I guess it's a regional thing
I agree. If this situation was in Tennessee, if Jon didn't write a legal description, a lawyer or a realtor would. It's much better to have someone that knows what the heck they are doing writing those things.
I guess it's a regional thing
I agree with Tommy and the rest. I'm not aware of any standard requiring that the person writing the description perform the survey on the ground (at least not in Maine). My own standard has always been that I'll write one if it's based on a boundary survey. The problem around here is that Realtors and lawyers call wanting descriptions based on tax maps, conjecture, sketches on paper bags -- whatever. Descriptions based on a survey are the cream of the crop.
If anyone knows of a lawsuit (especially a successful one) against a land surveyor for writing a description based on someone else's survey, please share!
I guess it's a regional thing
On the same theme, it is kind of a double standard. Lay people (lawyers, title officers, assessors, realtors, farmers) write descriptions all the time and screw things up. Surveyors get to fix the problems.
If a surveyor writes a description and screws things up, his fanny is on the hook.
However, I do think we are best qualified to write a proper description based on existing records. It's just a bad precedent to set, so I like to do it right the first time. The old addage... pay now or pay later comes to mind.
Of course the answer depends upon state regulations, but here in NY and NJ, anyone can write a description, so why shouldn't you take on the task, as you are probably better qualified than an attorney or a realtor.
I can't see why you couldn't write the description and include in the preamble, a statement "Based upon a survey performed by Joe Surveyor on July 19, 2007".
In your contract state that no field work or checking of the original surveyor's field work is implied or intended.
(I will take it on faith that you WILL check the math, and if it doesn't close, then you have something to talk about with your client.)
If you have good descriptions from all the adjoiners and they are in agreeance with the parent tract description and / or survey, I would have no problem with writing the new description.
On a side note, here in Florida, a non-recording state, the term "plat" is used to describe the platting of lands for a multi-lot subdivision, or even a single lot which is usually commercial. Anything else is a "Survey".