There are two types of title policies in general use. They are the standard coverage policy or CLTA form which is limited to those matters that impart constructive notice under the recording laws. That is those matters in the county recorders office that impart constructive notice. If reference to items beyond those constructive notice item csan be done, but only with a special endorsement.
The second form of title policy is the extended coverage policy or an ALTA policy. An ALTA contains everything a standard coverage policy plus those matters disclosed by a prudent inspection of the land. AN ALTA Survey serves as a prudent inspection of the land.
The requirements state that the surveyor only show those matters which have been furnished to him/her.
The land to be surveyed is contained in the legal description contained in the Preliminary ALTA Title Report.
The performing surveyor does not have the authority to only consider a portion of "said land", said land being that described in the Preliminary ALTS Title Report.
If it is decided that only a portion of said land is to be surveyed then the issuing title co. should be requested to issue an amended report covering only the land to be surveyed. If the title co. declines to amend the report then the entire property needs to be surveyed. Some of the reasons to decline such request includes, but not limited to illegal lot split and or a zoning requirement.
Also, any items or changes made by the surveyor become his /her responsibility. By staing with nthe furnished PTR, the title co. is responsible for the information to be show.
Jim Dorsey, PLS
Replies
Dear Jim,
Thanks for starting this topic, ALTA/NSPS survey minimum standard detail requirement are a very good topic for discussion between surveyors, especially since the newest revision this year. I went to www.nsps.us.com/resource/resmgr/ALTA_Standards/2016_Standards.pdf" target="_blank">https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.nsps.us.com/resource/resmgr/ALTA_Standards/2016_Standards.pdf to double check the standards before entering the discussion.
1) I cannot find where "The requirements state that the surveyor only show those matters which have been furnished to him/her." Thanks I did find the following. " the surveyor will be provided with appropriate and, when possible, legible data which can be relied upon in the preparation of the survey." and "if the documents outlined above ... are not provided to the surveyor ... are required to complete the survey, the surveyor shall be required to conduct only that research which is required pursuant to the statutory or administrative requirements ..."
2) Regarding surveying a portion of the land being described: "The remainder of any recorded lot or existing parcel, when the surveyed property is composed of only a portion of such lot or parcel, shall be graphically depicted. Such remainder need not be included as part of the actual survey, except to the extent necessary to locate the lines and corners of the surveyed property, and it need not be fully dimensioned or drawn at the same scale as the surveyed property."
3) Of course, any and all parts of a survey are the responsibility of the surveyor.
Thanks,
JAC
The question is: Who is responsible for the title data the ALTA survey is based on? If one goes behind the title report and supplements the title data then the surveyor may be liable for all title data that he may of missed. It is a much safer practice if you find a deficiency in the title data, even if you believe you know the answer or have identified the missing document, it is most strongly recommended that you notify the title co. and have them send you an amended report. It is important to remember that the title documents are limited to those matters that impart constructive notice under the recording laws of the state. (Part 1 of Schedule B) of the title report or policy. It is also noted that if you show the effect of a document that is not disclosed by constructive notice and there is no evidence on the ground to disclose the existence of the subject of said document then you are presumed to have knowledge of all off record matters. As to not showing all property contained in the Preliminary ALTA Title Report, you may be suggesting to the client that your survey is a legal parcel when in fact it is not. This s especially true in dense urban areas where you may be violating subdivision or zoning requirements. It is better to ask the title co. to amend the title report and provide a new description of the portion of the whole to be surveyed. IF they wont do so, then you are on notice that you may not have a legal parcel. You should also view this with the surveyor's certificate that the client wants you to use on the survey. If you wish any further discussion, please don't hesitate to inquire.
Jim Dorsey
I would agree that anything that seems to amend the explicit title data should be the product of the title company. Especially when the title companies are involved, it is always better to get them to be specific. You know they will assign any liability possible on the surveyor.
There also may be evidence that affects the location of a boundary that isn't title related. That is survey related. It is always a useful thing to remember that the title says what one has a right to own. The survey shows where and often what it is.
JAC