Four Requests From a Seller Under Contract

1. Omit the garage and shed - no. A boundary plat is a depiction of what exists relative to the lines. A 1.6-ft building encroachment and a shed in a drainage easement are material facts to a lender, a title insurer and a buyer. Omitting them is a misrepresentation in a document third parties rely on, and it is unprofessional conduct under the Board's rules regardless of whether anyone 'cares.'

2. Backdate the plat - no. The date on a plat is the date of the survey and it accompanies your certification. Backdating it to precede a contract falsifies the record and would mislead anyone reading the file about when the work was done.

3. Certify Lots 14 and 15 unseen - no. Your seal certifies work you performed or that was performed under your responsible charge. Identical lots still have their own monuments, their own improvements and their own encroachments, and you have not looked at them. Sealing work not done is exactly the conduct the licensure statute exists to prevent.

4. Show the fence as the boundary - no. You locate the record boundary from the deeds and the evidence on the ground. If the two owners want to make the fence the legal line, that is a legal act - a written boundary line agreement or conveyance, prepared with counsel - not a drafting choice on a survey.

Must appear:

• The record boundary, with the monuments found and set, the basis of bearings, distances, area, scale, north arrow, date, your seal and certification, and deed references for the subject parcel and adjoining owners.
• The garage, with its position relative to the west line dimensioned (1.6 ft over).
• The drainage easement, with its recorded width and deed/book reference, and the shed dimensioned 8.2 ft inside it.
• The chain-link fence shown as a found feature, dimensioned 3.0 ft from the record line.
• A clear statement that the plat is a survey and not a title opinion, so no one reads it as a legal determination of ownership.

Must not do: omit a material encroachment; alter or invent a date; seal parcels you have not surveyed; redraw the boundary to follow the fence; or write a note characterizing the encroachments as acceptable. Do not give legal advice about whether the easement holder can force removal of the shed or whether the fence line has become the boundary. Report the facts and let counsel advise on consequences.

Respond in writing, promptly, before the closing date is set. Restate the four instructions neutrally, state which you cannot do and why in one sentence each, and make clear that the survey can still be delivered on time. A written record protects both parties and heads off the later claim that you 'agreed' and then reneged.

Then offer real options:

• Prepare the plat as the facts support, and let the title company and lender decide how to handle the garage encroachment (an easement, a waiver, or a price adjustment). Encroachments close every day when they are disclosed.
• Survey Lots 14 and 15 as separate parcels for an additional fee and a realistic schedule, with their own plats.
• If the owners want the fence to be the line, refer them to their attorneys for a boundary line agreement or quitclaim deed; you can then survey the line as newly described once the documents are executed and recorded.
• Show both the record line and the possession line so the buyer sees exactly what is being purchased.

The professional point is that refusing the improper instructions is not refusing the client. You are paid for accurate facts, and accurate facts are what let a transaction close without a later lawsuit.