Nope, they'll just drill into the monument and pin cushion it.
I have surveyed my own property.?ÿ I checked with the Title Company and Bank beforehand, and they had no problem.?ÿ Title Company was probably ecstatic, if I was to raise a survey problem at a later date they would just throw it back to me?ÿ ???
I have also done the survey of both my home and office for building permits and the town had no problem with it.
If you can't be trusted to ethically and correctly survey your own property you probably shouldn't be surveying anyone else's property.
There is no way I would prepare the survey for a closing that I am a party to.?ÿ I'm really surprised that so many see no issue with that.?ÿ Seems like a pretty clear cut conflict of interest.?ÿ Even if you take away the natural bias to view the boundary evidence favorable to yourself, you might make an honest mistake.?ÿ If that mistake could be viewed to benefit you in the transaction, a reasonable person might conclude that it was intentional.?ÿ That could result in an ethical violation and license revocation.?ÿ I would definitely want an independent 3rd party to perform the survey.?ÿ Though you can bet I would go over it with a fine toothed comb!
Not to mention that I'm pretty sure your professional liability insurer would consider any problem arising from that survey as un-insurable.
I also think any pre accepted law school student, could get the survey throw out in court.
This.
When it comes to ethics, the standard is not "Am I able to perform this project without bias?" but "Might I appear to be biased or have a conflict of interest to an outside observer?"
Most surveyors would perform this task with integrity. But just because they/we can, does not mean we should.
From the LSAW Fundamental Canons:
"Professional Land Surveyors shall act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of interest."
From another unrelated professional site (I like this one better; it is much more in line with professional ethics in general):
"Individuals shall avoid engaging in conflicts of interest whereby personal, financial, or other considerations have the potential to influence or compromise professional judgment and objectivity."
A reasonable individual will conclude that surveying a piece of property that you own has a potential for a conflict of interest, whether conscious or unconscious. Full stop.
If I am the buyer and being a surveyor, am not going to pay another surveyor.
The seller will have to pay out of their end if they want another surveyor.
Have surveyed every property I purchased or sold and nobody ever had a problem with seller or Title Company or anyone else.
I survey my own property quite often for the reason A Harris noted although it would probably be more cost effective to hire one of the local lowballers.
I would guess that the For / Against?ÿ of surveying your own property opinions would align very closely with the Rural / City surveyor groups.
If there's a Title insurance Co. they're likely to object.
If there's a Title insurance Co. they're likely to object.
I can see why one might think that.?ÿ I've specifically discussed the subject before hand with all of the title companies involved in the times I've prepared a survey for property in which I had interests (3 times the seller, once as the buyer).?ÿ Their remark was "great!"?ÿ every time.?ÿ One title attorney I spoke with said he couldn't see anything wrong with it as he had written several title opinions for properties he had personally bought and sold.?ÿ He quipped, "As long as the insurance underwriter thinks it's OK then everything's fine".
And this may just be unique with the title companies here in Oklahoma.?ÿ I don't believe they're near as stringent with procedures as they might be.?ÿ?ÿA few of them seem to have the procedural structure of a 'soup sandwich'...?ÿ
What I have typically seen in the past is that an RPLS will the field work and tech work and then have an associate review and sign the survey. You get a second set of eyes to evaulate the data.
When the Title Company an everyone else respects you and your work, they will never say a word.
Title Companies, Attornies, Realtors, Bankers, and other speculators do their own side of the legwork and necessary paperwork daily for themselves and who is to complain, nobody.
0.02
Exactly, surveying property in which you have an interest is a CONFLICT OF INTEREST. If someone questions your survey it will not stand up in court. When we survey we are not just measuring we are rendering an opinion, we will not construe against ourselves. As a professional group it never amazes me how ignorant we are about matters such as this.
I dont know when Surveyors decided that title companies and Attorneys should like us know when we are being ethical or not. The title company and Attorneys would probably prefer that a Surveyor surveys his own property that way if there is a problem that can claim its a conflict of interest, and our policy does not cover that. Most Attorneys dont represent themselves in court, and our work is different from most professional.
