Surveyor for New Fence between Properties $1500, YES/NO

morse on 16/12/2021 - 17:36
Last edited 16/12/2021 - 17:37

Sorry for another OzB fence question, but here we go…

We’re going halves with our neighbours to have an asbestos fence removed, our timber fence that sits in front of it removed, and a new colorbond fence put between the two properties.

Everything is going well, we have our tradies booked have gone halves in a deposit and agreed on colour. Our neighbours are lovely people and there is absolutely no conflict. They are not looking to sell and neither are we. We plan to hold on to this property for life, even if we buy additional property elsewhere.

One issue we have is that there are no boundary markers. At the moment we are working on the assumption that the old asbestos fence is the boundary line - no guarantee though. There’s also the issue that the asbestos fence will be gone by the time the other people come to put in the new fence.

My husband got a quote for a surveyor to define where the fence line should be and it’s come in at $1500. This seems like a lot but I do understand we’d be paying for the persons expertise not just time.

A few notes:
- land value is around $1.2million for 600sqm block
- neighbours are older and planning to age in place, hoping to stay for the rest of their lives
- being 30ish years younger and also hoping to age in place when we retire we anticipate that we’ll have different neighbours in the future
- we would be paying the surveyor completely ourselves
- our house was built in the early 80s
- our neighbours are happy for us to get a surveyor
- Gold Coast, QLD

Pros and cons to this, eg could prevent future issues with new neighbours, pretty expensive in the short term.

Any advice? Is $1500 reasonable for a surveyor? Any other methods to work this out? Is it just a waste of time?

Thanks!

Poll Options

  • 2
    Get the surveyor at $1500
  • 27
    Get a surveyor but you can get it cheaper
  • 8
    Don’t worry about a surveyor, just figure it out
Home & Garden

Comments

  • Sinful on 16/12/2021 - 17:45
    +4

    Talk to neighbour about it and if you are both happy, just make sure the fence is in the exact same spot and save $750 ea.

    • morse on 16/12/2021 - 19:34
      +1

      Yeah they really don’t care - which is great. It’s probably more future neighbours I’m worried about.

  • FLICKIT on 16/12/2021 - 17:46
    +8

    If the blocks are a fairly uniform shape I'd pull out the title plans and a measuring tape, measure off the other fences either side (and/or the houses) to see if the fence "seems" to be where it should be, if things don't add up then look at a surveyor…

    • morse on 16/12/2021 - 19:33

      Thanks, I like this suggestion. May as well have a bit of a look ourselves to see if it’s outrageously out or not.

  • justdigi on 16/12/2021 - 17:54
    +1

    Recently did this in Brisbane and paid $500, so it seems excessive to me. However surveyors are in such demand at the moment you may just have to pay it.

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 16/12/2021 - 17:56
      +2

      That’s prob what the $1509 guy is banking on

    • morse on 16/12/2021 - 19:32

      Thanks! Do you mind sharing who you used in Bris. Happy for you to private message me.

  • Drakesy on 16/12/2021 - 18:01
    +2

    $1200 is what we'd pay for a lot and plans on a job (for a 1000sqm property)
    sounds a bit high though
    although that was before the market went mental

    • morse on 16/12/2021 - 19:31

      Thanks, this is really helpful info. I would like to get the whole property surveyed whilst we are doing it, but yep, the impression is that there’s low supply and high demand, hence the cost.

    • mrklaus on 17/12/2021 - 07:11

      although that was before the market went mental

      So you mean like 20 years ago?
      Sorry, couldn't resist the joke 😂

      • Drakesy on 17/12/2021 - 10:46
        • labour market
  • Almost Banned on 16/12/2021 - 18:33

    Do you think the current fence position favours you, or the neighbour?
    If you, its money you definitely should not spend. If the neighbour, absolutely.

    • morse on 16/12/2021 - 19:29

      Yep not sure, that’s not really the main priority for us. Obviously we don’t want to lose land, but more so not want conflict with future neighbours.

    • Slippery Fish on 17/12/2021 - 07:20
      +2

      Or should he? Wait 10 years then adverse possession the land. Lol my grandparents had a house in Melb, owned it for 30 years and the neighbour came to em and said you have 30cm of my land (All down the side so a lot over the size of yard) so grandad adversely posses it hahaha.

  • jjjaar on 16/12/2021 - 18:40

    Given the fence has asbestos in it, I’d guess it’s been up a long time. Depending on where you are - there is a time limit for whether you can legally take the land back. So if it’s worked out in your favour, I wouldn’t do anything.

    • morse on 16/12/2021 - 19:27
      +1

      Yeah, we are not really looking to gain anything, primarily just to avoid disputes. Like if someone else bought our neighbours property and disputed the boundary line and made us go halves in moving it. We’re kind of hoping we can just set and forget after getting the work done.

      • jjjaar on 16/12/2021 - 19:41
        +2

        Well no one else could dispute it if it’s been up long enough really. Especially if you have proof you replaced an asbestos fence, that alone points to it being over the 10-15 years which is the time needed for one party to now own the space.

  • Ugly on 16/12/2021 - 18:42
    +1

    Have a look at (https://qldglobe.information.qld.gov.au/?topic=property) and you might be able to see where the fence is in relation to the boundary

    • morse on 16/12/2021 - 19:23

      This looks cool - thanks!

  • Muzeeb on 16/12/2021 - 19:08
    +1

    The fence might be moved 5cm or less after spending $1500. The building tolerances of the fence would be about that. If it looks about right then just replace existing and enjoy your new fence and your seemingly perfect neighbours.

    • morse on 16/12/2021 - 19:25

      Makes sense, yes we’re really lucky with our neighbours on both sides and across the street. Hence we’d like to stay, it’s a great area,

  • upended on 16/12/2021 - 19:10
    +1

    If the fence is within the ballpark, I wouldn't worry if it were me. A few centimetres here or there doesn't matter. Honestly, in most cases, land gets sold as is. What's on council records is assumed to be correct. Let me ask you this - did it even occur to you to get your land measured when you bought your house? If you sell in the future, it will still be treated as 600 m², even if there is any discrepancy in reality. It is not worth risking your relationship with your neighbour if the anticipated movement is not that much. Also, from memory, the people who will install the new fence will also determine the fence line.

    • morse on 17/12/2021 - 08:13

      Thanks, yep I doubt most people get the land surveyed when they buy.

  • [Deactivated] on 16/12/2021 - 19:31
    +1

    Do it yourself with a tape measure and brass sextant

  • Switchblade88 on 16/12/2021 - 19:59
    +2

    Once you get over a certain time period the 'squatting' land laws come into effect - this basically dictates that teach neighbour has rights to the land they have fenced and taken care of for the last 20+ years, irrespective of any marked council boundaries. This also continues even when the property is sold. So where your fence is NOW is actually the dictating factor!

    Don't bother with a surveyor, you'll be good.

    • morse on 17/12/2021 - 08:18

      That does make sense. I’m not sure if we’ll know exactly where it was as the soil is sandy and no one is keen to be hanging around whilst the asbestos is coming out. Our neighbours do have concrete right up to the fence line so maybe that that can be a guide.

    • frugalferret on 08/01/2022 - 21:50

      That might be the case I'm other states, but I can assure you it does not apply in Qld. One survey I did, the client built their pool 4m into the neighbours property 25+ years ago, and neither party knew. Client had to demolish pool, and rebuild a new fence in the correct location. Our $2400 fee was their cheapest bill for that mistake.

  • taoz on 16/12/2021 - 20:31

    Not worth it, unless you think the fence is way off.

  • oscargamer on 16/12/2021 - 23:23

    Unlikely just one boundary will be right/wrong.

    If you get the surveyor, they will likely advise you that all boundaries are incorrect (to some degree)

    What then?

    If you and the neighbour are happy to replace old for new, then do that and don't think of buying this can of worms, let alone opening it

  • Euphemistic on 17/12/2021 - 07:28
    +2

    Check the plans. Use a tape measure. If it’s pretty close, don’t get a surveyor. If it’s off, get a surveyor but try to find a cheaper one. It shouldn’t be a difficult job for them.

  • frugalferret on 08/01/2022 - 21:43

    WOW, there is so much terrible advise in this thread. Interested to hear what option you went with OP?

    OP - FYI there is no such thing as adverse possession, or squatters rights in Qld for a fence that is in the incorrect position.

    $1500 is a very fair and reasonable price for a boundary identification survey on the GC. Without knowing your location, New suburbs could be cheaper ($1200min), and old areas much more expensive ($3000+). Yes you might think that its a lot of dollars for a couple of pegs, that take an hour or so to put in, but there is much more to it than that:

    • searching original and previous plans cost ~$25 each from the government and will likely total $200-$400 in government charges before we start the job
    • A couple of hours interpreting old plans and doing pre calc's before you leave the office.
    • In Qld we don't have a survey grade digital cadastre like some other states, and we don't require land boundaries to be defined with every land sale/transfer, so sometimes no one has done a survey nearby for 20-30 years.
    • We don't rock up, turn our instrument on, then put the pegs in. It can take anywhere from a couple of hours, to a couple of days to traverse around the nearby streets locating above ground and underground marks to measure reference marks and occupation (fences/structures).
    • Then you need to collate all the evidence to determine not just the location of the subjects lots boundaries, but the calculated location of boundary lines in your street, the street behind, and street either side. This takes an hour or two in the field, or sometimes many hours back in the office if its a problem area.
    • Then you can do the simple task of placing the boundary marks, and locate any possible encroachments on that boundary.
    • Back at the office, the surveyor checks the field data, then prepares a sketch for drafting. ~2 hours
    • Draftie prepares a Ident plan from sketch ~1-2 hours
    • Surveyor checks plan, and writes reinstatement report ~1-2 hours
    • Endorsed surveyor (supervisor) checks plan and report ~1 hour
    • Plan submitted to state government
    • admin tasks and deliver plan to client

    My advice:

    If the fence you're building a inexpensive (less than $3k), and the current one measures well to fences either side, just replace in same position.

    BUT if its a substantial (not easily moved like Brick/Block) or expensive, you should always get a survey done. Also if you plan to build a shed, or carport or any other structure on or near the boundary that requires Council approval in the near future, there will be a condition in the approval that requires a boundary survey by a licensed cadastral surveyor, so best to get that done now. No point being a tight arse now, and unknowingly putting your fence half a meter into your neighbours land, designing a new carport based on fence position, and the realising that it won't fit when you go to build it because its straddling the side boundary.

    Lastly, you mentioned that the land value is $1,200,000. Your split of the survey quote is $750. That's 0.0625% of the land value. Looking at it that way, it seems like a small price to pay, to know where the boundary is with confidence, and remove any potential problems for future work on or near the boundary.

    • VeeKTOR on 18/02/2022 - 12:16

      Possibly a dumb question but are surveyor costs typically split?

      We have an old broken fence that's leaning quite a lot in either direction. My neighbour is generally pretty nice and we've talked over getting a new fence for ages but both putting it off due to finances and the fact it doesn't bother us too much.

      We have a crappy carport that was built by the last owners (parents bought this place on auction), based on how the reno was done in this house overall id guess the carports wasn't necessarily up to code either. Anyway the carport goes right up to the fence, neighbour has said something about we'd likely need to install a firewall to make it legal etc. And then we can build a fence extending from they either side to compete the job.

      Long post, sorry, just wondering in this case if surveyor costs should be split or would it be our responsibility? You sound like you know what you're talking about, perhaps you're in that industry? Just hoping to be pointed in the right direction

      • frugalferret on 18/02/2022 - 13:02

        It varies state to state. Generally in Qld, if neither party is confident on where the boundary line is, then both would contribute to the cost of survey/new fence. But in your case, it sounds like you're more concerned about the location of the carport relative to the boundary, so you would be the one requiring the survey. Even though the old fence is leaning, the base of it should be more or less on the boundary. If a survey confirms that it is, you would be expected to pay the entire cost of the survey because it was for your benefit. If the existing fence was significantly out of position, it would be reasonable to expect your neighbour to contribute part of the cost.

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