My client has authorized the release of this material to any interested parties.
This is an actual situation which I see on a daily basis.
The client contacted me wanting a survey performed on his property. We contracted to survey only Lot 1. This is what we found.
6610 Cochran Street.
http://www.hcad.org/iMaps/Tiles/Color/5460C10.pdf Part of it appears here on the upper right hand corner of the Tax mosaic.
http://www.hcad.org/iMaps/Tiles/Color/5460C11.pdf Part of it appears here on the upper left hand corner of the Tax mosaic.
You can get a Google image by searching the address in the maps.
I had an opportunity to present this material so I thought that I would give other Land Surveyors a chance to see what I see all the time. Some Land Surveyors think this type of thing is "small potatoes". Seeing the expression on my client's face when they realize what I have done for them is what makes this worthwhile for me, I don't care what anyone says.
If you don't look, you will not find it. If you don't find it then you are not providing your client with the service and product they need and deserve.
The client has retained a Lawyer in this case but I see little chance of it being litigated. This is one of the reasons why I decided this material should be shown.
I hope you enjoy it and I hope that you have enjoyed my "fictional" tales in the past.
Deward "Karl" Bowles
Texas RPLS
Update 9/7/2013: Was able to contact the Heirs of the original Grantor. They agreed to sign a Correction Deed for no charge. My client hired a Lawyer who prepared the paperwork. They executed the Correction Deed and my client hired me to perform a new Land Survey of the subject tract that now included the area left out of the original Deed to my client.
The original grant to the adjoiner to the South (who filed the Affidavit of Possession and Ownership) by the common Grantor of both properties (the adjoiner and the subject tract) included a clause retaining a 7' strip along the northerly line of the adjoiner (abutting my clients property) for exclusive use by the Grantor and/or their assigns as a "driveway" which I did not notice when I prepared the original Land Survey of the subject tract above.
This means not only was the client able to cure his Title issues but he also gained a 7' easement strip across his neighbor's land. I am certain the neighbor now regrets ever trying to steal my client's land by filing the Affidavit of Ownership and Possession.
Thoughts
Here its very difficult to convince the pepole the depth of our profession,but I do what we have to do but "I am not a popular surveyor" amoung culprits.
I had to use a different browser to view them. Looks like a good job Deward. You have to really dig sometimes to find out what happened. Just digging in the ground isn't enough. You really have to dig into the paperwork and do your research. Sometimes that stuff is hard to put together.
Matt if you look closely at the survey map you will notice that the partially attached garage to the home is on a piece of land not encompassed by the owner's deed.
If you read the Surveyor's Report attached to it you will find that this was a result of an error in the conveyance to the current owner. One individual owned most of the land within this block at one time. They conveyed pieces of it over a period of time until they were left with the subject tract. The individual passed away and their heirs then conveyed the subject tract to the current owner. Unfortunately nobody realized that they had failed to convey ALL the remaining land to the current owner. This left a strip of land in theory still owned by the heirs. The adjoining property owner found out about this condition (apparently through a Title Insurance Firm) and was somehow convinced by them to file an fraudulent Affidavit of Ownership and Possession for the strip of land in question.
I have traced all the records in the Surveyor's Report which positively prove these facts. I am uncertain of the outcome of this particular problem because I am not privy to the legal moves being made at this point. However I wanted to point out that it is not enough to just survey the property that is in the most current deed. If I had done that then my client would be stuck with a survey showing his garage on somebody else's land that does not explain how such a crazy condition like that could have come to exist.
I have proven that this is simply a mistake in the original conveyance to him and have pointed out a way to cure this problem with little or no cost to my client.
I must not have looked close enough: I didn't find it. What exactly did you discover? Encroachment?
Thank you Mr. Purvis. I am just trying to show that you must look....if you don't you will not find it. The minimum standard is not always what is necessary to get to the root of the real problems. You must be willing to go beyond that if you wish to produce a product that the public can actually use.
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