I want to ask What statement do you use when you perform a survey without the benefit of a Title Commitment Policy? I have been using the simple statement "This surveyed performed without the benefit of a Title Commit Policy" I know there have to be better statements with better legal protection out there
I'm in a recording state and as such I see plenty of other surveyors products. There aren't many with any kind of statement of this sort and I've never heard of it becoming a problem. So I wonder if it is really necessary at all. Nevertheless, if you believe it is, I have two comments:
First, "Title Reports" are specific things only issued when there is title insurance being issued - ie/when property changes hands. Title companies offer other products under various headings that look very much like title reports, that we surveyors refer to as title reports, and that serve the same purpose as a title report for surveyors, but are not, in fact, title reports.
Second, there is the idea of "informed consent". A statement like the one you have been using probably has no meaning to the average land owner - your client. They cannot be expected to understand the ramifications of your statement. So it is unlikely to be any comfort to you in litigation. I suggest that you pump it up quite considerably with something on the order of "easements and rights of way may exist which are not depicted on this survey" or some such.
Last I knew the NYS Association of Professional Land Surveyors is proposing the following language to their revised minimum standards:
THIS SURVEY WAS PERFORMED WITHOUT
THE BENEFIT OF A CURRENT ABSTRACT
OF TITLE OR DOCUMENTS FROM A TITLE
SEARCH AND IS THEREFORE SUBJECT TO
WHATEVER STATE OF FACTS THAT MAY
BE REVEALED IN SUCH REPORTS
Licensed Land Surveyor
Finger Lakes Region, Upstate New York
Bigger question is when was the last time a title commitment was beneficial?
You can get the same schedule B documents that a title company would produce for a title commitment without the purchase of title insurance. You just have to pay for the informational title work. They produce the same documents but take on no liability for insuring the title. Still, as with the documents produced by title insurance, they often do not include all relevant documents of public record.
"This survey does not reflect the results of a current title report and may not be a complete representation of all easements and encumbrances."
I don't view this statement as a way to side-step liability. It's more about recognizing that very few folks know what a survey is and how it's performed. As I've learned from this site, there's a significant variation between states in regards to the process of deed research. I'm also aware that a surprising amount of lawyers, developers, lenders, etc., assume that every survey is an ALTA.
We don't purchase a Title insurance Policy for our clients, I don't see how it's relevant to put that in a Surveyor's Statement.
Still, as with the documents produced by title insurance, they often do not include all relevant documents of public record.
Makes me glad that I work under a Torrens title system....