Fri | Mar 29, 2024

A Matter of Land | When is a land surveyor necessary? Pt. 1

Published:Monday | November 5, 2018 | 12:00 AMCraig Francis
Francis

 

Good day readers. I will get back to responding to your questions soon, however there are some things I have decided to clarify today on when, and why, you need the services of a land surveyor.

Many persons have questions on what time in the process of purchasing a property, or construction, or modification of a property, should they engage the services of a land surveyor.

1) In the purchasing of a property I recommend that you engage the services of s land surveyor once you visit the property you intend to purchase. This is necessary, especially when the property is in a remote area, or stand-alone properties not part of a larger subdivision development.

I received a call from a lady sporting a British accent several months ago to take her to a lot she had bought in Portland. She bought a property shown to her by a realtor and returned to England.

She returned home some six years later and wanted to located, repeg and cut out her property. When I identified the lot, the lady began to cry because the lot I identified to her wasn’t   the one shown to her when she purchased it.

She was shown a lot on a hill with a panoramic view of the sea and the rest of the hills. The lot we were at was one in a valley that had a water course running through it.

Had she contracted a land surveyor when making the purchase, she would not be in that predicament as he would have shown her exactly the property she was interested in buying.  

2) When you are going to construct your boundary walls you should consult and retain the services of a land surveyor to ensure that you do not surrender land or you don’t encroach on your neighbour’s property, the road or any other reservation.

3) When you are going to be doing construction, or addition to your building you need to consult a land surveyor. He can identify your boundary on ground so that you don’t exceed your boundaries. Many persons who have houses beside open lots or drain reservation are particularly prone to encroaching on these areas. Also he can help you understand what your restrictive covenants are and how to build in a way as to not breach any of them.

There are other areas to look at but this is all that the space will allow for this week. I will continue next week.

I want to thank the companies that called us in to make presentations to them concerning land matters in our “A Matter of Land” presentation series.

We will continue this month so any group, company, or church organisation, which would like us to make this free presentation to them just send us an email requesting same.

Keep sending your questions and comments and let’s continue to explore A Matter of Land. Until next time traverse well.

-  Craig Francis is a commissioned land surveyor and managing director of Precision Surveying Services Ltd. He can be contacted for questions or queries at craig_r_francis@yahoo.com or Precision Surveying Services