|
It is now generally required that an ALTA survey be provided on commercial
real estate involved in a transaction. Just what is an ALTA survey?
By referring to an 'ALTA survey' what we're talking about is a land survey that meets the
specifications set forth in the ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey Specifications.ALTA is the American Land Title Association, and ACSM is the American
Congress on Surveying and Mapping
While some may recognize an ALTA survey as being more detailed, or others might believe
that it is something like the 'Cadillac' of surveys, it is really just a survey that meets
certain requirements. These misunderstandings may arise because the specifications are
several pages long, and contain several different sections.
In the body of the specifications, there is outlined a set of 'base' specifications that
all such surveys must meet. This is followed by a lengthy Table A, which sets forth
Optional Items that may also be required.
The optional items should be worked out between the surveyor and the client. One cannot
simply specify all of the optional items, as they all do not apply to all situations.
While the ALTA requirements are quite comprehensive, there may be other requirements that
dictate the inclusion of certain optional items that the client is not concerned with. One
such example would be Item 1, which refers to the setting of monuments at property
corners. While this may not be important to all of the parties to a transaction, state
laws may very well require them to be set.
The most current revision of these specifications is dated
October of 1999. You can view
or download the official version of these specification in PDF format.
You can also view the 1999
ALTA/ACSM Land Title Specifications in HTML format. |
