ALTA is the "voice of the abstract and title insurance industry." ACSM was an organization of surveyors and mappers. ACSM has since been rolled into the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS).
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Since the early 1960's Land Surveyors have been conducting ALTA Land Surveys on all types of commercial or retail projects. While there are numerous other types of surveying projects, these are distinctive, particularly because a different set of standards need to be adhered to in order to complete the survey properly. Consider that an ALTA Land Survey is performed according to standards that were developed jointly by a couple of different professional organizations, namely the American Land Title Association (ALTA) and the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM).
What are the ALTA/ACSM Standards? Generally they are a specifications relevant to surveys of mostly commercial properties to insure that this type of surveys are similar to those surveys done for projects in other parts of the United States.
While this might appear to be cumbersome, it actually delivers more consistency over the number of land survey drawings which are examined. You can find one or two states who do not have land survey standards, however most all do have them. The problem is the fact that they tend to be all unique, and an individual who might be given the task of assessing the surveys out of quite a few states in America will likely be overwhelmed.
The ALTA Land Surveys are not a legal stipulation. Federal regulation does not legislate implementing the ALTA specifications. The application of these ALTA Survey specifications usually are a requirement of the lending institution for that particular property or development. These types of projects may include fast food chains, department stores, hotels, apartment complexes, shopping centers, or convenience stores. As we mentioned previously, these ALTA Surveys are not specifically required, however , the total amount of money associated makes the surveys a wise idea. Going without an ALTA land survey, is just not the best idea.
On a somewhat connected matter, most home buyers, on the advise of the banks and/or attorneys, have begun to forego completing a survey of their property when they are praparing close on the mortgage loan. But, when they have a look at their title coverage, they are going to discover that they aren't protected against "anything which would possibly be located with an actual land survey." Therefore, basically, that they will not be covered with insurance against a major problem like conflicting deeds, property line encroachments, gaps in survey records, etc.. An ALTA Land Title Survey brings this valuable peace of mind to the financial institutions. And so, if your lending companies feel the need for this important reassurance, then why wouldn't the property owner prefer the equivalent insurance? What i'm saying is, it is the greatest outlay of money which many people will make throughout their life time.
Accuracy and Precision
ALTA Land Survey criteria are quite rigorous. As an example, prior to the survey the land surveyor will need to review deed research, to find any kind of boundary overlaps, or other boundary issue which needs to be contained on the property survey drawing.
Examples of the other elements of the ALTA survey are:
Identify all monuments
Locate adjoining right-of-ways, including their width
Locate all other apparent access on or through the parcel
Identify possession or occupation lines
Identify improvements within five feet of all the property lines
Identify encroaching structures upon or off the land
Location of all buildings
Locate discovered evidence of unrecorded easements
Locate items shown on Table A by the client
The survey must satisfy Relative Positional Precision requirements
Some of the components of the alta survey drawing are:
Show all recorded easements and those discovered on the ground
Indicate differences between recorded and measured distances
Show gaps or overlaps between the subject parcel and adjacent boundary lines
Clearly show zoning or local regulation info which could have an affect on the anticipated use
The drawing needs to be minimum size and scale
The survey drawing must include the exact certification contained inside the ALTA specifications
Show elements marked on Table A as requested by the client or lender