Boundary Survey

A boundary is not a line on a map. It is the extent of an owner's freedom — the edge of what the land can become and what can be built on it. Every right that follows from owning the parcel operates inside that line.

That is why a retracement error is never small. When the line is restored in the wrong place, it quietly narrows what the owner is allowed to do — where a structure can sit, where an easement runs, how the parcel can be developed or divided. The owner inherits a limit they never agreed to, and often never see, until a permit, a sale, or a neighbor forces it into view.

Highland restores the boundary the record created, so the full extent of the land — and the freedom to use it — is established before anything is built on it.

At Highland Surveying, we follow a meticulous process to conduct Boundary Surveys:

Research: We gather historical records, deeds, plat maps, historical photos, and in some cases, parol evidence together with relevant documents that our client may believe to influence the application of fact in our retracement. All this is to understand your property's history.

Site Investigation: Our experienced surveyors conduct on-site measurements using advanced equipment to gather spatial data needed for a proper retracement. During our site investigation, we are looking for points on the ground that may impact your property boundaries. How do we know what to look for? That is determined by the research phase. Commonly we will locate fences near a property line, structures on the property, ditches, property corner markers, centerline monuments, Section Corners, etc. There have even been cases where we were required to locate a buried axle for a proper retracement. We do the work beforehand to ensure we have the facts needed for your boundary retracement.

Data Analysis: In the data analysis phase, we compare the spatial data to what we found in our research. In some cases, we may end up analyzing thousands of points and hundreds of legal documents. Through this process, we will locate any concerning discrepancies within the two data sets and determine the applications of boundary law that must be applied in your retracement.

Documentation: This is where we document and explain all of the facts considered in your property boundary retracement in the surveyor's narrative. We label each line surveyed to a section of our narrative for clarity and ease in understanding your survey. We then highlight and call out significant facts on the map portion of your survey for a spatial understanding of their relationship to the rest of your property. We then file this report and plat map with the respective county according to state code. This approach is invaluable in protecting your property rights — anyone who may be concerned with your property boundary will know all of the facts that were considered and the application of law used in retracement.