Discussing a Boundary Survey with your Neighbor
Ok, so you have hired a Licensed Land Surveyor to survey your property. Let’s talk about two scenarios. How about we start with the more pleasant one? You own a property and you simply (not simple!) want to know where your property lines are. Well, leave it up to the surveyor to mark the corners of your conveyance deed (see another blog post about this). The boundary lines around the property are not in dispute and you and your neighbors have a friendly relationship. The neighborly thing to do is to contact your neighbors and let them know that you have hired a surveyor to come out and mark the boundary lines. They should expect to see a two or three person field crew with Total Stations and GNSS receivers, traversing around the properties, hopping fences, digging holes, and buzzing around with a metal detector. They might see pink or orange flags marking “Control Points” (these are not property markers). Let your neighbors know that there is nothing to be worried about and if they have any issues they can contact your or the surveyor. The surveyor will perform the field reconnaissance , finding and flagging any found monuments. It would be helpful to discuss the California State Statute on Right of Entry for Surveyors as well(see below).
Note is says “where practicable” According to Black's Law Dictionary, practicable means "that which may be done, practiced, or accomplished; that which is performable, feasible, or possible" - it does not mean that surveyor must contact a property owner before entering the backyard or jumping the fence.
The surveyor should maintain a general liability policy to cover any accidents that may happen on someone else’s property (check with the surveyor). This should put the neighbor at ease.
After the surveyor has spent the day (or two or three) gathering the field evidence, the surveyor will then process the data in the office before returning to set the property corners (sometimes they can set corners same day if it is a Corner Record). That is it! You have successfully obtained solid boundary markers at your boundary corners. You can now build a fence or simply rest easy with the knowledge that you have had the corners marked.
Ok, now let’s talk about the second scenario and the more stressful one. You and your neighbor are not getting along. For whatever reason the “Love your neighbor as yourself” scripture has been thrown out the window and you have never read Proverbs 27:10: “Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend, and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.” The tension is there and the fight is on. Try to be as reasonable as you can with your neighbor and try to maintain mutual respect. If need be, contact an attorney to assist with any legal questions. Be firm and polite, but do not tolerate any disrespect and rudeness. Politely share with them the code section above and to help you keep calm, why not go back to the bible to remind them of an old Jewish Law in the book of Deuteronomy: “Do not move your neighbor’s boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess.” Then you can share with them the local law below.
Let’s hope they take it well. Let them know what to expect as far as what the surveyor will do (as written above) and that you are willing to share with them your findings, if they would like, the surveyor can be involved as well. If there is an encroachment or improvement onto your land, politely ask how they would like to move forward. There are three options here. Option 1 is for them to remove the improvement from the property to clear the encroachment. Option 2 is to have the neighbor purchase an easement from you as a right to use that encroachment area. Option 3 is to have them purchase the land from you via a Lot Line Adjustment (LLA). The LLA is a costly and time consuming process. If they tell you to go jump in a lake, then kindly let them know that they should hire an attorney and that you will do the same so that the issue can be handled through the courts. The next step of the process can be difficult. If you have any questions or would like a consultation about what to expect, give your local surveyor a call.