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Experience, Communication, Customer Service, Local Knowledge. While others strive to be the cheapest, we understand that your property or project is an investment of inherent and future value. With that in mind, we strive to provide a defensible service; one on which you and your family or business can rely for years to come.
To the right is a list of the basic, and most common offerings we provide. Our website is currently under re-construction but we have attempted to provide some basic information about what we do throughout, in order that you have a better understanding of our services, processes, and requirements. Each item links to a brief description, below. Costs for these products and service fees are based on an estimation of time and materials as well as the value of our services. On most projects our fees are summed up and provided in a fixed fee contract. This way, you have the comfort of knowing your exactly what we are doing for you and exactly what your financial commitment will be. Hidden in the details is work done behind the scene and which most projects require: time in the office performing research and calculations, CAD drafting, technical review and professional oversight; a near equivalent time of field work is typical and which involves searching for and establishing government or local monuments and benchmarks, traversing throughout the project as well as off-site to 'tie' these control monuments into a viable network, locate and map physical features, perform calculations, and produce field notes for review. On many projects we are compelled to comply with State and Local codes and laws which leave us little room to barter or 'cut corners' but in all cases we know that cost is an important factor in the viability of any project.
Boundary Survey:
The core of our profession is defining, mapping, and marking deed and occupational ownership. Our expertise as Licensed Surveyors can help determine the limits of one's property and which, more often than not, is fully accepted by all adjoining neighbors. The research we perform will typically include reviewing your deed and those of surrounding properties, road alignments and other public interests, shorelines, easements and other agreements and encumbrances, historical evidence, the public record (County Auditor's office), and credible and pertinent testimony. Though without final authority to establish boundaries, our decisions can weigh heavily on a judicial outcome and may influence the course of action taken by an experienced land-use attorney in defending or asserting a claim of ownership.
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Boundary Line Adjustment:
Just as it sounds, this is the process of adjusting the boundary between two or more properties or lots and which cannot result in the creation of additional lots. Each jurisdiction handles this process differently, therefore costs can vary substantially. We always recommend consulting with an attorney whenever there is a lender involved, or property is going to be conveyed to another party or entity. When in its simplest form, we can handle and direct you to the proper forms and formats. Again, it is important to remember that most cities and counties have applications and specific requirements which must be addressed before they can be accepted or officially recognized. Be prepared to spend some time and money addressing these bureaucratic conditions.
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Boundary Line Agreement:
Similar to an adjustment, but typically this involves properties under different ownership and often this is a reference to the quasi-legal process of averting a lawsuit or other civil disagreements.
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Elevation (Flood) Certificate:
A form required for flood insurance rate determination and or occupancy permit.If you have recently, or are planning to refinance your waterfront property, or are in the process of constructing a new structure thereon, than your lender, insurance agent, or inspector has probably required you to get an 'Elevation Certificate'. Your insurance company will not be able to provide a rate, and/or you will not get your final occupancy permit (where applicable) until you have acquired this. It is required that these forms be completed by a Licensed Surveyor, Licensed Engineer, or Licensed Architect. Few, if any engineers or architects have the proper tools or comfort level to perform these tasks efficiently, thus making the surveyor a prime contact point for this product. These forms have become more prevalent every year since the mid-1990s, and hurricane Katrina motivated FEMA to up the ante even more. The process involves establishing a benchmark (usually via GPS [satellite] observation) on your property and acquiring specific height measurements of your home or property such as the elevation of the first livable floor and crawl space/basement, garage slabs, appurtenant hardware (heat pumps, generators, etc) and other such key elements which might be damaged or lost in the event of a flood. Typically our fees can be recouped within 6-12 months based on a reduction in the insurance and assuming your structure is not within the flood plain. If it is found to be so, please remember that we are only the messengers. Be wary of firms charging too little fee for these documents. If improperly executed the information will not be accepted and/or may result in higher insurance costs. On the flip side, if a need for a claim ever arises and it is found that the form was faulty, this may result in non-payment of those claims. In either case, you may never know until it is too late.
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FEMA Map Amendment:
FEMA has a process by which a portion of property, or the structure thereon can be exempted (removed) from its national maps database. One such commonly used process and application is called a Letter Of Map Amendment (LOMA) and is generated on top of, or in conjunction with the previously mentioned 'Elevation Certificate'. Once removed, the portion of property or structure will no longer be scrutinized by the mapping clearing house which provide the insurance company with the red-flag of being subject to flood insurance. Though not typically recommended for the average residential properties, it may have a place in your long-term planning. These forms require specific information to be gathered both on site and 'of record' in order to be processed and accepted by FEMA and related agents.
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Land Segregation/Subdivision:
The act of dividing your property and to create additional lots or parcels. Almost all jurisdictions in Washington State require these various subdivisions to be performed by a surveyor licensed in the State.there are numerous ways of performing a subdivision of land but the manners is which a particular county or city handles them varies greatly. In general, cities are cheaper and quicker than counties to process and approve the 'land use' applications described below. In all instances it is highly recommended that you meet with the staff of that jurisdiction prior to a formal application and that you bring your surveyor and an engineer and private planner, if necessary, to that meeting. These professionals can ask the questions pertinent to your project in order to provide you accurate information on how or even if you should proceed.
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Short Plat/PBD:
This application will allow you to divide your property into 2-4 or 2-9 lots depending on your zoning and the jurisdiction you are dealing with. These are the most common methods of dividing property and are fairly standard practices within a particular city or county. As such, we are usually able to advise you upfront on many of the criteria and point you to the proper ancillary professionals such as a civil engineer, a private planner, and an attorney. Short plats are considered 'administrative applications' which means they are reviewed and considered only by staff of the city or county. Though neighbors do have a short period of appeal they, in general, they have little or no input on the conditions of approval.
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Long Plat:
A long plat is a means of dividing property into an unlimited number of lots. In general, though, that number is usually greater than what is allowed by a short plat since a short plat is (typically) cheaper and quicker to complete. Long plats are NOT considered administrative reviews like a short plat. Therefore they have to go through public hearing wherein your neighbors are allowed to speak for or against your project and which may result in additional conditions of approval to satisfy their concerns. Long plats will almost always require engineering of the proposed road system, water, sewer, power, cable, and other amenities pertinent to the project. These are long, involved, and complicated applications which can take years to get approved, designed and finally built. In general, the more lots and area you are considering platting, the more expensive and timely and convoluted will be the process.
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Large Lot:
A division of land into any number of lots (2+) whereby ALL lots are larger than 5 acres (nominal). this is a good way to break up large parcels of rural land where zoning will allow. Again, each jurisdiction will have differing requirements and procedures for this type of application for land use. It is typical that roads to all lots are designed or even constructed but often they can be gravel, and built to a lesser standard than those of a long plat. Large lots are considered administrative applications meaning they are reviewed and considered only by staff of the city or county. Though neighbors do have a short period of appeal they, in general, they have little or no input on the conditions of approval.
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Condominium:
An often under-utilized but effective method of dividing land. Yes, condominiums can be used to subdivide land as well as buildings.The best way to understand a condominium is to think of it as a corporation wherein all of the occupants of the condo are like shareholders of a company. Each participant of a condo has their own defined boundary (horizontal and vertical) of which they can typically exercise similar rights provided to other types of property owners. A condominium will have 'common spaces' which are to be enjoyed or utilized by all or certain members of the condo association (hallways, road access, foyers and play yards). They also contain 'limited common space' of which is utilized by all members but with restrictions on the type of use and access (area between walls, paths of utilities). While most people consider a condo as being reserved for buildings, this same sort of division of ownership can be applied to land and which is referred to as an 'Air-space Condominium'. The advantage to this method is that it is not subject to all the same levels of governmental review, and in fact, Washington State law dictates limits on local governments. In lieu of these reviews, the condominimizer must hire and attorney to draft up the condo declarations which are very specific and controlled in nature, and should be executed by one experienced in these types of documents in order to avoid or limit legal exposure to the membership. A land surveyor must also be retained for the purpose The lack of governmental review is limited to the land-use side of the equation but you will still have to go through site design approval and may still be subject to other forms of pertinent regulation/review. But we are of the opinion that most attorneys are quicker than a planning department and the costs may likely be similar. A condominium is a peculiar method of dividing ownership and it though we favor it, we also recommend discussing this matter with an attorney and private planner before making the decision to proceed.
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Topographic Mapping:
Before you design or build, you may have need of an accurate map of the existing conditions. We provide the base-map of your plan--a point of beginning, in order that you may minimize costs, maximize use, and plan better. Simply put, a topographic survey map shows ground contours (lay of the land) physical improvements, natural conditions such has water and critical areas, protected or desirous trees and landscaping, underground and overhead utilities, and any other key elements of a project. Unlike a boundary survey, the data derived from a topographic map set out to define the site characteristics with 3-dimensional data (height and/or depth) on a 2-dimensional site plan
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Site Plans:
this is a fairly basic product displaying rough site contours, critical elements such as wells, tops or toes of slopes, shorelines, and landscaping. Since these are mainly used by septic designers, architects and home-owners where the site contains few restrictions on area and use, accuracies and tolerances are low but costs are usually relatively affordable. We can usually work within a client's budget and time constraints.
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Engineered Site Design:
A much more complex project, this product usually involves gathering information from local utility providers and municipalities in order to determine all potential and real encumbrances upon the property. We create a highly detailed map (where site conditions demand) in order that new buildings and improvements and their appurtenant infrastructure (storm runoff, water and sewer, power, etc) are located properly, and import and export of dirt and other materials is kept to a minimum.
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New Construction:
If planning a new home or commercial project it is often very helpful for design professionals to have access to a semi-detailed map of site conditions. This prodct falls somewhere between the a site plan and a full engineer design products previously discussed. Often these maps can be very basic, showing land contours,site corridors, zoning setbacks, and critical areas.
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Additions and Remodel:
Often required when expanding an existing commercial structure, or complicated residence where setbacks are critical. This product usually more often than not, requires some amount of boundary work in order to determine ownership--a main concern when expanding a floor plan, creating more parking or moving a septic field.
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Construction Services:
Our business was established on a foundation of construction layout and site development procedures. Few firms have the patience or understanding of how to balance efficiency with accuracy. We understand that using RTK-GPS to set a building grid will likely result in costly mis-closures but that establishing a storm basin does not require first order control. We are of the opinion that bringing us onto your site to provide survey layout should be money well spent. When our crews are on-site, they strive to be efficient and task oriented.
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Monitoring and Control:
In conjunction with establishing high and mid level precision location of site improvements, we are also armed with several state-of-the-art instruments to monitor movement, both vertical and horizontal during and after completion. These include 3DHD laser scanner, robotic total station with remote measuring capability, electronic 3-wire level, and static GPS for high-precision network control. Providing a base-line and benchmarks for on-site control, usable by other contractors can usually be done on a tight budget.
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Indian trust & Tribal land surveys:
David is a Certified Federal Surveyor (CFedS)authorized by the Department of Land Management (BLM) to perform fee to trust, tribal trust documents, land transfers, surveys, research, and other necessary and pertinent work required to satisfy Federal standards of work. The BIA and the BLM are encouraging tribes and tribal member to have title and real estate related projects performed by a CFedS. We can do this work for you.
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