Ludlow Engineering and Land Survey

What is an ALTA survey?

ALTA stands for American Land Title Association. The ALTA is a group that represents the land title and title insurance industry. In addition to ALTA, the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) also accepts and conforms to ALTA survey conventions. An ALTA survey is a survey done in such a way that it conforms to ALTA standards. The good thing about this is that most surveyors know and understand this format – so once you get used to reading an ALTA survey you will be able to do it over and over again on subsequent transactions.

What does an ALTA survey contain?

Like any survey, an ALTA survey shows the physical characteristics of the property you are purchasing. The first thing an ALTA survey will give you is a description of the metes and bounds of the property. In other words, the survey will give you the actual description (longitude and latitude) of the property boundaries. Most buyers perform their own survey for due diligence to ensure that the property they are purchasing is the size they thought it was.

An ALTA survey also shows improvements on the property, rights of way on the property, as well as any easements granted by previous property owners. For land that you are considering developing, this is incredibly important. If you have an easement granted to the power company that goes straight through the middle of the property, it may be difficult, or impossible, to develop.

ALTA Survey and Title Insurance

An ALTA Survey and Title Insurance go hand in hand. You need to have a current title commitment before you can complete and ALTA survey. This initial title commitment will provide the initial description of the property.

The title company, however, will need the ALTA survey to be completed to finalize the transaction. When a land title company provides title insurance to you, they are guaranteeing you that there are not any unknown encumbrances on your property. To make that guarantee effectively the title insurance company

will use a survey to help delineate where the existing encumbrances, improvements, and easements are located.

ALTA is acceptable to lenders

One of the most important things about an ALTA survey is that it is approved by a host of different groups for use in transactions. That means that your financial partner will accept the information from an ALTA survey as accurate and can use it to help them determine the financing you will receive. This convention will save you money so that you do not have to conduct a special survey for each of the parties involved.

ALTA Property Title Survey Directors

These are controllers and/or provider of American Land Title Association (ALTA) Surveys across the continental United States to be used in real estate transactions. They will efficiently manage single-site and multi-site transactions, and facilitate the actual co-ordination of surveyors, title, ordering, process, product and delivery.

The ALTA Survey is a in depth map of the property showing all present enhancements of the property, utilities, and substantial observations within the insured property. The survey details the surveyor’s findings in regards to the property limits and how it relates to title. Additionally, it delineates or makes note of all easements as well as exceptions reported inside the title commitment pertaining to insurance of the collateralized party. The survey may also display zoning and flood zone restrictions or areas indicating possible future use of the property. The ALTA survey is a combination of a boundary survey, title survey, and a location survey.

Title Insurers have specific needs related to title insurance matters, and when asked to provide an insurance policy without any exception relating to survey matters, a set of rules was developed between members of ALTA and surveyors. These regulations govern the content of all ALTA surveys and therefore are denoted in the “2005 minimum standard detail requirements for ALTA/ACSM land title surveys” as adopted by American Land Title Association and National Society of Professional Surveyors.

Many real estate transactions, that have a lender along with a buyer, are concerned in regards to the existing conditions and the future use of the properties to which the purchaser is obtaining. The lender and also purchaser require knowledge of any restriction, encumbrances, and benefits to which the property retains. The ALTA Survey provides a map of the existing improvements of the property and accounts the concerns noted above. Their services consist of examination of the initial draft of survey map to meet the standard and optional 2005 ALTA specifications of the project along with adherence to the actual format, and they’ll remit comments to the surveyor for revising. They may also perform inspection of revisions of survey map to meet Clients or other transaction parties as affirmed by Client, and remit comments to surveyor for revision as necessary.The inspection process ensures quality and conformity of survey with a significant reduction of confusion and queries later.

National ALTA Survey Co-ordination is really a required program as well as one that can be very demanding. Leave it up to the professionals to help you today.

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ALTA ACSM Land Survey -

Ludlow Engineering and Land Surveying performs ALTA ACSM Land Survey (s.) Being registered in several states Ludlow covers the Western part of the United states. Being located in Utah, Ludlow performs ALTA ACSM surveys in Utah as well.

Below is an example of an ALTA Survey performed by Ludlow Engineering.