Option Contract on portion of existing lot

[Phil Councilor]

I may set up an option contract for a portion of an existing lot.  For those of you who have done this before, did you get everything surveyed so you know what boundaries to put in the option contract, or did you contact the attorney first and then get things surveyed?

I wonder if there has to be a surveyed demarcation on the contract or if a lawyer can draw something up that says "half of the existing lot" or something similar and then you get a new property line surveyed.

I don't want to get left holding the bag on surveyor fees if the current landowner changes his mind before a contract is in place.