If you're planning to buy a house, you'd better hire someone like Don Prokopetz first. A Surveying Technologist in Surrey, B.C., Don makes sure that property borders lie where everyone thinks they do - and that houses for sale are located on the right property. A former B.C. Hydro employee, Don, 44, now runs a true family business, with his wife and three daughters working for him.


Any time you need to know exactly where a particular point lies on a piece of land - or where the land's boundaries are - you need to have a survey done. Don works mostly for banks, who want to ensure everything is in order on property they have been asked to mortgage.

Surveying has changed drastically over the years. Although the work done in the past was of excellent quality - "bad surveyors don't last," Don says. Today, thanks to improved technology, even better results can be achieved with less labour.

"I can show you a plan from 1926, when they would have been measuring with metal chains," Don explains. "The equipment would have been very simple, but the results are accurate to within inches - it's amazing. In the past you would have had a crew of six guys out there slogging away. Now my wife and I skip out and press a few buttons and we're done."