As a property owner, title company or commercial developer, you’ve most likely heard of an ALTA land survey. ALTA stands for the American Land Title Association, and an ALTA land survey is considered the gold standard of surveying. In fact, an ALTA land survey must comply with a lengthy list of minimium requirements to be considered official.
What is the purpose of an ALTA Land Survey?
Common boundary surveys are generally used for private residences, but commercial projects require more information and in-depth analysis. An ALTA land survey can alert a property owner or commercial developer to both the risks and benefits of selecting and developing a particular piece of property. Ultimately, the process gives property owners and developers the information they need to start work on a new project, all while avoiding potential legal and zoning issues
An ALTA Land Survey includes:
- Location of the main building including improvements
- Location of ancillary buildings
- Identification of easements (or access rights by service companies like water, gas, telephone, railways and other utilities)
- Boundary lines
- Zoning classifications
- Flood zone classification
- Legal description of the property
Do it once and do it right
Investing in an ALTA Land Survey is more expensive than a general boundary survey, but it’s undoubtedly worth it. The information and insights it can provide are invaluable.
Do you know a fellow business owner that’s had to stall work on a new project due to a property defect or zoning issue? Have you read stories about entire commercial projects shutting down due to issues that could have been addressed at the beginning of a project? These kinds of situations are far too common and completely avoidable. Knowing the lay of the land you’re building on, is a key component to your success.
Getting the full picture
Starting work on any new commercial development project is a big deal. There are dozens of people involved, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars invested, and a looming project deadline. Unfortunately, with inaccurate information or shoddy surveying work, you can be left facing legal or zoning restrictions. Rushing through the survey process might be tempting, but it just isn’t worth it. You need to get a full picture of the property — which is where our laser scanning capabilities come in.
An overview of our laser scanning capabilities
Here at McNeil Engineering, we’ve been providing property owners and investors accurate, boundary, topographic, and in-depth ALTA land surveys for decades, but that’s just scratching the surface — we’re also leaders in the field of laser scanning.
This relatively new technology automatically captures up to 50,000 survey points per second – providing a comprehensive, in-depth picture of any project. Once processed, the scan data can be directly embedded in design documents like AutoCAD drawings. Laser Scanning provides more detail and more accuracy, in a shorter amount of time, and at a more affordable cost than any conventional surveying method.
Trust your surveying and laser scanning needs to us
We know that you have dozens of options to choose from when it comes to selecting a partner for your next project, but we hope you’ll select the team here at McNeil Engineering. Our surveying professionals are friendly, knowledgeable and easy to work with, and can provide you with the data and information you desperately need in order to succeed.
To find out more about our laser scanning and land surveying team, we invite you to visit our website. There you can get to know the individuals that make McNeil Engineering so special and even look at some pictures and videos at our previous work. We look forward to serving you however we can! Let’s get to work!
