Let's say your doing an ALTA survey on a vacant piece of residential property on a private road. This property is at the beginning of the road where it connects to the public road. Everyone living along the road (15 households) keep their garbage and recycling containers in front of this lot. The big trucks won't go down this road, there's no place to turn around... 
Would this be something you'd show on your ALTA survey?
Would you show it if you weren't doing an ALTA, just a topo/record of survey?
Thanks for all of your comments...
:gammon::stakeout:
Dougie
If those are on the property that you're surveying then you better show it! That is, if it's not permitted by the owner then it might be unauthorized use of land.
"Portable Garbage Containers by others" 🙂
Good question. Did/do the garbage cans create a change in ground cover? ie: is the grass all gone underneath the garbage cans? Maybe showing the limits of something physical such as the dirt between the asphalt and the grassy area, and label it as the area that garbage cans are kept.
I would show that whether I was doing an ALTA or a Topo Survey.
I would be less concerned about the garbage cans than the row of mailboxes I see to the right. Typically mailboxes are within the ROW or within an easemented area. I never researched USPO mailbox regulations, but a mailbox becomes sacred ground. I see other garbage cans hindering the mailman's access. The mailman may in fact not be required to stop under those conditions.
Paul in PA
foggyidea, post: 427357, member: 155 wrote: If those are on the property that you're surveying then you better show it!
The cans are in the private road...
Funny thing about the private road; it's owned by 3 couples that bought it from the Assessor for the taxes in 2005. It was the road in an unrecorded plat. The 16 lots on the north side of the roads were all in the unrecorded plat and were sold off by metes and bounds deeds, based on the unrecorded plat, but they don't reference the plat and they don't reference the road or an access easement...
Tom Adams, post: 427360, member: 7285 wrote: Did/do the garbage cans create a change in ground cover?
The cans sit on the gravel shoulder at the edge of the asphalt.
Paul in PA, post: 427365, member: 236 wrote: I would be less concerned about the garbage cans than the row of mailboxes I see to the right.
The group of mail boxes, to the right, just out of view, are in the public right-of-way. Goggle street view snapshot is looking northish...
Absolutely not. It's a very transient situation. Would not bother me one bit to ignore such trivial information. Sort of like finding some political sign that should be gone following the election.
Yes. I would show or make a note on the drawing about the situation. The existence of the totes is evidence of pedestrian use that the potential homeowner or landowner would want to be made aware of. It is a matter of observation in the course of the survey. How about posting your photo on the survey?
Depends. Did you check the box "show all mailboxes, and trash right of ways"?
Someday, some poor surveyor is going to get sued, for "failure to show porpoise nest" as there will be some transitional nesting porpoise nest, as an endangered species.....
One of the jobs of the Surveyor performing an ALTA survey is to observe and report anything that may cloud title or hinder usage. Our job is not to determine that it does. That is the job of an attorney. We generally are working for the title company they aren't asking you to determine if it is in fact a legal issue they are asking that you point out potential items that can cause a legal issue. They decide if they want to exclude that issue or not. But one thing is for sure, the best way to have it determined a legal issue for you is to leave it off of the survey and then be asked by the judge if you had observed said issue while you were there.
Undoubtedly yes on both ALTA or any other survey.
Despite it not being anything of permanent improvement or structure in nature, it is still a use of the property.
I think of it as s trash dump location site. A very tidy one since everything looks to be neatly separated and placed in containers but it is still people dumping their trash. There may also be some health concerns about attracting pests and other issues.
Well, I am sure some attorney would argue this under #8.
Substantial features observed in the process of conducting the fieldwork (in addition to
the improvements and features required pursuant to Section 5 above) (e.g., parking lots,
billboards, signs, swimming pools, landscaped areas, substantial areas of refuse)
Mack00079, post: 427399, member: 11516 wrote: One of the jobs of the Surveyor performing an ALTA survey is to observe and report anything that may cloud title or hinder usage. Our job is not to determine that it does. That is the job of an attorney. We generally are working for the title company they aren't asking you to determine if it is in fact a legal issue they are asking that you point out potential items that can cause a legal issue. They decide if they want to exclude that issue or not. But one thing is for sure, the best way to have it determined a legal issue for you is to leave it off of the survey and then be asked by the judge if you had observed said issue while you were there.
Well said. If in doubt, show it.
Evidence of use by others. Show it...
Robert Hill, post: 427400, member: 378 wrote: Despite it not being anything of permanent improvement or structure in nature, it is still a use of the property.
There is a slight problem with this analogy; it's use of a portion of the 30' strip of private property, right in front of the property I'm surveying...
Other than that, it has nothing to do with my clients property.
