A survey is definitely the first step of your due diligence (I used Kappa, but I’m sure there are many other great companies out there.).
Pay to have extra stakes put in. You’ll likely pay anywhere from 3K to 10K for the whole survey package depending upon lot size. I discovered my neighbor had built the fence two feet over the property line into my yard, for 150 feet! Those extra 300 feet made the difference between being able to build 2 or 3 units in my City of SD property. My property line also went out INTO the street 10 feet deep from a 1940s City dispute, so I also gained footage there.
Also, get SDG&E and your Water dept. to each come out and mark what they can mark (sewer lines, elec lines, etc.). Go to their offices and make copies of any and all maps available. Go to the County–the assessor has a few documents for each property. You didn’t mention a septic field, but I’m assuming you don’t have that problem.
Go to your nearby school district–they should have maps going way back, and if you’re anywhere near a school, your property WILL be on their maps and you can get a copy.
If you’re the first survey in your area and they have difficulty finding other survey points (forget what they’re called), any data you can provide will help your surveyor set precedence for your property’s location.
