Digging for Records

#1 · July 16, 2010, 9:23 pm

(or how to GET HIT IN THE HEAD WITH A SHOVEL)

How many States have mandatory filing of Boundary plats that are then posted on the Internet?

http://www.plat.arkansas.gov/About.htm

See the previous post "Post a friend's plat by Steve Corley, Little Rock, Arkansas, Thursday, July 15, 2010, 08:26"

DDSM
(thanks again, Steve)

#2 · July 16, 2010, 9:27 pm

California has mandatory filing, but it's up to the individual Counties how they make those available. Most around here have finally scanned the plats and sell DVD's of them. A few actually have them online, but not around where I work.

BTW, I wonder how Google decided to place an ad for Beercan Turkey above your thread?;-)

#3 · July 16, 2010, 9:43 pm

Steve (Gardner),
Arkansas has had mandatory filing at the County level for a long time. The State Land Surveyor needed a 'copy' to insure that the Surveyor's were meeting Standards of Practice for Boundary Survey Plats and to create a repository for the use of fellow Surveyors. In only the last few years have these files become 'mandatory' and been scanned by the Arkansas Geographic Information Office (AGIO) and presented on the internet for download. The real estate and title insurance companies sure make good use of this AGIO tax sponsored 'service'. Just download the PDF and here ya are...a survey.

It is a good thing that Arkansas changed the law that requires filing only 'after the Surveyor has been paid' or 'after the completion' of the plat...

For the last ten years I've been 'deciding' on which North Arrow to use...so I have not 'completed' a plat...

If you will search the County records, that I consider the Public Record', you will find a copy of my plat...with a 'proposed' North Arrow.

DDSM

#4 · July 16, 2010, 9:50 pm

Here, we have 90 days to file "after making a field survey" or notify the County Surveyor of a good reason why we can't comply. Non-payment of fees is not a good reason. "If other surveys at the same location are performed by others" the County Surveyor can require that we provide details of the survey.

#5 · July 16, 2010, 9:51 pm

Iowa has mandatory recording of surveys. Record them with the County Recorder.

There is a state level website called "Iowa Land Records" that receives plats & deeds from the counties and used to have that stuff online before they got scared about "personal identifiable information" being on them (seriously, who puts their social security number on a plat anyway?).

Some counties also have their stuff on their own websites, but not all.

#6 · July 16, 2010, 9:52 pm

Plat with Improvements?

>The real estate and title insurance companies sure make good use of this AGIO tax sponsored 'service'.

So, are Arkansas surveyors required to file each and every map of a survey they perform? For example, could you strip all the improvements off a map and record just the boundary data?

#7 · July 16, 2010, 9:58 pm

Plat with Improvements?

Kent,
You can 'strip' away everything that is not required by the 'Standards'.
http://www.pels.arkansas.gov/rulesRegsStandards/Documents/standardsPractice.pdf

But if you do an ALTA 'Boundary' Survey, you would have to produce 2 plats...one for the Client (and your fellow Surveyors) and one for filing. Note that Arkansas no longer requires filing at the County level...but only at the State level

DDSM