Surveys in Commercial Transactions

January 7, 2015

Event| Real Estate Services

Sara Toner spoke during this ABA CLE-accredited program. During this program, panelists addressed:

  • ALTA/ACSM Minimum Standards, and the what, how & why of the Table A requests for additional items for inclusion on the survey;
  • Types of surveys, and when to use each and what they are designed to show;
  • Apparent easements and servitudes, and encroachments;
  • Building the right team of experts to address survey issues;
  • Coordinating a project among attorneys, architects, engineers and planners, and the contractor;
  • Using surveys to demonstrate sustainable building measures, and how the surveyor can lend additional value to a project;
  • Case study: major wetland and floodplain issues in the planning for the Chicago Premium Outlets project in Aurora, IL, a 143 acre site for Simon Property Group;
  • The feasibility of the preferred site for the project based on the presence of large areas of wetland and floodplain and the likelihood of getting a permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers;
  • Using the project design to help solve regional downstream flooding issues, resulting in critical City and County support for the project;
  • Title insurance coverage and ALTA endorsements for survey matters;
  • Assembling the team of professionals to work with attorneys and title companies with examples, advice, and useful hints for practice;
  • Challenges and scenarios in project planning, and how a survey can reveal the need for enhanced title coverage; and
  • The recent Lawyers Title Ins. Corp. v. Doubletree Partners, L.P., 739 F.3d 848, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 717 (5th Cir. Tex. 2014) case and the implications with respect to survey coverage.