ALTA Survey Basics

An ALTA/NSPS survey is a land title survey prepared to the minimum standard of detail jointly adopted by the American Land Title Association and the National Society of Professional Surveyors. A licensed surveyor field-verifies the property's boundary lines against the legal description, then plots building footprints, setback lines, parking, and points of access to public streets.

The survey also identifies easements (utility, access, and drainage rights recorded against the property), any encroachments where a structure or improvement crosses a boundary line, and the property's flood zone designation based on the current FEMA flood insurance rate map. Lenders typically request a specific set of optional "Table A" items, such as zoning classification, parking counts, and utility locations, tailored to the property type and loan.

A standard title policy excludes matters that "an accurate survey would disclose" unless a current, satisfactory survey is delivered to the title company. Without one, the lender's title policy carries a broad survey exception, leaving the lender's collateral position exposed to boundary disputes, undisclosed easements, or access problems the policy would not otherwise cover.

Delivering an acceptable ALTA survey allows the title insurer to delete or narrow that exception, giving the lender comfort that the legal description, the improvements, and the recorded easements are all consistent with one another before loan proceeds are advanced.

The most frequent issues an ALTA survey uncovers are encroachments (a building, fence, sign, or parking area that crosses onto an adjoining parcel or right-of-way) and easement conflicts, where a recorded utility or access easement runs directly beneath a building footprint or planned improvement. Both can cloud title and complicate a future sale or refinance if left unresolved.

Other red flags include a lack of recorded legal access to a dedicated public street, a discrepancy between the surveyed boundary and the legal description in the title commitment, and a location wholly or partly within a mapped floodplain. Underwriters typically require these items to be cleared, insured over by endorsement, or otherwise resolved before closing.

Minor discrepancies can often be addressed with a survey endorsement to the title policy, a boundary line agreement, or an easement modification recorded before or at closing. More serious issues, such as a building materially encroaching on a neighboring lot or missing legal access, may require a licensed survey correction, a negotiated easement, or in some cases a purchase price or loan amount adjustment.

Because survey review, title curative work, and closing timelines are interconnected, originators typically order the ALTA survey early in due diligence so any issues surface with enough time to resolve before the closing date.