What precisely are the ALTA/ACSM standards?

Since the early 1960's Land Surveyors have been performing ALTA Surveys on all types of commercial or retail land. While there are numerous other kinds of surveys, these are distinctive, notably because a different set of standards need to be met in order to meet the project requirements. Consider that an ALTA Land Survey is completed based on standards that were created jointly by two different organizations, namely the American Land Title Association (ALTA) and the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM).

ALTA is the "voice of the abstract and title insurance industry." ACSM was an organization of land surveyors. ACSM has since been rolled into the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS).

What are the ALTA/ACSM Standards? Quite simply they are a principles linked to property surveys to make sure that these particular land surveys are equivalent to those done in any part of the United States.

While this might seem to be inconvenient, it actually delivers more evenness over the multitude of survey drawings which happen to be considered. There are actually some states which don't have standards for the performance of land surveys, but the majority do have standards for land surveyors to follow. The problem is they can be all very different, and someone who has in charge of checking the surveys from lots of locations might be baffled.

The ALTA Land Title Surveys are actually not a federal stipulation. Federal guidelines do not require the use of the ALTA/ACSM guidelines. The utilization of the ALTA Land Survey guidelines are often a requirement of the lending organization on the particular land or construction project. These developments could include hotels, shopping centers, or fast food chains. Even as we suggested earlier, these ALTA Land Surveys are not required, but the sheer amount of cash that's involved makes the alta surveys a wise idea. Not completing an ALTA land survey, is absolutely not a good idea.

On a somewhat related matter, most house purchasers, on the advise of their mortgage lenders and attorneys, have started to skip completing a survey of their property whenever they prepare to close on their purchase. But, in the event they check out their title insurance, they will probably recognize that they won't be covered against "anything which would be located by the peformance of a good survey." Which means, in effect, that they won't be covered by insurance against a major problem such as an encroachment, or an unrecorded easement, or a boundary line conflict. The ALTA survey brings this certainty to lenders. So, if the financial institutions want to have this important security, then why not the owner of a house prefer that same guarantee? After all, it's actually the most significant expenditure of money which most folks will likely make in their lives.

Precision

ALTA Land Title Survey requirements tend to be fairly tight. For instance, before any property survey the surveyor will review thorough deed research, including adjoiners, to spot any type of boundary overlaps, as well as other boundary matter that needs to be required on the land survey drawings.

Examples of the other components of the land survey are: Locate all monuments Identify adjoining rights-of-way, including their width Identify all the obvious access onto or through the parcel Identify possession or occupation lines Locate improvements on the outside 5-feet of the property lines Locate encroaching structures onto or off the boundary Position of all of the buildings Locate discovered evidence of unrecorded easements Identify items marked on Table A by client The survey must meet Relative Positional Precision guidelines

Some of the parts of the alta survey drawings are: Indicate all recorded easements along with those observed on the land Clearly show discrepancies between recorded and measured distances Illustrate gaps or overlaps between the subject parcel and neighboring property lines Illustrate zoning or community ordinance info that might impact the proposed use The drawing is required to be minimum size and scale The survey drawing needs to incorporate the specific certification listed within the ALTA Land Title Survey guidelines Show items marked on Table A as requested by the client