Buying Hunting Land Series: Value Of Hiring A Surveyor

Jim said, “I think we should run that line right along the pasture, then back to the back line. Then we flip for who gets which side.”

His brother said, “Ok, sounds reasonable enough. I just happen to have a quarter we can use to decide.”

And so, it was decided, Jim would take the side to the right and his brother the side to the left, and they would live happily ever after. That is how it works, right? Maybe.

When I am working with landowners who are facing passing land on to the next generation, a common theme is, “Well, you can divide cash a whole lot easier than dirt!”

That is about as common anymore as “I’m not sure any of my kids would want to have anything to do with the farm.”

That one is sad to me.

Anyway, we must know what it is if we are going to divide—or sell. That is where some of my heroes come to play, the quality surveyors. Not that they don’t cause a few ruffled feathers along the way, but once they state it is so, it is so! Well, most of the time anyway.

Surveyors are a special group of folks with special skills. I haven’t asked, but I bet they all had their orienteering badges in Boy Scouts. (Or I guess maybe Girl Scouts, but I could get in trouble taking that story past right here).

I have about a dozen surveyors who work with me across northeast Georgia. How they figure out some of the old markings on older surveys and come up with something that can be recorded for perpetuity amazes me, but it is so dadgum important. I love some of the old surveys I find, particularly those that go back to using chains as measurements. What is better is some of the calls used to identify a point or corner.

Working in the mountains, I have to guess I see a few more than if I were in a more metro area. Land just turns over more in metro areas. A survey in the mountains may have been done in the early 1900s, or even earlier in some cases. The point of beginning might be a 20-inch poplar stump, then in a northeasterly direction 17 1/2 chains to a 14-inch white oak stump. From there, in a more northerly direction along the middle line of the meanderings of the creek for 37 chains to a rockpile. When I saw that one, I felt sorry for the guy who walked 37 chains, that is moving it 37 times, down the middle of a creek full of limbs and sticks and slick rocks… to a pile of rocks. Which pile? Well, then you go in a southwesterly direction for 14 chains to a fence post with a brass nail. I’m sure I can find that fence post 90 years later.

The point is this is a legal document. There is a story told about a county surveyor who got a great deal on some hickory broom handles, 1-inch in diameter. They were very easily cut down and sharpened, and light to carry. Yep, he used them for quite some time marking corners in a Georgia county. Now, I am told by the current county surveyor, the surveyor who used the sticks was fully accurate. To date, he can still follow any survey his predecessor performed to the inch, remove any leaves or debris and usually there is a perfectly round 1-inch hole in the ground! He taps in an iron rod and moves on.

When buying or selling, knowing exactly what it is you are buying is important. Just assuming that fence is actually on or not on your property can cost you a lot of money later. Is the line the middle of the creek—or the line actually the creek bank? Over time, has the creek moved in your favor or against? Is it a recorded easement that runs with the land or a county road? Do your neighbors have the right to drive through your property to get to theirs?

Choose a surveyor just like you would any professional. Ask realtors in your area for references. Right now, surveyors are in extremely high demand, and as such hard to get. It is a great profession, and I would say most, if they are good managers, are quite profitable. Half of the time they actually are in the field getting to see some pretty neat places.

Spend the money, hire a good surveyor.