If you’re planning a home addition in Montgomery County, you’re going to need a property survey. Same thing for rear decks, screened porches, new construction homes and Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU).

So what kind of survey do you need? I have no idea because it depends on the project!

But I can tell you what’s probably true 80% of the time.

The two most common surveys you might consider are Boundary Surveys and what’s informally known as a Real Estate Survey. When contacting a surveyor or Civil Engineer (and I have some recommendations below) you should make sure to ask what’s included in each different type of survey and let them know if you have any specific requirements.

 

Real Estate Survey

In most cases what’s known as a Real Estate Survey is probably good enough. This is a property survey that shows the footprint (exterior size) of your house and the property boundaries. It should also show other improvements on your property, such as garages, decks, patios, etc. It is possible that you already have one of these surveys, as you may have received one with your closing documents when you bought your house.

A surveyor may refer to this as a Location Survey, but if you ask for a Real Estate Survey they’ll know what you mean. Real Estate Surveys are less accurate and cost less than other survey types.

Accuracy of a Location Survey could be anywhere from 0.1 feet up to 3 feet. A survey that is only accurate to 3 feet may or may not be useful to you, but it depends on your specific project and your architect. For an ADU a Real Estate Survey is generally fine, as all you really need to know is the size and shape of the property and the primary residence.

 

The property boundaries will be shown, but they will be taken from a PLAT or deeds or other property records, and not physically marked out in your yard.

If you get a real estate survey for the purpose of planning an addition, ask that your surveyor provide a dimension from the front property line to the front of the house and from at least one side to the side of the house.

A Real Estate Survey might cost $750-$1000.

Boundary and Location Survey

A Boundary Survey is more accurate, more detailed and costs more than a Location Survey. While creating a Boundary Survey, the surveyors will physically mark out the location of your property boundaries with stakes. The survey should be accurate to 0.1 feet, but this is something you will want to confirm when requesting the service. A Boundary Survey may not include the Location of the house by default, so make sure you are clear in that you need a Boundary and Location Survey.

Example of a Boundary and Location Survey

These surveys might cost $2,500 – $4,500, depending on the property. Any new construction home (and possibly some other project types) will require a Wall Check during construction, which is a type of survey that confirms the exact location of a wall in relationship to property lines.

If your design includes a wall directly on a setback (a required minimum distance that a structure must be located from a lot line) you do not want to start your design with a survey only accurate to within 1-3 feet, only to find out during construction that you have built over the setback.

Surveyor Recommendations

When I needed a Boundary and Location Survey for my property I used W.L. Meekins. They also provided some information for this post!

There are a handful of other well-known surveyors and Civil Engineers that work in Montgomery County to whom I have previously referred homeowners. Any of these companies are worth a call.

W.L. Meekins, Inc.
Land Surveyors
https://meekins.net/

LandTec Partners LLC
Surveyors and Engineers
https://landteksurvey.com/

Charles P Johnson & Associates
Civil Engineering
https://www.cpja.com/

Snider & Associates
Land Surveying
https://www.snidersurveys.com/

Huska Consulting
Civil Engineer
https://www.huskaconsulting.com/