That is my point.  For mortage surveys I usually don't charge any were near $400.  But for a boundary survey, like the last one I did, the title work cost over $1,000.  I was asked to resurvey a mineral claim that was on the market as recreational property.  The orginal survey was done inn 1894 and was over a illegal town site that was created two years before the federal patent was issued for the mineral claim.  Lots were sold out of the town site through quit claim deeds and there were hundreds of people who though they owned property out of the town site since they received a deed via probate.  The claims were located in a narrow valley with an elevation of 8,000 feet, with one very rough road as access to the center of the valley.  The north and south ends of the mining claim averaged 600 feet above the center of the claim. The area had been burnt out in 1922 and subject to over a hundred years of errosion and deep snows as well as the mining activity.  This type of work requires specalized knowledge and can not be driven by a "date of sale" and sure as heck can't be done for $500.  Also the property sold for around a quarter of a million, after I completed my survey, which made the title company a lot more comfortable.