On Sep 14, 11:19*am, Pat wrote:
On Sep 13, 7:16*pm, Robert Barr wrote:





The dude wrote:
Probably the entire $1,000 upfront..
How much money is the actual staking actually worth?

The actual staking is the finishing touch. *It's usually very fast -- a
few minutes per stake. *All the prep work is done in advance. *Usually
we spend more time driving to a customer's property than we spend staking.

That, and the actual paperwork -- the plat of survey itself -- are the
end products. *You want BOTH. *It's the plat that's of actual value;
there's no proof of who pounded in the iron pipes (or whatever they
use). *If you distrust the surveyor, don't hire him. *Explain your
concern up front; you're concerned that the staking will never get done
if you pay the full amount up front. *Suggest 50/50.

The surveyor is also a businessperson, and should be aware of your
concerns & will certainly anticipate same. *If he acts put out with an
offer of 50/50, he's not much of an entrepreneur. *Shop elsewhere.

Odds are, though, that 50/50 will be welcomed. *(And in my neck of the
woods, a grand for a 3.5 acre boundary survey is a bargain).

Around here, if you told a surveyor that you'd bay 50/50, he say
"next" and move on to the next, legitimate client. *He's immediately
assume you were out to cheat him out of his 2nd 50% *They have way to
much bank work to do deal with this level of frustration.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Nonsense. What makes a customer who won't pay 100% upfront less than
legitimate? If he needs a survey for the closing and also wants
actual stake markers put in, there is nothing wrong with paying for
paying for it in two parts. Around here, NJ, surveyors wouldt
typically charge you one amount for a survey for closing without
actually marking the lot and a larger amount for one that includes the
markers.

I'm not saying he has great risk by paying the entire amount on a
credit card up front. Just that if he chooses to do it in two
seperate payments as the work is actually completed, it doesn't make
him a less than legitimate customer and surveyors I've dealt with
would have no problem doing it that way.