Land Surveyor Blogs

Here is a typical Surveyor's Report attached to many of the jobs that I do. This particular Land Survey was extremely complex and difficult but I thought you might get a kick out of seeing how this is done. The names and other information have been altered to protect the innocent.

SURVEYOR S REPORT

DISCUSSION

The parent tract of the subject tract was originally described by Deed to Weldon L. Wells August 31, 1955 recorded in Volume 3014, Page 724 of the Deed Records of Harris County, Texas. The subject tract was originally severed from the parent tract by vesting Deed from Weldon L. Wells to Wells Brothers Garage, Inc. dated February 3, 1963 recorded in Volume 5019, Page 165 of the Deed Records of Harris County, Texas and contains the controlling deed element call “being the North 65 ft. of the same property described ... Vol. 3014, Page 724 of the Harris County Deed Records.” This controlling deed element call conflicts with other locative elements of the subject tract vesting Deed (the bearing calls) but this Land Surveyor believes it reflects the true intent of the conveyance made.

The ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey prepared by this Land Surveyor is based on the vesting deed description of the subject tract recorded in Volume 5019, Page 165 of the Deed Records of Harris County, Texas. Calls shown on this survey are calls from this originally severed description of the subject tract. The description of the subject tract in the Title Commitment provided was ignored by this Land Surveyor and is recited for purposes of transparency in Attachment “A” to this ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey, under the heading “Provided Description.”

The approximate remainder tract of the parent tract was subsequently conveyed by Weldon L. to Dohnalik and Gregory dated September 30, 1976 and recorded in Harris County Clerk’s File No. E906316. This means the approximate remainder tract to the south of the subject tract is junior to the subject tract. Harris County Clerk’s File No. E906316 contains the deed element call “being the South 73.2 ft. of that same property described....Vol. 3014, Page 724 of the Harris County Deed Records.” However, in this case, you cannot sell what you do not own. It is presumed that the intent of this instrument was to convey whatever land was left out of the parent tract after the subject tract conveyance, recorded in Volume 5019, Page 165 of the Deed Records of Harris County, Texas.

The north line and the south line of the parent tract are not parallel. There is enough length along the west side (Oak Forest Drive side) of the parent tract to accommodate the distance calls for the subject tract and the approximate remainder tract. However, there is not enough length along the east line of the parent tract to accommodate the distance calls of the subject tract and the approximate remainder tract. The subject tract description and the approximate remainder tract of the parent tract description overlap as a result, creating a triangular area of record confusion. There is no overlap at the west end of the triangular area of record confusion and 7.55 feet of overlap on the east end of the triangular area of record confusion.

Various descriptions have been written for the subject tract and the approximate remainder tract since their original conveyances and filed for Public Record. The subject tract chain of title containing those descriptions is as follows:

Wells Brothers Garage, Inc. to Richard W. Syer, trustee dated November 14, 1986 recorded in Harris County Clerk’s File No. K845814.

Richard W. Syer, trustee to A. W. Engelo dated January 7, 1988 recorded in Harris County Clerk’s File No. L494867.

A.W. Engelo to Anthony John Pucci, Jr. dated August 11, 2009 recorded in Harris County Clerk’s File No. 20090362575.

John Pucci, Jr. to Hollow Fedar GP, LLC dated September 16, 2009 recorded in Harris County Clerk’s File No. 20090421891.

Hollow Fedar GP, LLC to Lawrence Selliot dated December 14, 2009. Lawrence Selliot to Sallar Varela Holdings LP dated November 19, 2013 recorded in Harris County Clerk’s File No. 20130583273.

and finally, Sallar Varela Holdings LP to Michael Ralph Mress and Shaniece O’ Rear Mress September 18, 2017 recorded in Harris County Clerk’s File No. RP-2017-409319 as Tract 1.

Apparently this triangular area of record confusion was discovered sometime after the conveyance of the approximate remainder tract to Mecoop Designs, LLC dated October 4, 2016 recorded in Harris County Clerk’s File No. RP-20160448136. Sallar Varela Holdings, LP was the owner of the subject tract at that time and unfortunately an attempt was made by them along with Mecoop Designs, LLC to fix the triangular area of record confusion resulting in a conveyance from Mecoop Designs, LLC to Sallar Varela Holdings, LP, for a 286 square foot triangular strip of land, dated August 14, 2017 recorded in Harris County Clerk’s File No. RP-2017-366763, being a triangular strip south of the northerly line of the apparent triangular area of record confusion.

This conveyance of the triangular strip was only for a portion of the apparent triangular area of record confusion leaving an additional 579 square foot (more or less) triangular area of record confusion unresolved. The triangular strip out of the triangular area of record confusion was conveyed by Sallar Varela Holdings, LP to Michael Ralph Mress and Shaniece O.’Rear Mress as Tract 2 in Harris County Clerk’s File No. RP-2017-409319.

CONCLUSIONS

The subject tract is senior to the approximate remainder tract and has superior written title to the 579 square foot (more or less) triangular area of record confusion left unresolved by the conveyance of the 286 square foot triangular tract of land described in Harris County Clerk’s File No. RP-2017-366763. Surveys of the subject tract dated September 9, 2016 and the approximate remainder tract dated November 12, 2009, performed by Flybynight Surveyors (a.k.a. Fly By Night Land Surveying) and provided to this Land Surveyor, are in error, overlap and fail to explain how material discrepancies and conflicts in the record instruments depicted on those surveys were resolved. Further, these surveys fail to conform to the intent of the original conveyances of the parcels of land in question and generally do not meet the minimum standards set forth in Codified Law for Land Surveys performed in the State of Texas.

WARNINGS, OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

It is necessary to consider possession, equity and other factors to determine the true boundary between the subject tract and the approximate remainder tract and the power to judge those matters does not reside with this Land Surveyor. Any agreement or judgement as to the location of the true boundary between the subject tract and the approximate remainder tract should fix the location of that line (unlike the apparent attempt to eliminate the problem in Harris County Clerk’s File No. RP-2017-366763).

It could be argued that the conveyance in Harris County Clerk’s File No. RP-2017-366763 in fact did fix the true boundary line between the subject tract and the approximate remainder tract but the instrument does not expressly provide the Public with this information. Extrinsic evidence would be needed, in this Land Surveyor’s opinion, to prove that. If such an argument prevailed, this would make the true boundary between the subject tract and the approximate remainder tract located along the southerly line of the 286 square foot tract of land described in Harris County Clerk’s File No. RP-2017-366763, contrary to the results of this survey.

Land Surveyor recommends the owner of the subject tract and the owner of the approximate remainder tract form an agreement as to the location of the true boundary line between them and such agreement then be reduced to writing and filed for Public Record.

There is sufficient evidence to suggest that the Land Surveyors who performed the previous surveys (within the last ten years) on the subject tract and the approximate remainder tract, could be held financially and professionally responsible for the problems with the boundaries outlined in this Surveyor’s Report. A Professional Land Surveyor competent in matters of Land Surveyor negligence should be consulted before such recourse is considered.

This Land Surveyor is not a Lawyer and any advice perceived as legal in nature, given above, should be viewed in that light. The advice of this Land Surveyor is that of a layman who is not competent concerning matters of Law.

Job No. H59595

Preliminary, this document shall not be recorded for any purpose and shall not be used, viewed or relied upon as a final survey document.

_____________________

Deward Karl Bowles RPLS No. 4966

This report is based on the ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey and plat made by Deward Karl Bowles, Registered Professional Land Surveyor No. 4966, on January 9, 2018