Lawyers Title - Ordering Surveys & Elev. Certificates Online???

Q: Here we go again - check out LawyersTitle.com, they are trying to broker surveys now. I believe this type of operation only serves to hurt our profession if for no other reason that it continues to deteriorate our public image due to the fact that it promotes competitive bidding without giving the public the opportunity of receiving proper professional advice. I for one will suggest my clients use another title company. Lets face it, just what does a title policy do for the average person or company anyway, we should promote the use of the combination of a good lawyer, abstract of title and surveyor for the closing team.

A: First the lawyers advertise. Now Lawyers Title sells surveys. What's next? Surveyors with full page adds offering legal services for poor title work? I'm not surprised about Lawyers Title. I have seen the title companies go from sweat shops to performing real estate closing to now offering surveying services. They have seen the future in their current business plan and it is not good.

So, they look for new markets. Who knows, if it is only house location/final/mortgage/title surveys that they are selling, then I might not have a problem. However, if it is an ALTA/ACSM survey, then there might be language in the agreement that may preclude them from offering/brokering the survey. If it is boundary surveys in Virginia, then Lawyers Title, as a Virginia Corporation might be offering boundary surveys, and, if so, they need to have a licensed land surveyor on staff for every office that they offer that service. I offer the above observation because the best interest of our Clients may not be served by someone whose primary interest lay somewhere else.