An Overview of The Land Survey

Background

For thousands of years, the land survey has been a crucial element of nearly all real estate law and real estate litigation. Incorporating nearly every element of mathematics, hard science, and property law, surveying is often oversimplified by some as a means of ascertaining the the boundaries of a property.

Also incorporating soil constitution, building measurement, and constitution of terrain, land surveys are crucial in many forms of legal litigation, such as in civil actions and criminal proceedings. Its scope varies in breadth from the studio apartment to the average neighborhood, all the way up to our largest cities. When the result of scrupulous data collection, the land survey forms the basis by which any legal judgment on property is based and determined.

Preparation & Standards

A particular and unique form of property indemnity, land title insurance protects landowners, mortgage lenders, and developers in the rare instances where it is discovered that a property’s ownership has been rendered invalid. Unique in its implementation, title insurance finds its basis in the United States’s rather spotty history of property record keeping.

A key organization in establishing the standards of title insurance is the American Land Title Association (ALTA), a trade organization that sets the policy in the industry. has promoted consumer education, encourages a culture of ethical practice in the real estate industry, and, in coordination with the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM), has attempted to implement uniform standards on land surveying and measurement.

NEXT: How are Land Descriptions Used in Surveys