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LAND SURVEYORS
and THEIR PROFESSION
PUBLISHED AND DISTRIBUTED
AS A PUBLIC SERVICE BY
WHAT
IS
THE
KENTUCKY ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL SURVEYORS?
The Kentucky Association of Professional Surveyors
(KAPS) is a voluntary non-profit organization of professional land surveyors,
surveyors in-training and others dedicated to serving the public interest
and to promoting and advancing the profession of land surveying. KAPS provides
professional land surveyors with the opportunity to meet other professionals
from all disciplines and management levels along with the opportunity to
voice their opinions and ideas, and to provide a single, positive voice
for the land surveying profession.
KAPS maintains and perpetuates an organization for
members having common professional problems and interests. The organization
provides effective forums for discussion and united action on the part
of its members for the enhancement and betterment of professional recognition,
status and conditions of employment. KAPS also addresses other matters
that contribute to the welfare of the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky,
KAPS membership and State Government.
"Every man owes a part of his time and money to the
business or industry in which he is engaged. No man has a moral right to
withhold his support from an organization that is striving to improve within
his sphere." President, Theodore Roosevelt, 1908
WHAT
IS A
LICENSED
LAND SURVEYOR?
A licensed land surveyor is a professional person who
possesses the required progressive active experience in the practice of
land surveying under the direct supervision of a licensed and practicing
land surveyor, has passed written examinations in the fundamentals of surveying
and the principles and practices of land surveying acceptable to the Kentucky
State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors
and has received a license from said board.
The professional services provided by the land surveyor
will cost less in time, worry and expense than the cost of losing land
to an adjoiner, moving a building, relocating improvements or defending
a lawsuit in court because of a land boundary dispute. The land surveyor
renders a highly technical and complex service. No one other than the surveyor
can assume responsibility for the correctness and accuracy of the work.
(
HOW TO LOCATE A LICENSED LAND
SURVEYOR
Most land surveying work is acquired through the personal
recommendation of satisfied clients, lending institutions, attorneys, real
estate companies and title companies who frequently handle real estate
transactions. If it is difficult to obtain a recommendation, the most direct
way would be to check the listings under "SURVEYORS, LAND" in the classified
section of the telephone directory. According to Kentucky law, only licensed
practitioners can advertise themselves as Professional Land Surveyors.
Also contact the Kentucky Association of Professional Surveyors (1-800-866-3029)
or the Kentucky State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers
and Land Surveyors (1-800-573-2680).
WHAT
IS A LAND PROPERTY SURVEY?
A property boundary survey is the result of an accumulation
of evidence researched from known recorded and non-recorded documents,
witness evidence, field survey measurements and deed computation analysis
of the property. The information obtained for the survey could be used
in placing the property corners, determining land area, locating improvements,
determining encroachments, planning for future projects, preparing a survey
plat and deed description and making legal presentations.
WHEN
IS A SURVEY NEEDED?
It is a good idea to have a property survey:
F
When buying, selling, investing in or developing property.
F If
a boundary location is unknown or unclear.
F Before
improvements are made (buildings, fences, excavation, etc.)
F To
stop encroachments from adjoining owners.
F To
establish easements and rights of way.
F When
timber is cut near a property boundary line.
F When
recommended by a lending institution.
F When
dividing a large tract of land into a smaller tract or tracts.
DO'S
AND DONT'S FOR LANDOWNERS
C
DO contact
a surveyor well before the survey is needed.
C
DO
make sure the land surveyor is licensed and in good standing with
governing authorities. Consult other authorities as to a land surveyor's
qualifications and their character.
D
DON'T
select a surveyor on cost alone.
C
DO
expect quality work that meets the required
minimum standards of practice. Accept nothing less.
C
DO
furnish information requested and explain to
the surveyor the specific scope of work desired.
C
DO
ask the surveyor to explain and review his
work.
C
DO
inspect the boundary lines and monumentation
to familiarize yourself with their position.
D
DON'T
relocate or move boundary monuments!
C
DO
record the survey plat and/or description even
if a property transfer is not made.
TYPES
OF SURVEYS
The licensed land surveyor performs many different
types of surveys involving many scopes of work. The following are a few
different types of surveys.
CONSTRUCTION
SURVEY
A construction survey consists of the survey measurements
made while construction is in process to control elevation, horizontal
position, building dimensions and configuration.
RETRACEMENT
LAND SURVEY
A retracement land survey is made for the purpose of
verifying the area, the direction and the length of the property boundary
lines and for identifying the monuments and other marks of an earlier survey
or deed between parcels of land. This survey retraces the lines of the
original surveyor and his survey. No new boundary lines are established.
SUBDIVISION
SURVEY
A subdivision survey locates and establishes legal
property boundaries by dividing a large tract into smaller area lots. This
survey usually involves original adjoining boundaries, newly established
lot boundaries, streets, rights-of way, easements and other data needed
for successfully completing the project. Usually these surveys are governed
by local agencies and must meet specific requirements.
MORTGAGE
INSPECTION
This inspection does NOT constitute a boundary survey
and is NOT a recordable document. The sole purpose of the inspection is
to obtain mortgage title insurance. A mortgage inspection is the minimum
service required by a lender in closing a loan. This inspection is an approximate
location of improvements and a cursory check for violations or encroachments
that may affect the property tract. Precise boundary locations are not
normally established. This inspection is subject to any inaccuracies that
a subsequent property boundary survey may disclose. No property corners
are set and the information should NOT be used or relied upon for the establishment
of any fence, structure or other improvements.
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