Does Your Land Surveyor Have Experience in Land Surveying Services in Los Angeles?

Land surveying is a complex profession. While determining land boundaries may seem simple enough from the outside, the job requires in-depth knowledge and technical skill to be done right and accurately. When searching for land surveying services, make sure that they have the following skills and qualities:

• One of the most important factors you should look into when finding a land surveyor to do your land survey is experience—this should cover experience not only in the profession, but experience in doing surveys within the state you wish to buy or develop land in. While most technical skills required for the job can be learned in the course of surveyor’s educational career, some skills can’t be acquired any other way except by doing actual jobs. This is where apprenticeship under a more experienced surveyor comes to place. It is often said that land surveying is both an art and a science, and the “art” aspect of the profession can only be learned by experience in the job.
  
• Legal expertise. Another critical thing you should look for in a good land surveyor is legal expertise. He or she is expected not only to know the ins and outs of the law, but also how to apply its principles in determining land boundaries. Your land surveyor is your first line of defense against any litigation involving your property. Because the primary duty of land surveyors is for the most part, to the public, he or she is obliged to ensure proper locations of lands and must therefore be duly licensed—required exams for which, have tough standards and high failure rates. This is why having a licensed and experienced land surveyor doing your due diligence land surveying is invaluable in any property investment or development you may be planning to push or pursue.

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The Importance and Standards for ALTA Surveying Services

Most of the lenders need a little research before financing the acquisition of any commercial property. In such cases, the survey requirements are not as common as they are for other requirements. In a property which is not obtained with enough research may disclose some issues later. There are many surveys that should be considered for the purpose but boundary surveys and ALTA (American Land Title Association) surveys are the most preferred ones.

ALTA surveys and boundary surveys are performed with some minimum standards adopted jointly by the ALTA (American Land Title Association) and ACSM (American Congress on Surveying and Mapping). The surveyor has to depend on these standards for preparing a survey that correlates with the rights and needs of the property purchaser, financer and title insurer.

ALTA surveys are costlier than any type of the survey but they are more intensive and offer comprehensive and detailed information. It provides information about property boundaries, easements, and improvements like fences, trails, roads, and other features which may affect the future ownership of the property. These features may need further investigation as there may be the potential for errors to result in the possibility of adverse rights and infringement. An ALTA survey also shows modes of access, zoning classification, and flood zone classification of the property. Common surveys like boundary surveys often lack the level of detail that is required for the evaluation of property which is necessary for commercial real estate purchasers and lenders.

Lenders and real estate purchasers use ALTA surveys to ensure that their security interests and investments are protected from adverse claims that cannot be discovered by a common survey or research. The information generated through ALTA surveys assist the lender and the purchaser with the information about potential risks and benefits that come with the ownership of the property.

In the process, the lender may want the surveyor to draft a legal description of the property so that the drafted legal description can be compared to the legal description in the title commitment. If they do not match then there is a problem that needs to be addressed.

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Significance of ALTA/ACSM Land Title Surveys

An ALTA survey is a type of land title survey product that meets the needs of title insurers in order to remove standard survey exceptions from the current/existing title policy. The American Land Title Association is the main proponent of this particular land survey product, and it aims to provide both buyer and lender with relevant information concerning the present and future use of the land in question as well as the different restrictions and encumbrances, which can –potentially affect the property. The information contained in an ALTA land survey allows lenders and buyers to evaluate the property and at the same time analyze all the potential benefits and risks of owning it.

Officially, the stated purpose of this particular survey is to remove from the property’s title insurance policy, the “survey exception language,” which is supposed to benefit both the owner and the lender’s title insurance coverage. In simpler terms, this is referred to as providing an extended coverage.

The extent that one can deviate from these standards depends on the title insurer’s willingness to provide the coverage required by the lender or the buyer for the property transaction. ALTA surveys are commonly used as underwriting tools on succeeding property transactions. An ALTA survey also provides relevant information to interested parties, answering concerns and questions in an official and unbiased manner.

Generally, an ALTA survey provides information including:

• Surveyor findings about the proper and actual boundaries of the property.

• Observed easements and any easements and exceptions stated in the title commitment.

• Significant observations about the property, which may include utilities, improvements, and public access; and

• Specific information relating to zoning, topography, flood hazard concerns, and parking configurations.

People who plan on selling properties may also use ALTA surveys for protection against potential claims from buyers or lenders after the conveyance of the property title.