okiesurveyor

I get asked this question more times than “ Why do Surveyors never Agree ?” I won’t spend a huge amount of time on the issue but I will try to explain why there is no answer to this question, at least not initially. By comparison, this question is about the same as asking “how much does a house cost?” First and foremost Land can be described in many ways. Section/Township/Range , Metes and Bounds or Lot and Block or any combination of the three. Land descriptions that are referenced to Section/Township/Range in the Public Land System can be more expensive to survey because the underlying portion of the section must also be surveyed thus increasing the cost. If the description is an aliquot (proportional) part such as the SW/4 or the N/2, it can be even more expensive because the entire underlying Section must be surveyed. Land described by metes and bounds can be less expensive to survey because only the portion of the parent parcel that is referenced needs to be surveyed. ...

One of the most misunderstood aspects of land ownership in Oklahoma (or anywhere) is adverse possession. It is a very complicated legal issue and should always involve a qualified real estate attorney. Many people believe that possession is 9/10ths of the law. In real estate, this is not true. Before adverse possession can ripen into fee ownership, several things must happen. Only one of which is occupying the land in question for 15 years. This article is not comprehensive and should not be taken as legal advice but only as a starting point if you think you have a claim or if an adverse claim is being made against your land. Five elements muse be met before an adverse possession claim can be made. Even then, the claim must go through the court system to make the claim into a fee ownership (deed). It does not just happen automatically, even if the criteria below are met. The five elements are listed below with a brief (non-lawyer) explanation: Actual : This means you m...

The trespass Statute in Oklahoma (OS Title 21 Chapter 70 Section 1835.2) has needed some work since it was passed in 2006. I am not sure of the history of 1835.2 but it somewhat conflicts with 1835. 1835 gives Land Surveyors in the performance of their duties immunity from criminal trespass. Something that is necessary for us to meet the State Minimum Standards for Land Survey ing. In 2006, Section 1835.2 was passed which still protected us from criminal trespass although adding a paragraph which lists a group a people that must leave the property if asked to do so orally or in writing. They include: Registered land surveyors in the performance of their professional services Registered professional engineers in the performance of their professional services  persons making a delivery  persons selling a product or service  persons conducting a survey or poll persons working on behalf of a candidate for political office  Now maybe I am just ov...

I don’t know.  But that is what was specified in the original instructions to the government surveyors when the State of Oklahoma was first laid out. I do, however, have a neat fact about the chain that was used when measuring the original sections. It is called a Gunters chain and it was 66 feet long. It was that specific length for a reason; to calculate acreage of tracts of land. 80 Gunters chains placed end to end measured one mile (5280 feet). 80 chains x 80 chains = 6400/10 = 640 acres. So the product of the number of chains measured on each side of a tract of land divided by 10 equals the number of acres Example: 5 chains x 5 chains = 2.5 acres 10 chains x 10 chains = 10 acres 20 chains x 20 chains = 40 acres 40 chains x 40 chains = 160 acres How does that work?  I don’t know. But one acre of land would then, by default, be the sum of 66’ x 66’ (1 chain x 1 chain) divided by 0.10 = 43,560 square feet, which is the number used in al...

This is one of the most common misconceptions among landowners today. In an earlier blog I wrote about evidence that surveyors use to retrace a boundary location. Fences certainly can be part of that evidence. That does not mean, however, that a landowner should assume that a fence is built on the property line. Fences have been built for many reasons, containing livestock or pets, providing a visual barrier, even just plain ol’ decoration. Sometimes a fence may be built to mark a boundary line but my experience says this is more often the exception than the rule. Many properties have utility easements or building setback lines along their perimeter and fences are often built along those lines instead of the actual property line. If you didn’t personally build the fence in question, it would be better to assume that it is NOT on the property line. At least that way you won’t get yourself into trouble later for building your fence on the adjoiner’s property. Many landow...

I hear this question a lot from landowners who have GPS technology at their disposal. Either a handheld “navigational” GPS or even an iPhone app that shows GPS coordin ates. The question is fair enough but the answer is most usually, PLEASE DON’T! A surveyor can, and does, use GPS equipment to record a coordinate value for points that he/she has surveyed. When a surveyor later retraces the location of that property corner, all evidence recovered must be evaluated in order to recover or replace the corner. That evidence comes in many forms: physical monuments, artificial monuments, distances or bearings. Coordinates are another form of evidence that can be considered by the retracing surveyor. However, the coordinate value is lower in importance than any other form of evidence with the exception of area (acreage). To consider GPS coordinates as the only source to replace or locate a property corner would be a serious error and one that would most likely result in the ...

On April 9, my wife and I were invited to view the release of a Bald Eagle by WildCare Foundation of Oklahoma at Lake Arcadia in Edmond, OK. Wild Care rehabilitates injured wild animals and release them back into the wild. The female Bald Eagle was injured when she was struck by an 18-wheeler on the Indian Nation Turnpike in Southeastern Oklahoma. She suffered a a concussion, broken wing, shattered leg and lacerated liver. Wild Care rehabilitated her and nursed her back to health with the expertise of Dr. Joe Carter of Oklahoma Equine Hospital. Saturday she was to be released back into the wild and we were able to attend and Michelle took some spectacular pictures of the Eagle being released. The event was surreal. If you have ever been this close to a wild Bald Eagle, you know what I mean. They are beautiful and majestic animals. Congress got this one right when they adopted the Bald Eagle as the national emblem of the United States in 1782. When she flew over our hea...