I purchased a piece of vacant land at [location redacted to protect the innocent -- me] in Davis, which came with a survey you performed. I??m writing to ask permission to use the survey dated October 2011.
Uh, no.?ÿ But that's not actually what I said in response:
"That survey is 7 years old, so the map can no longer be considered a faithful representation of the parcel condition. I expressly decline to authorize reproduction of the survey map in any form due to the liability exposure.
Thanks for your cooperation. Please feel free to get in touch with questions, and good luck with your project!"
I fully expect my map to turn up as a sheet in his plan set, but I'll probably never see it.
?ÿ
Any drawing is only good as what was shown per the date of the instrument.
Anything can happen after that date that you will not be responsible for or have to worry about.
Title companies around here are mostly owned by one family and they will accept any signed and sealed survey no matter how old it is.
Missed surveying a lot a few years ago because the family produced an original survey from 1943 and the title company accepted it.
0.02
Your map should still be a faithful representation of the parcel as of the date of your survey. There is no new liability on your part, unless you think they will claim you misrepresented what was on the ground 7 years ago. Perhaps expressly granting permission could be grounds to haul you?ÿ into court, so you were probably right to not grant permission.?ÿ
You certainly were also right to tell them the survey is out of date and might be useless, but I don't think you have any legal way to prevent the use of a legally obtained copy, unless maybe you had terms in your contract the prohibited your client from sharing the survey with anyone.?ÿ
If utility co moved a monument, and construction is performed, it should be the engineer's liability, not Mr Frame's. The engineer was trying to pass the liability BACK to the surveyor, without compensation.
?ÿ
That is a rather odd call and as with nearly everything that is out of the ordinary I tend to get suspicious.?ÿ
I agree with Nate, but I suspect you were being recorded.
If utility co moved a monument, and construction is performed, it should be the engineer's liability, not Mr Frame's. The engineer was trying to pass the liability BACK to the surveyor, without compensation.
?ÿ
If a monument has been moved, there is no way to prove that fact versus a blunder in the old survey.?ÿ So if they build based on a moved monument and that violates a setback or causes an encroachment, it will be expensive for Jim or his insurance even though WE know he wouldn't have blundered.
Jim may not be worried, but if he is the best prevention would be to offer an inexpensive update to the old survey so he has confidence in the present monumentation, at a price the owner is willing to pay even though there is no profit.
?ÿ
If a monument has been moved
In this case monuments aren't an issue, as I didn't set any.?ÿ The parcel in question is in a commercial subdivision, and the survey references street centerline monuments that are still in place.?ÿ My work was primarily a topo survey, and my concerns pertain to changes in parcel grading, utility installations, and title matters that may have occurred in the last seven years.
In similar situations I use my soap box to explain that it's a value to them to hire me again to make sure neighbors, utility companies, municipalities, etc. have not performed activities on, or adjacent to, the subject parcel that could ripen into an adverse claim. I might even throw in a story about a spiteful individual who purposely placed his well in a location that would, due to setback regulations, make it difficult for his neighbor to build a garage.
?ÿ
Land owners usually can grasp that what their neighbors do can affect their parcel so I tend to hit that point hard. No one cares about my liability and why should they? ?ÿExperience has shown me that professional liability should not be a part of early conversations with prospective clients.
NC requires a grid tie for boundary surveys so I can usually just plop the R10 on each corner and confirm my original boundary determination. Easy money and a great opportunity to quality check my work.
In similar situations I use my soap box to explain that it's a value to them to hire me again to make sure neighbors, utility companies, municipalities, etc. have not performed activities on, or adjacent to, the subject parcel that could ripen into an adverse claim. I might even throw in a story about a spiteful individual who purposely placed his well in a location that would, due to setback regulations, make it difficult for his neighbor to build a garage.
?ÿ
Land owners usually can grasp that what their neighbors do can affect their parcel so I tend to hit that point hard. No one cares about my liability and why should they? ?ÿExperience has shown me that professional liability should not be a part of early conversations with prospective clients.
NC requires a grid tie for boundary surveys so I can usually just plop the R10 on each corner and confirm my original boundary determination. Easy money and a great opportunity to quality check my work.
Since Jim is in California this call wouldn't have happened if we were talking about a boundary survey that required Jim to set monuments, becasue it would be a public record. I assume he is worried about a feature or the topography inside the lot, not a boundary issue.