Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
provided information is not legible or is otherwise deficient then the office is not
fulfilling its mandate.
Small battery powered scanners are available which can be placed on or
dragged over a page. These devices store the image of the plan or other document
in computer memory. When the researcher returns to the office the image can be
sent to a computer and printed or printed using an infrared beam if the printer is
so enabled. Another possibility is the use of a digital camera to capture images of
a plan. The camera must have relatively high resolution and the ability to focus in
such a way as to produce an acceptable image. In taking multiple images of the
same plan, the camera must be held at exactly the same distance from the page or
the scale of each image will be different, making it difficult to paste the images
together. Although time consuming, images can be imported into a CAD program
and enlarged or reduced to fit the desired scale.
9.17 Internet Searches of Land Records
Many of the research issues described in the preceding paragraphs are becoming
less of a concern as recording offices are becoming computerized with internet
access. Where such internet access exists, acquiring copies may be as easy as visit-
ing the recorder's office web site, performing a search and downloading the docu-
ment. In some jurisdictions documents can be downloaded and printed at no cost.
In other cases, the documents can be viewed but only printed after payment of
a fee. Many recorders offices are still in the process of scanning documents into
their database. It is common for the latest documents to be scanned first and older
documents added to the database as time and funds permit. A few searches by the
author at the time of publication of this topic showed that in some cases, online
records only went back to the 1970s. For any documents older than this, it would
be necessary to visit the recorder's office and obtain the records using a copier or
other means. Because recorders' offices are often a part of the county government,
the online availability of documents can vary substantially with the jurisdiction.
9.18 Mortgage Plot Plans
Sometimes, a client will mention to the surveyor that they have a “plot plan”
showing their property. Often, these plot plans are what are commonly called
Mortgage Plot Plans
. These are sketches required to be made by lending institu-
tions prior to lending money on a particular property. Their purpose is presumably
to determine whether there are apparent encroachments and whether it appears
that all of the buildings are actually on the subject property. Mortgage plot plans
are usually not the result of an instrument survey. Often, measurements are made
by a single person with nothing more than a tape. Lending institutions may place
