Do the banks in your state require a survey for the property they are mortgaging?
They don't in Washington State, that I know of, do they in your state?
Cheers,
Douglas
Nope in VA. It sure would be nice though. I think they discussed it back in the late 80's, but that's all I know.
In Oklahoma there is no requirement although most will have a Mortgage Inspection Certificate done before closing. This is signed and sealed by a PLS but it is not a survey and it requires a specific wording stating this on the certificate.
This product varies widely across the state. From full blown surveys to merely a drive by survey. In Lawton the company that does them provides a full boundary survey and will show everything including fences, pools and such. I've seen some around OKC that are a box with a house on it and very little else. Reportedly, one of the companies in the city has crews that do around 10-15 of these per day.
But in fairness they have been doing this for over 50 years and likely many of the places have been done multiple times by them. Drive by and see if it appears that anything has changed. If not then change the date on the MIC and out the door it goes.
All this applies to non-commercial properties though. I think it's pretty standard to get either and ALTA or a full blown survey for commercial stuff.
I cant' vouch for banks statewide, but on a local level the "National" bank requires surveys on each and every property that they consider loaning money on. The "State" bank, however, does not. But to be fair, as I understand things, it was only because of the attorney that handles all the "National" bank's real estate transactions that they operate this way.
In Maine the answer is no.
ALTA Survey
Isn't an ALTA a loan survey
Sometimes for homes. It depends from bank to bank and title companies.
A more disturbing trend I have seen is on the commercial front.
Schools have been getting State monies for new buildings. It's called "Building Excellent Schools Today" or B.E.S.T. funding. They have been requiring an ALTA for the investors, but the surveyor gets asked not to finalize until they can place the proposed building on the ALTA. The surveyor is asked to provide a description of the building 5' outside of the building footprint with access on the ALTA.
Now they have been shifting from the building footprint to actually creating a description of a tract that contains the new building.
An example is a school campus may have 4.5 acres and they want to build on an old ballfield. The ballfield gets a description. They are using these descriptions as collateral for the funding. No subdivision process is taking place with the description. What will happen if the school defaults on the money loaned? A forced division or they foreclose on the entire property?
I have had realtors doing it with their own property. They are looking to refi or get a loan on only a portion of their land and not encumber the entire parcel. I'm seeing a lot of attorneys getting hefty fees in the near future.
They seem to be trying to avoid the subdivision regulations in the counties and cities. The bank will foreclose on the entire parcel, not just the piece that was described.
Fools.
There is no requirement for a boundary survey. At their own option, some lenders will insist on the despicable Mortgagee Title Inspection by a surveyor. This is comparable to an ILC or Improvement Location Certificate. All it really amounts to is assuring the lender that the primary structure(s) exists, more or less, on the property being mortgaged.