Title lists issues (maybe)

Recently, I notice some of title companies change the way they list easements on the Schedule C of title commitment: they combined the easements on one listing instead of individual list.

Usually, each easement is listed individually as item a, b, c, and described with their general location, such as,

a) 10’ water esmt. at the front as recorded in File 1998 1234

b) 10’ water esmt. at the side line as recorded File 2010 5678.

With the new way, the listing is:

a) Water easements as recorded in File 1998 1234 and File 2010 5678.

This is OK with surveyors, because we read every deed listed before put them into the survey plat. But for some individuals, this looks like there is only one easement with two recording information, not two different easements with two records. As these individuals might the QA/QC of the project, this will cause some confusion and headache.

One of the plat I was working on, it went through the city, and to the final stage of recording. The plat checker, raised an issued, because he/she only see one water easement at the side as File 2010 5678 (the front water easement was one the plat too but somehow it didn’t catch the eye as the other one). So he/she told our company plat guide to change the easement on the side to say File 1998 1234 and File 2010 5678 by hand. Our plat guide changed it as told. Luckily, the plat did not get recorded right then because some other issues, so they came back to me with the story, and I have to tell them to change it back to the way it was.

Just imagine if the plat got recorded, and I have my sign and seal on the plat that has the easement with the wrong/extra deed info attached.

I don’t know if the new listing trend will last, I can imagine it will cause a lot of communication problems between surveyors and checkers if this go on.