ALTA/ACSM Benefits and Its Utilities

Information may not be reliable

ALTA/ACSM are accredited land title and due diligence surveys meant for commercial purposes. In conducting these surveys, experienced and licensed land surveying companies follow a set of standard codes developed by the National Society of Professional Surveyors (formerly the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping or ACSM) and the American Land Title Association. To ensure compliance with the standards set by authorized institutions and government agencies. ALTA/ACSM surveys offer assurance against any unseen circumstances that could affect the value or use of a commercial property. Here are the benefits and uses of these surveys:

• Uniform standards make it easier for any institution to refer to these surveys – The standards of ALTA/ACSM are constant nationwide, so any title company can easily review their results to prepare title insurance, while lowering the financial risk of lenders and property owners. The results of the survey are widely accepted by insurance companies when used for claims or as documentation proofs.

• Provide reliable documentation about the land to lenders – ALTA/ACSM surveys are mandatory if you need to borrow funding from a financial institution or lender. That way, lenders can protect their investments and security interests from adverse claims. The results may assist you and your lender in evaluating the commercial property for benefits and potential risks of owning it, too.

• The surveys reveal easements and encroachments on a commercial property – Encroachments occur when a neighbor builds something on your land, whether accidental or deliberate. To avoid lawsuits, you should not build on a neighboring property’s land, too. Hence, it is essential to conduct the ALTA/ACSM survey to determine potential encroachments, so you can avoid them before you start building anything. The information from the survey can help you make revisions on your blueprints and adjust your structure to keep it within your land. 

• Get all the necessary information and facts before you build anything – ALTA/ACSM surveys can help you make informed decisions based on information on city and county zoning laws, the property’s height limitations and requirements, and setback requirements. They can provide information on property easements and boundaries, and they may offer suggestions to improve the land with trails, fences, rights of ways, and roads. Information on the land’s other features will be covered by the survey, too, and these may be crucial if those factors can determine or affect ownership.

• Conducted for investigations on the land – Information from ALTA/ACSM survey results can tell more about the land where property adverse rights are suspected and must be investigated.

About the Author:

Armando Dupont, a professional land surveyor, started his career in surveying in 1977 and has extensive experience in managing personnel and projects. His experience includes: topographic mapping, boundary surveys and analysis, construction and control surveying, preparation of tract and parcel maps, earth work calculation and quantities, targeting and control for photogrammetric, and land title surveys in accordance with the American Land Title Association and the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. Mr. DuPont founded Calvada Surveying, Inc. in 1989 and is a licensed Professional Land Surveyor in the State of California.