Clients attorney is getting the cart ahead of the horse. Again, right!?
They want a pre- construction ALTA on a property. The problem is the property is not yet created. We are in the process of splitting a lot in two. And the ALTA they want is on one of the 'future parcels'. They are asking me for a metes & bounds description of the parcels. I am hesitant to do it, because I know the legal description should be "Parcel ___, of Partition Plat No. ____", and not metes & bounds. If I prepare it this way, I suspect that it will get recorded that way, and will never refer to the Partition Plat (which should be the only way its described).
Would you prepare the description for an ALTA, prior to the Partition being created?
If I do I am tempted to write it: "Beginning at the NE corner of Parcel 1 of Partition Plat No. __: thence along the E line of said Parcel 1 to the SE corner; thence along the S line of said Parcel 1 to the SW corner; thence along the W line of said Parcel 1 to the NW corner; thence along the N line of said Parcel 1 to the POB."
I've seen evidence of similar to what you are describing done in California going back about 30 years, from what I've seen, I don't like the practice and agree the descriptions should reflect the description that will be adopted once you complete your subdivision, perhaps you can sell the "Parcel ___, of Partition Plat No. ____" legal description to the legal team as a "perfection of title", after all, they are not insurable parcels (in my state :p)until you complete the subdivision, so why describe it as anything other than what the people paying to have the property divided wish.
The following description is as provided in Title Commitment x, effective x and is also the as surveyed description. There is no description of record as this is not a parcel of record. The correct description on recordation of Partition Plat No. X will be Lot x of....
The description in the Title Commitment is not proper for use in the transfer of title.
What if the numbering of the lots gets changed for some reason prior to recordation????
Holy Cow, post: 414875, member: 50 wrote: What if the numbering of the lots gets changed for some reason prior to recordation????
Change it to 'The proposed description on recordation...'
Here's how I do it...
Being part of "blah, blah, blah"; also being all of proposed Lot 3 in a subdivision named "Hypothetical Estates" currently under agency review and intended to be recorded in the land records of Example County subsequent to the preparation of this description, and being more particularly descibed as follows:
I've had to write hundreds of easement descriptions like this in municipalities that require easements to be in place to approve improvement plans and improvement plans to be in place before subdivision plat approval. The easements are "floating" out in the middle of the parent parcel (tied to the perimeter boundary) when they are created, but the intent is for them to bind on the future lot lines.
Also, this is why I think the absolute correlation of ALTA surveys as boundary surveys by some state boards is mistaken. The ALTA survey is ultimately part of the mortgage approval process and there are times (not frequent, but not uncommon either) where someone is trying to get a loan on what is a portion of a record parcel. A "one size fits all" approach requiring recording, setting of all the corners, descriptions that follow standards required for record parcels, etc. denies the professional to actually, you know, act like a professional and make judgment calls in situations that are little more gray than black and white. It also seems, to me at least, hubristic; "we know maybe 5% of the development financing process, but we'll tell you what you need."
James Fleming, post: 414886, member: 136 wrote: Here's how I do it...
Being part of "blah, blah, blah"; also being all of proposed Lot 3 in a subdivision named "Hypothetical Estates" currently under agency review and intended to be recorded in the land records of Example County subsequent to the preparation of this description, and being more particularly descibed as follows:
I've had to write hundreds of easement descriptions like this in municipalities that require easements to be in place to approve improvement plans and improvement plans to be in place before subdivision plat approval. The easements are "floating" out in the middle of the parent parcel (tied to the perimeter boundary) when they are created, but the intent is for them to bind on the future lot lines.
Also, this is why I think the absolute correlation of ALTA surveys as boundary surveys by some state boards is mistaken. The ALTA survey is ultimately part of the mortgage approval process and there are times (not frequent, but not uncommon either) where someone is trying to get a loan on what is a portion of a record parcel. A "one size fits all" approach requiring recording, setting of all the corners, descriptions that follow standards required for record parcels, etc. denies the professional to actually, you know, act like a professional and make judgment calls in situations that are little more gray than black and white. It also seems, to me at least, hubristic; "we know maybe 5% of the development financing process, but we'll tell you what you need."
One the flipside you have the all too common problem of parcels created by foreclosure. The bank takes the 'loan parcel' and you have about un-monumented (and likely substandard) parcel on the books. Reference 2008 to 2013 for numerous examples...