Frequently Asked Questions

It depends on the size of the property, the terrain, and (most importantly) the quality of the existing records. A simple platted lot costs far less than a 100-year-old tract with conflicting legal descriptions. Fill out our quote request form with your address and you will typically have a real price within 24 hours. There is no charge for a quote.

Most residential boundary surveys are completed within a few weeks of scheduling, depending on season and workload. Complex commercial and ALTA surveys take longer because of the research and title work involved. When you request a quote we will give you a realistic timeline along with the price.

If you are building anywhere near a property line or a setback, yes, and it is far cheaper to know the line before you build than to move a fence, or worse, a garage, after a dispute. We can mark the boundary and stake the improvement so your contractor works from the actual line, not a guess.

An ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey is the most comprehensive survey standard in the country, prepared for commercial transactions and lenders. It certifies the boundary, improvements, easements, and title matters to you, your lender, and the title company. If you are buying, financing, or refinancing commercial property, your lender or title company will usually require one.

Start with the evidence, not an argument. A boundary retracement survey researches the original deeds, plats, and monuments and locates the line where the law says it is. GLS holds the largest collection of surveys and land records in Georgia (in many counties better than the courthouse files), which is often what settles the question. If it does end up in court, we also provide testifying expert witness services.

Quite possibly. We have been surveying metro Atlanta continuously since 1955 and are routinely asked to provide missing or illegible records to counties and the court system. If your property has ever been surveyed in that time, there is a good chance the answer is in our archive.

A survey does not expire, but it only shows conditions as of its date. If improvements, easements, or ownership have changed, or if a lender or title company is involved, you will usually need a current survey. If GLS performed the original survey, we stand behind our work and updating it is often faster and less expensive.

LiDAR is laser scanning that captures millions of precise measurements as a 3D point cloud: from our helicopter or UAV for large sites and corridors, from a vehicle for roadways, or from a tripod for structures. Projects use it when conventional field methods cannot capture enough detail efficiently: topographic mapping under tree canopy, as-builts of complex structures, corridor inventories, and terrain modeling.

Yes. GLS carries a $2 million professional liability policy covering every survey we perform, and if you ordered a survey from us in the past, we will always stand behind our work.