazy neighbor, he/she may need something official to get off your back.
Yeah, grab the legal description (deed) and also the record map of the last survey done of the property (if in a subdivision it will be of the whole neighborhood). If youre on a street there should be some slashes at the back of curb or the back of walk (sometimes a little disk with a punch). If you can find the corners yourself it will save you quite a bit of $$, surveys can get pricey, even small ones.

DAB
06-14-2006, 05:37 PM
Yeah, grab the legal description (deed) and also the record map of the last survey done of the property (if in a subdivision it will be of the whole neighborhood). If youre on a street there should be some slashes at the back of curb or the back of walk (sometimes a little disk with a punch). If you can find the corners yourself it will save you quite a bit of $$, surveys can get pricey, even small ones.
I've got all the information.. the curb is marked, there's a stake at the back, literally all you have to do is run the string and stake it... but she's f'n crazy!! and even with the expense I don't need the headaches and don't have the time to argue with someone that's clueless....

DAB
06-14-2006, 05:46 PM
Call Eric, he is a licensed Surveyor for the county and loves these little jobs. His nephew works for me.
He just called me back and is busy through August....
Anyone else??

GunninGopher
06-14-2006, 08:19 PM
Are you replacing an existing fence? Sometimes some subdivisions have a little bit of a 'shift', meaning that each fence encroaches the adjoiner on one side. If that is the case you may be better off leaving it alone and replacing the fence where it was, assuming you are replacing a fence. If not then I'd say go for it, but be prepared for a fight.
I'm a surveyor in San Diego that works for the government so I don't do much private boundary determination (too many headaches). I used to do side work but people don't want to pay us what we're worth, so I gave up on that. One day of field work usually means at least 1 day of office work and people have no idea how complicated and risky some of this can become. Besides, people seldomly call for a survey when everything is good, so we're often in the middle of a dispute.
If both corners are in then there is really nothing for a Surveyor to do other than run around the block shooting everything to confirm the locations. If I were to go to a job like yours, I'd probably charge at least $1,500 and probably more since I'd end up surveying the entire block and you have a hostile neighbor who may put my butt in court for doing my job!! I'd set all of your corners and file the appropriate records in accordance with State Law and Professional Standards.
If you were to call me on the phone with this request, this is what I'd advise you to do (this advice is worth every cent you are paying for it :wink: ):
Take this advice with a grain of salt, since I know nothing about your specific situation. You probably have a map filed with your property lines and monuments shown on it. Go to the county and get the map. make sure you get all the maps that include and abut your property. I don't know about LA county, but San Diego County has the maps on-line. You are looking for any of these: a Parcel Map, Subdivision Map, Corner Record or Record of Survey. In San Diego the records are easily found if you know your Assessor's Parcel Number, but they may be indexed differently where you are.
Ensure that it is a straight line between the 2 points (no angles), and that you have found the correct points. If there are angle points, you may be able to locate some corner monuments at those locations. Distances are measured horizontally (level), not on the ground (slope). If you do have to measure any distances, watch out for tags set in the sidewalk or top of curb. They are probably offset to the actual property corner, but set on the side property line. The cover sheet of the map will have some sort of statement describing that. If your property line isn't perpindicular to the road there is a special circumstance that you may need to look out for relating to the distance that the monument is off of the property line. Again, that is relating to any marks on the curb or sidewalk.
The remaining monuments are most likely 3/4" iron pipes if they are in dirt. There will be an LS or RCE number stamped in the brass tags (if they are tags) and that should corrispond with the map, unless there has been a resurvey, in which case you should be able to find a corner record that shows them being set, assuming that those points were set after 1972 and in accordance with the law.
Show your neighbor what you have found and ask her why she believes that they are in error. If she continues to dispute the situation, you may have to get her to agree to pay for a portion of the survey, or simply set the fence and be prepared to go to court. Splitting the cost of the survey and agreeing to the result is the best scenario if she doesn't believe you, since you'll both be hiring surveyors if you go to court.
I don't know how much land you are talking about, but you may just decide to send her a registered letter stating that you believe that she is encroaching and that you are allowing it at this time but reserve the right to fence off your land at any time without notice or something like that. Let a lawyer write it for you. If you allow the situation to continue as it is now, you may end up losing your rights to the land that she is using. That is something that you'll definitely need to see a lawyer about, too. She may end up with what are called "prescriptive rights" and be able to sue to keep the use of the land, or end up with it entirely. (this is somewhat difficult to do in California, but is still a concern)
I can say that one of the fences at my house is way off onto my side of the property line. My neighbor and I both know it and were fine with it. I don't like to run around playing surveyor in my own neighborhood, since trouble usually either preceeds or follows us.

DAB
06-14-2006, 09:31 PM
Are you replacing an existing fence? Sometimes some subdivisions have a little bit of a 'shift', meaning that each fence encroaches the adjoiner on one side. If that is the case you may be better off leaving it alone and replacing the fence where it was, assuming you are replacing a fence. If not then I'd say go for it, but be prepared for a fight.
I'm a surveyor in San Diego that works for the government so I don't do much private boundary determination (too many headaches). I used to do side work but people don't want to pay us what we're worth, so I gave up on that. One day of field work usually means at least 1 day of office work and people have no idea how complicated and risky some of this can become. Besides, people seldomly call for a survey when everything is good, so we're often in the middle of a dispute.
If both corners are in then there is really nothing for a Surveyor to do other than run around the block shooting everything to confirm the locations. If I were to go to a job like yours, I'd probably charge at least $1,500 and probably more since I'd end up surveying the entire block and you have a hostile neighbor who may put my butt in court for doing my job!! I'd set all of your corners and file the appropriate records in accordance with State Law and Professional Standards.
If you were to call me on the phone with this request, this is what I'd advise you to do (this advice is worth every cent you are paying for it :wink: ):
Take this advice with a grain of salt, since I know nothing about your specific situation. You probably have a map filed with your property lines and monuments shown on it. Go to the county and get the map. make sure you get all the maps that include and abut your property. I don't know about LA county, but San Diego County has the maps on-line. You are looking for any of these: a Parcel Map, Subdivision Map, Corner Record or Record of Survey. In San Diego the records are easily found if you know your Assessor's Parcel Number, but they may be indexed differently where you are.
Ensure that it is a straight line between the 2 points (no angles), and that you have found the correct points. If there are angle points, you may be able to locate some corner monuments at those locations. Distances are measured horizontally (level), not on the ground (slope). If you do have to measure any distances, watch out for tags set in the sidewalk or top of curb. They are probably offset to the actual property corner, but set on the side property line. The cover sheet of the map will have some sort of statement describing that. If your property line isn't perpindicular to the road there is a special circumstance that you may need to look out for relating to the distance that the monument is off of the property line. Again, that is relating to any marks on the curb or sidewalk.
The remaining monuments are most likely 3/4" iron pipes if they are in dirt. There will be an LS or RCE number stamped in the brass tags (if they are tags) and that should corrispond with the map, unless there has been a resurvey, in which case you should be able to find a corner record that shows them being set, assuming that those points were set after 1972 and in accordance with the law.
Show your neighbor what you have found and ask her why she believes that they are in error. If she continues to dispute the situation, you may have to get her to agree to pay for a portion of the survey, or simply set the fence and be prepared to go to court. Splitting the cost of the survey and agreeing to the result is the best scenario if she doesn't believe you, since you'll both be hiring surveyors if you go to court.
I don't know how much land you are talking about, but you may just decide to send her a registered letter stating that you believe that she is encroaching and that you are allowing it at this time but reserve the right to fence off your land at any time without notice or something like that. Let a lawyer write it for you. If you allow the situation to continue as it is now, you may end up losing your rights to the land that she is using. That is something that you'll definitely need to see a lawyer about, too. She may end up with what are called "prescriptive rights" and be able to sue to keep the use of the land, or end up with it entirely. (this is somewhat difficult to do in California, but is still a concern)
I can say that one of the fences at my house is way off onto my side of the property line. My neighbor and I both know it and were fine with it. I don't like to run around playing surveyor in my own neighborhood, since trouble usually either preceeds or follows us.
Thanks for the information. She will not allow me to replace the existing fence and bring it forward to the garage (OK by LA County), I want to run a NEW Fence (inside the existing towards my house and run it to the garage. BTW, she doesn't have a pot to piss in and it'll never get to court unless I take her. I've already pulled all the maps, parcel maps, previous survey, etc..etc.. she seems to think that the property line moves over 8" towards my side after the fence in the back.... I'll keep looking. Thanks!

DAB
06-15-2006, 07:36 AM
Anyone??

Jetdriver
06-15-2006, 07:46 AM
Sorry about Eric. Ill keep my ears open for anyone else that might have some time.

DAB
06-15-2006, 08:49 AM
Sorry about Eric. Ill keep my ears open for anyone else that might have some time.
Not a problem... he was great help on the phone..
Thanks-