Realtors asking for copies of surveys...

Imagine the answer you would get if you called the Title Company and asked for a copy of the Prelim they did 10 years ago for the same property, different parties, etc.

Real estate agents are sales people, and they have the philosophy of "if you don't ask, you won't get - it doesn't hurt to ask, it hurts not to get". So they are hoping for a freebie, just because they are such wonderful people for you to talk to on the phone. Don't sweat it. Next time, just tell the caller you will be happy to provide a copy for the same cost as doing the survey would be. If they can ask for free stuff, you can ask for money without doing any work.

Garrett Bradshaw, post: 393744, member: 12172 wrote: ... It really BURNS me. Does this happen to any others out there? Thoughts and opinions welcome

Happens all the time, and sometimes chaps my butt too. I don't mind them asking as long as they don't mind getting told "no". The part that gets in my gizzard is when they imply they have some sort of rights to a copy and I'm in the wrong by denying them.

It is good exercise for what I call my "professional profanity". I like figuring out professional ways to tell people to go screw themselves....

So you sold this house before. Will you sell it to me without a commission? You were already paid once. Just put my name on the original sales contract.

Original client gets 5 original stamped with signature drawings. One for title company, one for mortgage company, one for lawyer (rarely involved) and two to keep for future needs.

To a realtor down the road, NO, absolutely not and no to anyone else.

The client that hired me is the only person that gets an extra copy.

No new date without a new survey.

Several weeks ago a forester contacted me about a copy of several hundred acres that joined a COE lake. He wanted copy of the drawing because his was too hard to read and did not show everything because it had been sent around and scanned from copies of scans.

I told him to send me and email or letter making his request and to include a copy of his client's deed to prove ownership of the property and include the owner's name and contact info and his name and contact info.

No request has shown up in my email or snail mail and he has not called back.

IMVHO, only the owner of the property has a dog in this hunt.

I have brought this up on this site at least a half dozen times. A fellow surveyor was asked to provide a copy of an old survey for a new owner to use for their closing. Some changes had been made to the property which created encroachments that understandingly were not on the survey. He was brought into the court case and was required to testify. Eventually, he was dismissed.
Afterward, the plaintiff's attorney, who knew the surveyor quite well, and was known to be one of the best in land cases in Alabama, told him he should never have released anything other than a new survey showing current conditions. He also said that once the survey was accepted by the client, the surveyor's obligations have been fulfilled.
If anyone wants a copy of a survey, let them get it from the party that paid for it. Or have their property surveyed.

https://surveyorconnect.com/community/members/steve-gilbert.111/&apos ;">Steve Gilbert, https://surveyorconnect.com/community/threads/records-and-ethics.327458/#post-380235&apos ;">Jul 7, 2016 https://surveyorconnect.com/community/posts/380235/report&apos ;">Report

Garrett Bradshaw, post: 393744, member: 12172 wrote: Hey Everybody,

This is my first post on this forum and I am looking forward to joining the discussions on here.I am currently an SIT in and have about 11 months until I can sit for the RPLS exam. We have recently been getting more and more calls from local realtors asking for copies of surveys we provided years ago for mortgage/title transfer purposes. Most of the time the realtors are congenial when we tell them that we are not going to give them copies. FYI this is for completely different, buyers, lenders, and title companies ETC! But sometimes they think we are just the biggest jerks in the world by not giving them something for free. It really BURNS me. Does this happen to any others out there? Thoughts and opinions welcome

Doesn't happen much any more after I ask them if they sell the same house twice for free the second time. 🙂

Charge them for a copy. 🙂

voidintheabyss, post: 393765, member: 11972 wrote: Charge them for a copy. 🙂

Even charging for a copy and putting disclaimers on the survey won't protect you or the purchaser!

Steve Gilbert, post: 393766, member: 111 wrote: Even charging for a copy and putting disclaimers on the survey won't protect you or the purchaser!

That doesn't strike me as intuitive.
Surely the date on the survey and the "prepared for" remarks mean something.

The survey company I worked for previously advertised their survey database and copies available for charge as a selling point on their website.

But I'm just a field guy; lots to learn. Thanks for the heads up.

voidintheabyss, post: 393769, member: 11972 wrote: That doesn't strike me as intuitive.
Surely the date on the survey and the "prepared for" remarks mean something.

The survey company I worked for previously advertised their survey database and copies available for charge as a selling point on their website.

But I'm just a field guy; lots to learn. Thanks for the heads up.

You are right, the date on the survey does mean something.

Of course no one should update the date for free. But there is no reason to refuse a copy. The selling the house again analogy fails. You aren't doing the survey again or certifying it again, you are printing a copy.

aliquot, post: 393773, member: 2486 wrote: You are right, the date on the survey does mean something.

Of course no one should update the date for free. But there is no reason to refuse a copy. The selling the house again analogy fails. You aren't doing the survey again or certifying it again, you are printing a copy.

That would depend on your state's Statute of Limitations laws. If it begins on the date of survey fine, but if it begins on date of discovery that could open a whole new can of worms. I have always given other surveyors copies of surveys and have expected the same in return. A few have refused but not many.
Andy

Say to the caller, "Sure I'll send a copy." Then stamp in big letters across the face of the map, "NOT TO BE USED IN ANY CLOSING AFTER (ENTER DATE 30 DAYS AFTER MAP WAS ORIGINALLY SIGNED/SEALED)." Doubt it would work, but it might cause them to rethink their plans.

(I would actually not provide any copies of old surveys...at all...ever...except for recorded maps, which are different in CA...but I would be interested to see what kind of reaction the requester would have after receiving that).

I'm sure most folks here have already heard this, but Oregon has a law that requires a survey be filed when a corner is set; therefore all of those surveys are public record... In most, if not all, counties all the surveys that have ever been filed are available on line at the County Surveyor's office. It's actually an awesome system...

They call, and we explain the need for a new survey. Sometimes they go off to find a copy elsewhere, sometimes they decide they don't want a survey, sometimes they go someplace else, sometimes they agree to a survey. There is actually a disagreement in our office, I sometimes make notes in small text because of space reasons, and the RPLS wants me to enlarge the text so it can be read after it has been copied a dozen times. My reply is if they copy it a dozen times, they need a new survey, and need to hire us to come back.

Little white lies

1. "We keep records from those years in a vault off site. There will be a recovery fee of $xxx to send a person to the vault to search for it. I can't guarantee that the record you seek will be there. The fee is payable up front and is non-refundable."

2. "flooding 2 years ago destroyed the records in the lowest drawers of our filing cabinets. I do have the field book records intact and could produce a new survey for you for a fee. Let me get you a quote on that.... "

3. "we had a hard drive crash a while ago and lost some old records, I'm afraid yours were included"

voidintheabyss, post: 393769, member: 11972 wrote: That doesn't strike me as intuitive.

You can't disclaim away your professional responsibilties.

I seldom deal with realtors because I do lot surveys only for friends as a favor, so my situation is slightly different, but if a title company or attorney or broker or developer want a copy of one of my commercial site surveys I gladly provide it free of charge. It is called marketing, and updating those surveys is quite lucrative. I've just heard one of my best clients may be picking up a large shopping mall, so tomorrow I'll drop off a print of my 2010 survey, unasked.

I did a survey once for a woman who was intending to buy a property. She paid in full and I delivered the plan to her, but she didn't end up buying the land.

A month later the realtor called me asking for a copy of the plan, (which wasn't recorded), to show another potential buyer. I explained that I did the work for my client, the woman who didn't buy it, and that it was up to her whether copies could be provided. She said that the woman was upset that the deal fell through, and they weren't on speaking terms. But she still expected me to provide her with a copy of the plan, since the land belonged to her clients.