What is your opinion of a map describing 3 tracts of land that are not the same 3 tracts they were just one conveyance ago. The map has no surveyor's name nor a seal nor address or phone number. The title block says "Property Survey" and does not mention subdivision. (It looks and quacks like a duck but smells like a pile of dung)
Client takes map and has a deed written. The surveyor is only mentioned in the reserving part of the deed where a spring and water line are involved.
Deed now overlaps adjoiner by ..... 7 ACRES.
Has this surveyor escaped the clutches of litigation by not sealing and signing his map?
His client had a new deed written from an unapproved "property survey" (which is really a subdivision) with no seal or even a name and address of the person who created it.
I'm at a total loss for words really. I've been looking at this map and pouring over deeds and plotting lines and just noticed there is no name or anything on this map.
:-S :-O :excruciating:
Did a lawyer write it?
Is this "survey" in a legitimate title block? Have you contacted the surveyor that was mentioned in the reservation to see if he actually produced the plat? IMHO, a judge will definitely be need to be involved in straightening this one out and assessing damages to those that made a purchase based on the fraudulent document. This is one where the board's investigator(s) may want to be involved in from the start.
Make sure you keep accurate records of every phone call and email sent/received regarding this issue. Somewhere down the line, you may be accused of slander of title instead of the actual culprit.
Good Luck!!!
>
> Has this surveyor escaped the clutches of litigation by not sealing and signing his map?
>
In a word, NO. Quite the opposite. In every jurisdiction I know about, all final professional documents issued to the client must contain a seal and signature. For documents issued that are not final, most jurisdictions dictate a Preliminary note that must be in the document. Absent one of those two things, the PLS has violated the rules and not only not shielded him (or her) self from problems, but created more problems.
Having said that, it is possible that the document you saw wasn't created by a PLS at all. The fact someone used the name of a PLS in the deed does not mean the PLS had anything to do with the document. I know of one circumstance where an Attorney referred to a plat in the files of a PLS where 1) no such plat existed and 2) the Attorney had been told by the PLS that there was no such plat.
Larry P
My take on it is that the drawing was not prepared by a surveyor. Maybe a want-to-be draftsman.
This reminds me of a situation that arose about 10 years ago that I avoided like the plague. I was approached by some so-called, self-appointed developers to create a map showing roughly a half section of land as a subdivision with no survey being done. Streets, hundreds of lots and various easements for this and that all over the place.
Their goal was to jump through a loophole that would prevent a (very close by) city from annexing them and then dictating all of the standard subdivision criteria that they most definitely did not wish to follow. They claimed that by filing a quicky plat, the city's "foolish" whims could be avoided.
I refused to have anything to do with their plans. One of them then made a hand-drawn sketch depicting their intentions and filed it in the Register of Deeds Office as a miscellaneous document. It was the most hideous mess you can imagine, especially as it had no dimensions anywhere. Fortunately, their conspiracy fell apart and now none of them have any ownership of the land involved. Meanwhile, the city (equally loaded with egotistical know-it-alls) is still searching for money from the sky to permit them to purchase and develop this land, despite a clear lack of necessity to do so.
I wouldn't touch Pennsylvania with a "perch".
I would agree. For all we know the land owner drew it him/herself ...
I would call the surveyor, he might have done some legitimate surveying in the area, which the drafter of the plat incorporated in this drawing, and he might not even know that his name is associated with this fraud.
Note:
The scrivener hereof did not examine the title to the herein above described premises.
Client recorded it.
One deed back
contains three parcels written in perch.
Similar situation
only just "regular" people. I believe there was some miscommunication and the line went dead and now there's a deed on record.
I've been retained to figure out "do I stand a good chance?"
