Survey—do I need one? The commonest mistake made by home buyers is not having a survey done prior to purchasing a property. Why is this a mistake? Without an ALTA (American Land Title Association) survey you have no recourse if at a later date it is found that your fences encroach on a neighbour’s land or that there are rights to easement by one...

Throughout the years, a surveyor’s tool of choice in determining property lines and building sites was the optical transit.  However the electronic theodolite began to replace the optical transit in the 1970’s due to its ability to measure angles more accurately.  By the early 1980’s a new instrument of choice came about called “total stations.” ...