California Surveyors Forums

A title officer told me this today, in response to an exchange over an overlap between his report and that of an adjoiner prepared by another title company:

As to the [redacted] report, yeah it probably makes sense to make changes at some point, but from a title insurance standpoint, to include too much land instead of not enough land is okay. You cannot convey what you don't own. In other words, it's not really a pressing issue.

I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out who benefits from this concept. Certainly not the surveyor, whose client is pressing him to establish his property line.

Always remember, they are insurance companies.

It's a business decision.
Laws were enacted to remove personal responsibility for crude products.
The insurance company, and it's staff can Legally create a mashup that confuses the record, and Publish it. Even to the point of filing in the public records.

There was time when those reports were thoroughly researched and verified. We got complacent and let the lobbyists influence the lawmakers to remove their responsibility for their various products.

It was not always like that, it happened in my lifetime (I think).