Northeast Civil Solutions Inc

My real estate clients and I have been working with Jim and his team for the past 20+ yrs. Jim is the first person I call when any civil or environmental engineering is needed. I personally hired Jim for 3 projects and he and his team delivered what was needed with guidance and professionalism every time. Jim has extensive knowledge when working in coastal areas as well as navigating complex shore land zone and dune regulations.

I hired this company to do a survey of two rectangular lots in Portland's West End (they are contiguous and combined area less than an acre). They gave me an estimate of $6,000-$6,500, which was twice as high as other estimates I received and did not include the cost of setting markers ($400/each). On the phone they convinced me that the price reflected the quality of their work and that they had the experience necessary to properly survey these two lots which appeared to me to have gone unmarked for over 100 years. I let them know that another neighbor had recently done a survey and suggested that some encroachment may be occurring on one of my lots. They said they were conservative with their estimate and that I should plan on $6,500 plus markers but it could be less. I decided to hire them. I signed the contract and then over 5 months went by (estimated completion was 80 days). One day I received a bill for $10,000 ($8,000 for survey research and admin, $2,000 for markers). When I reached out for an explanation Jim said it was an especially challenging job because of the age of the lots and the encroachment issues. I reminded him that he was fully aware of both issues when he gave me an estimate yet his company did not reach out to me when they knew the work was going way over ($1,200 more than the worst case scenario laid out in the estimate). He was unapologetic. The contract states that the estimates are estimates, and they can charge more without notifying you or justifying the cost. They don't set any pins until you pay. If you don't pay you get a lien on your house. I would not recommend the company to others due to the overall cost, the lack of communication about cost overruns, and the length of time to accomplish the work (6 months total elapsed between contract signed and pins set).