Property Boundary Surveys:

These are the most common type of survey requested by the general public. Do you need to know where your property ends & the neighbors begins? This is what you are after.

In over 50 years of operations, RSI performs hundreds of this type of survey each year, from the smallest lot in a subdivision, to thousands of acres of a National Wildlife Refuge. We can work to specifications laid out by the American Land Title Association (ALTA), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), or other specifications as required by a particular project. We can create exhibit maps if necessary for plot plans or other purposes, and we can provide a Record Survey to be filed with the county when required by law.

Boundary surveys are necessary & extremely important for landowners before undertaking construction of any type, especially for projects such as building a fence, building a shop, or adding on to a house or outbuilding. Undertaking a project of this sort without knowing where your boundary lines are is the surest way to build expensive improvements on your neighbor’s land.

Boundary Line Adjustments, Plats, & Short Plats:

Know where the line is, but you want it to be somewhere else? That’s what a Boundary Line Adjustment is all about. You can buy, sell or transfer small portions of land between neighboring lots, as long as no new lots are created and no zoning or other regulations are violated, if you follow the proper procedure. We can guide you through the process, set the corners of the new boundary, prepare the required Record Survey map, and create the legal descriptions for the land transfer and consolidation deeds.

Or perhaps you would like to subdivide an existing parcel into two or more smaller lots. That requires a Plat or a Short Plat. This is a more involved process, requiring review by the municipality, and several other steps. Again, we can guide you through the process, set the property corners, and prepare the record drawing.

In our 50+ years serving the community, we have completed thousands of these types of projects, and can assist you from start to finish in every aspect of the process. For those areas that require professional assistance beyond our expertise (such as engineering, legal advice, and title search), we have professional relationships with many other professions in the area, and can refer you to the correct party, or work with any professional of your choosing. Our many years of experience in this type of work means that we can help you ask the right questions and get the results you seek on the first try.

On all three of these types of surveys, step one is to contact the planning department with oversight of your particular parcel to ensure that your project doesn’t violate any zoning laws and that there are no other unforeseen issues. Contact info for local planning departments is available on our links page.

Is your parcel on septic instead of a city sewer system? Also important before beginning (if your parcel is not served by a city sewer system) is to contact the local health department to see what will be needed for septic permits. Heath department approval is required to complete any Boundary Line Adjustment or Subdivision surveys where parcels are served by septic. Contact info for local health departments is available on our links page.

Certified Elevations & Other FEMA Surveys:

Any parcel in a flood plain requires an elevation certificate for new construction or to get flood insurance. This is a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) form that must be filled out by a Licensed Professional Land Surveyor. The form requires us to measure the elevation of the finished floor of the structure, as well as several other items on the property. Our extensive experience with these types of surveys means that we know exactly what is required, and get all the data needed on the first and only trip to the field, saving you money and time.

Also possible if your structure or entire parcel lies above the Base Flood Elevation is a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA). This process will remove your parcel from the flood zone if it meets FEMA requirements, and can save you a considerable amount of hassle for new construction, and also can save quite a bit of money on flood insurance.

Other Inquiries:

Have a question about some other aspect of a parcel, such as easements, access issues, topography, construction layout, or some other item you don’t see above? Please don’t hesitate to give us a call to discuss. If we can’t answer your questions, we’ll be happy to refer you to someone who can.

Have a question about other services we provide?