Locating improvements, utilities, and encroachments
We locate all improvements, utilities, and encroachments on the site against the boundary framework. The work is not limited to showing the parcel lines; it includes what occupies the property and what crosses those lines. We use monument-recovery tools for the boundary framework.
Required Table A items and pricing
We add the specific Table A items your lender or title company requires. Each added item costs $150 to $600. That is a per-item charge, not one charge for the entire list, so send us the complete requirements when asking for pricing.
Requested elevation work
We use digital levels for any elevation items you request. Include those items when you send us the survey requirements.
Medford receives moderate-to-high annual precipitation. At Tufts Park, high groundwater slows drainage after flooding; high groundwater also prevented stormwater infiltration at the parks tested by the city. Elevation measurements should not be treated as confirmation that the ground will absorb stormwater.
Photos From the Field
Examples of the work involved, start to finish.
From First Call to Final Results
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Reach Out
Tell us about the property and what the work is for, you'll get a straight answer, not a sales pitch.
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We Check the Records
We review what's already on file, records, plans, and prior work, before anyone heads out.
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Know the Price First
You get the scope and the price in writing before any work starts. No surprises.
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Fieldwork & Results
You get the finished deliverable, a plain-language explanation, and answers to follow-up questions.
What this typically involves:
- Locating all improvements, utilities, and encroachments on the site
- Adding the specific Table A items the lender or title company requires
What It Typically Costs
These are planning ranges. Nothing is final until it is in writing.
$2000–$4500
FAQs
In every state, only a licensed Professional Land Surveyor can locate and certify a boundary. A recorded plat shows the intended dimensions, but it doesn't tell you where the corners actually sit on the ground, that takes field measurement tied to the monuments of record. A signed, sealed survey is what a lender, title company, or court will accept.
Most residential lots take a few hours in the field once the research is done, but the whole job usually runs one to three weeks start to finish, record research, scheduling the field crew, computing the boundary, and drafting the sealed plat all take time. Acreage and parcels with conflicting deeds take longer.
A boundary survey locates and marks your property lines. An ALTA/NSPS survey is a detailed standard used for commercial real-estate deals, it adds easements, improvements, and specific 'Table A' items that lenders and title insurers require. An ALTA is more thorough and costs more because it shows far more detail.
More Questions We Hear
No. A phone's GPS is accurate to several feet at best and isn't tied to your deed or the corner monuments, so the lines those apps draw are approximate and carry no legal weight. Survey-grade GNSS fixes a point to the centimeter against a reference network, a different instrument for a different job.
The property address and, if you have them, a copy of your deed, any prior survey, and your title commitment. Access to walk the property helps, and if there's a specific reason for the survey, a fence, a sale, a building permit, telling us up front lets us scope it right the first time.
Price tracks the work, not the lot size alone. A clean platted lot with good corners is quick; a parcel with missing monuments, conflicting deeds, heavy tree cover, or a metes-and-bounds description takes far more research and field time. We quote after we see the deed and the record, so the number is real.
Usually yes, and often the permit requires it. Building to an assumed line is how encroachment problems start, a fence a foot over the line can cloud a future sale. A current boundary survey shows exactly where you can build and keeps the improvement on your own ground.
It's marking the site so the contractor builds in the right place, offset stakes for the foundation, grade stakes for elevations, and layout for utilities, all set from the engineered plans. It's done in stages as the job progresses, which is why it's usually quoted per visit rather than as one flat fee.
Communities We Cover
We cover Medford, MA. Call (781) 628-7809 to confirm coverage for your address.
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Where We Stand Before You Call
- Free Estimates
- You get straight answers before you spend a dollar.
- Local and independent
- The person you reach is the person who helps you.
Need help today? Call (781) 628-7809.