Utility Facility Endorsement Cert.

[holy-cow]

Is this what you are making reference to?

STG Utility Facility Endorsement Guideline 1
Explanation:
This endorsement insures against loss if specific utility lines don’t: (a) enter the insured premises, and (b) service the insured premises. It relies upon confirmation of several off-record matters.Underwriting Requirements:
1. The endorsement contains a list of possible utility lines, some of which may not be available to the subject property. Ascertain from the customer the specific utilities that are of concern. Use that as the basis for your inquiry.2. Each of the requested utility lines must be analyzed separately, as follows:
(A) Confirm that the specified utility line actually enters the property. Review the survey and locate and identify the specified utility line. As a reminder, the existence of a utility easement(recorded, platted and/or shown on the survey) is not evidence that a utility line actually runs through the easement area. Failure to show a particular utility line on the survey is a potential indicator that the utility service doesn’t exist. For example, a sanitary sewer line may not exist because there may be a septic system instead. Similarly, storm water drainage may be handled by drainage ponds. Consult with the surveyor to resolve ambiguities.
(B) Confirm that the specified utility line actually services the premises. Although a utility line may exist, it may not service the subject property. For example, a electrical power line may cross a property, but not actually deliver electricity to the buildings there. If the survey shows a utility line connecting to a building, you may assume that the line services the premises. However, if you are unable to make a determination based solely upon the survey, you should obtain independent confirmation that the utility line services the subject premises, for example, by:
i. Surveyor’s written confirmation (on survey or by separate letter);
ii. Letter from utility company;
iii. Letter from municipal/county authority;
iv. Letter from engineer;
v. Affidavit from current owner (which may be incorporated into the title affidavit) together with independent evidence (e.g., water/sewer bill); or
vi. Municipal water/sewer search.
(C) If you can confirm that a utility line services the property, but the survey doesn’t disclose it, consider deleting the bracketed text “[all as shown on the Survey,]”.
3. This endorsement can be given for existing improvements or recently-completed construction. It is less likely – but possible – that the requirements can be met for vacant land, since the utility lines may not exist yet. In such event, consider offering the endorsement upon completion of the construction and satisfaction of the underwriting requirements for issuing the endorsement.

[holy-cow]

I can see where this could be a significant issue. This is one where simply showing the location of easements would not satisfy what they need to know. Even out here in Boondocks USA we have cases where waterlines physically cross a property within an easement but the landowner cannot connect to that line for a very specific reason. Similarly, I know of a Walmart that has a kazillion volt power line running diagonally across their main parking lot (the line was in place for decades before Walmart came along). Park your car in a certain position relative to that line and when you come back out to leave it is floating about six inches above the pavement and has a faint pink glow surrounding it.

This has never come up on any of our ALTA projects as a specific issue.

[paul-in-pa]

Have you been given a blank facility list or an actual list of the utilities and all utility provider information?

Alternatively the insurer could request service letters from each of the utilities.

As a surveyor you could locate the visible utilities or visible markouts but you may not be qualified to state that the identified utility actually serves the property. I once worked for a company that in the past lost considerable money because they surveyed a parcel and located sanitary manholes on the frontage street upgrade and downgrade from the premises, but did not verify if there was a pipe connecting the manholes, there was not.

Suppose you locate PVC cleanouts from a building toward the street, can you in fact verify that the lateral, if there is one, is connected to the sewer in the street, if there is one?

Are you prepared to run a camera through the lines?

Are you prepared to touch the wires to verify the current is on?

A gas or water line could be valved off at the curb or inside the structure at the meter. Does service mean available or in use?

You may locate a utility pole with an underground service leaving it but to which parcel does it go?

I had a recent survey with electric utility A along the curb and electric utility B along the rear property line, written easement. The pole of B at the rear had an underground hookup evident that per a markout traversed the parcel in a drainage easement along the West sideline, crossed under a street and served an industrial building. Utility B did have an easement but along the East sideline.

Paul in PA

[lmbrls]

They will let you have just as much liability as you will take. If this is not in your contract, I would not fill it out. It is not an ALTA requirement. If this is for a proposal, put enough $$ in to adequately address the certification and show as a line item. This will often make the requirement go away. I was once given a certification attesting to the pcb’s in the transformers. Haven’t seen that one in a long time.

[Jim in AZ]

profsurveyor, post: 349297, member: 6159 wrote: I have been asked to certify a Utility Facility Endorsement Certificate for an ALTA. I have never seen one of these before and wondering what others think of something like this.

Thanks

If this is what COW shows below I would steer clear… (no pun intended COW)

[profsurveyor]

Paul in PA, post: 349301, member: 236 wrote: Have you been given a blank facility list or an actual list of the utilities and all utility provider information?

I have been given a specific list that states:

” The company insures against loss or damage sustained by the insured by reason of the lack of a right of access to the following utilities or services: check all that apply
water service, natural gas service, telephone service electrical power service, sanitary sewer, storm water and other(s)

either over, under or upon rights of way or easements for the benefit for the Land because of :
1 gap or gore between the boundaries of the land and the rights of way or easements
2 a gap between the boundaries of the rights of way or easements; or
3 a termination by a grantor, or its successor, of the rights of way or easements…….”

[holy-cow]

Word play is punderful in my opinion.

As surveyors we should only attest to things that are uniquely within our professional realm of performance. What I copied in is so vague as to not be something for which a surveyor should accept liability. When limited to the wording posted about gaps and gores somehow restricting access(see post #7), then I can see the surveyor’s opinion being meaningful.

[paul-in-pa]

The list should say, “All Wet Water Authority”, Zappum Electric”, etc. Saying there is water without saying from whom is inadequate.

On that recent survey I cited there was water on the far side of the street. It took months to get a letter of determination that the water company would/could excavate the new street to provide service. The lateral should have been installed before the curb and street went in but it wasn’t.

I recall many years ago on a subdivision my father did where curb was not required by the township, we had to install 10′ of curb on each lot, them laterals were installed with a curb box. If no curb, no lateral, water company rules, not on any plat.

Paul in PA

[holy-cow]

I’m very familiar with rural water districts. Most are directly connected to water plants owned by a different entity, i.e., city, wholesale water district, etc. Their contracts with the entities producing the water may have all sorts of restrictions that apply. One such restriction can be the total number of services that the rural water district can supply to their members/users. One little district that I’m aware of has an upper limit of 75 users. The only way to add a water service within their service area is to eliminate one of the existing ones. Short of a house burning down or a tornado the opportunity for a new service is almost non-existent.