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weeping for our profession (or: observations from the other side of the curtain)
been here reviewing and approving/rejecting title surveys for about a month now.
i really had no idea how bad the average is. and at this point i’m comfortable calling it the average. i’m reviewing ALTAs and TSPS Category 1A surveys (basically, the state sanctioned version of an ALTA) on commercial sites statewide at a rate of 3-4 a day.
while many of the issues i find are entirely understandable- either as a professional who understands the context of being busy and the nature of the task, or just as a human (typos, for instance)- the frequency of the negligence to basic minimum standards is staggering. whole tracts hung on a single monument (which, as many times as not is clearly suspect in its own right), bases of bearings that make absolutely no sense, complete disregard of record and/or the obvious dereliction of attempting to retrace record, cutting and pasting title commitment text wholesale into a survey, complete failure to address title exceptions, refusing! (after it was specifically requested and statute cited) to call adjoiners on a metes and BOUNDS description (this one was near downtown dallas).
some of it is funny though: one surveyor insists on certifying to TEN THOUSANDTHS of SQUARE FEET, yet rounds bearings to minutes. one guy has a block length that is 32 FEET (13%) longer than record. i called him to ask why and found myself on the receiving end of a conversation that sounded similar to many i’d delivered in the past to whom i assumed to be uninitiated pencil pushers “well, those old timers didn’t have the tools we have today to measure with precision.” then he proceeded to tell me that little towns often have these issues, and it was understandable that i wouldn’t be familiar with it since i sit here in metropolis. oh, he’s the only surveyor in that little town, btw.
quickly starting to realize the rock on one side of me and the hard place on the other: the title companies have no interest in being cops. they make their money by writing policies. that is contingent upon keeping clients. if i start slaughtering every survey that comes in the door then their clients will start taking their surveys and title policies to companies who aren’t quite so picky about Ps and Qs. the examiners are more sympathetic, but the ultimate line is drawn by the underwriter based upon the calculated risk.
and i’ve never been the kind of guy to go siccing the board on a colleague- have found that phone calls and emails and personal contact with the intent of open discussion of issues tends to solve most issues pretty well. and, honestly, if i start turning people into the board then i’m dealing with issue stated in the paragraph above.
i have no idea how long this job will last- after a month it increasingly feels like the whole thing is gonna go sideways somehow. which is fine- that can and may well happen without any feelings being hurt. part of the reason i wanted to do this was to maybe make some small contribution to the maintenance of practice and standards. i don’t think i realized just how slipshod the whole thing is. our state board is underfunded, understaffed, and really prostrate to take any sort of active tack toward enforcement. we are not a recording state- which i know is gonna be the first thing out of a bunch of mouths. and good luck seeing that change any time ever, in case you’re not the least bit familiar with how we do things here in six flags country.
i reckon the underlying point here is this: if you’ve even read this post you care more than a bunch of people who are representative of what we do as a profession. so thanks, and keep up the good work.
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