ALTA/ACSM Standards

When the ACSM Bulletin magazine was still in publication it included a column call "ALTA/ACSM Standards." In the column, Gary Kent, who is Chair of both the NSPS ALTA/ACSM Committee and the joint ALTA/NSPS/Lenders Council Committee, responded to questions raised about some aspect of the standards. NSPS has reinstated this column in ANSPS News & Views on a regular (if not weekly) basis.

Please send questions/comments you may have about the standards to NSPS Executive Director Curt Sumner via email at curtis.sumner@nsps.us.com.

In a recent edition of NSPS News & Views, our resident ALTA/ACSM survey expert responded to the question below. Subsequently, we received the perspective of another friend, Ed Pagan, an attorney who provides advice to surveyors.  

QUESTION:

I have a question about ALTA/ACSM Land Title Surveys for sites that are rapidly changing, i.e. under construction. We are surveying a property that was formerly a large retail store – it was demolished this summer, along with much of the parking lot. Our client’s corporate requirements require an ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey, and they are asking for it now. But at this point, the site is now basically a dirt field at sub-grade, with some curb starting to be built for the new parking lot. For the land title survey, should we “back-date” the survey and show the improvements/conditions that existed before demolition? (We do have that information). Or should we just try to map the site as it exists now, and treat it as a current ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey based on conditions at the site on the day of survey?

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I read the question about preparation of an ALTA survey on a site under construction and what should be shown etc.... What jumped out at me immediately is the same old problem that has been the "Achilles Heel" of the surveying profession since I first started lecturing and representing the industry over 20 years ago.  Communication.

This question of what to do, should be answered before the surveyor's crew ever sets foot on the site to take a measurement. What the question really relates to is the legal principle called "meeting of the minds". I submit the following simplified short list of questions to be considered:

What does the client think they want?

After discussion with the client about their desires, needs and expectations, what does the client really want?

Is what the client really want meet what the client really needs?

Are the client's expectations and wants compatible to their needs?

Can the surveyor provide those desired services in a quality fashion within the time frame and budget constraints desired by the client?

Answers to those questions should dictate nature, character and substance of the professional surveying services to be performed and the price. Those are elements of a "contract". Many times the person ordering the ALTA Survey has no clue what is entailed and only knows that an ALTA survey is what corporate, legal or management wants. The surveyor needs to educate the client of their options in order to keep the client expectations in check. What may have started out as a single survey of a site under construction could turn out to be multiple progress surveys with a price tags acceptable to all.

Just a few thoughts.

Respectfully,

Ed

Ed Pagan, Jr., Esquire

Pagan Affiliates, LLC