Can I Get a Survey of Just One Property Line?

If you only need to know where one side of your property is located, asking for a survey of just that one property line may seem perfectly reasonable.

Maybe you are planning to install a fence. Maybe your neighbor’s fence, landscaping, sprinkler system, driveway, or other improvement appears to cross onto your property. Or perhaps you simply want to know exactly where one side of your property ends.

We frequently hear some version of the same question:

“I don’t need a full boundary survey. Can you just survey this one line?”

It is an understandable question. After all, if a property has four sides and you are only concerned about one of them, it may seem like surveying one side should require only a fraction of the work — and therefore cost much less.

Unfortunately, property boundaries do not work that way.

A Property Line Is Part of a Larger Boundary

A property line does not exist independently from the rest of the parcel.

Its location is established in relation to the legal description of the property, record information, property corners and monuments, adjoining boundaries, field measurements, and other available boundary evidence.

That means a land surveyor cannot simply measure the fence, hedge, wall, or other feature that happens to be near the area in question and declare it to be the property line.

The surveyor first needs sufficient evidence to determine where the legal boundary is actually located.

This is especially important when the reason for requesting the survey is a possible disagreement with a neighbor.

Why Can’t the Surveyor Just Find the Two Corners?

This is another common question.

If two property corners appear to define the line you are interested in, it might seem that the surveyor could simply locate those two corners, connect them, and be finished.

But finding something that looks like a property corner is not necessarily the same as determining that it is the correct controlling boundary monument.

A professional boundary determination may require reviewing the property’s legal description and relevant records, searching for existing monuments, taking field measurements, considering evidence of occupation, and comparing the field evidence with the record information.

Florida’s Standards of Practice for boundary surveys require surveyors to perform appropriate record research and field investigation and to evaluate the evidence used to establish property boundaries.

In other words, the surveyor needs enough information to support the professional conclusion that the line being shown is actually where the property boundary belongs.

“But I Only Care About One Side”

And that is completely fine.

You may only care about one property line.

But the surveyor still has to perform enough professional work to determine where that line is located.

That distinction is important.

Think of a boundary survey as a connected puzzle. If someone tears one piece away from the rest of the picture, the piece does not contain enough information by itself to establish where it belongs.

Property boundaries work in much the same way.

The line that matters to you is part of the boundary of the entire parcel.

Does That Mean Surveying One Line Costs One-Quarter of a Boundary Survey?

Usually, no.

Much of the work involved in determining a property boundary is not simply the physical act of measuring the length of each side.

A survey may involve research, locating and evaluating monuments, field measurements, analyzing boundary evidence, calculations, drafting, and professional review.

Those steps do not automatically disappear because the property owner is primarily interested in only one side of the property.

That is why the cost of professional surveying is based on the work necessary to reliably determine the boundary — not simply on the number of property lines the client wants to see.

What If There Is a Dispute With My Neighbor?

This is actually one of the situations where having reliable boundary information becomes especially important.

A fence, hedge, sprinkler head, landscaping feature, shed, driveway, or other visible improvement does not necessarily establish the legal property boundary.

Before moving a fence, removing landscaping, confronting a neighbor, or making decisions based on an assumed property line, obtaining a professional boundary survey can provide much clearer information about the location of the property boundary and nearby improvements.

A survey cannot resolve every disagreement between neighbors, and a land surveyor does not determine ownership or settle legal disputes. But an accurate boundary survey can provide important factual information about the location of the property boundaries.

The Bottom Line: Why You Can’t Survey One Property Line Alone

If you call a land surveyor because you only need to know where one property line is located, that is perfectly understandable.

But determining that one line may still require investigation and measurements involving other parts of the property.

You may only need the answer to one question:

“Where is my property line?”

The surveyor’s job is to make sure the answer is based on sufficient evidence — not simply on what appears to be the nearest fence, monument, hedge, or corner.

Straight Horizon, LLC provides professional boundary surveying services throughout Central Florida. If you need reliable information about your property boundaries for a fence, property improvement, real estate transaction, or other purpose, contact us to request a quote.