Just when you think you've heard it all.
A local manufacturing company is in process of being purchased by a new set of owners. It's a very good company that has been based locally for nearly 50 years. Roughly 20 years ago I performed a boundary survey for them showing only the boundaries (not an ALTA). A few months ago a friend and neighbor who works fairly close to the main office asked me if I had another original plat on hand. They had made a pdf of one they had at some point but could not now find an original. This was a rare case where I absolutely do not have an original. A significant roof leak ruined a box full of plats over 15 years ago and this was one that had to be pitched. The computer file is also history. So, I explained that I couldn't give them one if I wanted to and that I normally wouldn't anyway because it was more than a couple of months old.
Today, I bumped into a title company representative who is involved with the current closing. They had requested survey coverage in an amount of roughly $27,000,000 on the transaction. The title company (at a high level) rejected that request without a new survey showing everything. Those involved in the transaction stated that no one was willing to pay for a new survey. So, they agreed to a policy without survey coverage but only for the appraised value of the facility which was on the order of $790,000.
It sure seems to me that someone knew something and was hoping to hook the title company. Still, a few thousand for a survey would have seemed to be a prudent choice in any event. BTW, no one ever approached me about giving a quote to do a new survey.
So, the survey is worth about $26,000,000. And I thought my fees were high enough and others were lowballers:-O
The money was approved today and they want to close within days of the delayed announcement of the survey request and it would take too long to complete a $26k Alta survey.
I tell my clients the same thing every time they claim they needed the survey last week.
"You knew that a survey would be needed the day you heard about them signing the contract and actually it was as long ago as when the seller put the property on the market that the request should have been made"
😉
