ALTA/ACSM Standards

Please send questions/comments you may have about the standards to NSPS Executive Director Curt Sumner via email at curtis.sumner@nsps.us.com. Responses will be posted in NSPS News and Views.

Question:

We’ve been asked to prepare an ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey covering multiple parcels and owners from an accumulation of multiple title commitments.  We typically prepare unsigned “base maps” based on the individual commitments, but complete the actual ALTA/ACSM Survey only after there has been a Pro Forma commitment prepared that wraps all of the individual title commitments into one.  Because of the timing of this particular project, we have been asked to complete the Survey from the individual title commitments before the final consolidated Pro Forma is issued.  Will the title companyl accept such an ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey without the Pro Forma?  What else should we be concerned with?   Can an ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey be based upon more than one title commitment?  It would also be awkward trying to label the individual parcels and exceptions on the Survey.  Do you have any thoughts about such a request?   What items should we be concerned about?  How might you reply?

Answer:

This is interesting – we usually never see a Pro Forma of the combined parcels.  In any event, it is not uncommon, and is certainly not wrong, to prepare the survey based on the individual title commitments, and reference each parcel and commitment separately.   Some thoughts/comments:

1.       If you usually do the survey relying on a combined pro forma commitment, ask the title company if they will accept it referencing the individual commitments.  I’m guessing they will.

2.       Make sure the individual parcels and easements are identified clearly, perhaps by using some sort of coding for the parcels and easements (e.g.,  “The parcel identified as ‘A’ is described in Schedule A of Chicago Title Insurance Company Title Commitment 123456; and all easements identified with the prefix ‘A’ (i.e., A-8, A-14, etc.) are the exceptions as numbered in title commitment no. 123456.  The parcel identified as ‘B’ is described in Schedule A of Chicago Title Insurance Company Title Commitment No. 789123; and all easements identified with the prefix ‘B’ (i.e., B-6, B-13, etc.) are the exceptions as numbered in title commitment no. 789123.”)

3.       Make sure that the client and lender will be fine with this.  It is my experience that sometimes they may want a separate survey for each parcel being acquired.