What Are ALTA/ NSPS Land Title Surveys? | Corona, CA

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The American Land Title Association (ALTA) and the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) require surveys to be conducted so they may assist title companies, lenders, and borrowers identify the potential risks of investing in a given property. As such, the requirements for these surveys include defining the boundaries of the property, easements, existing improvements, flood zones, general zoning, parking, encumbrances, and potential encroachments. These are all risks that any property can be subjected to, and the ALTA and NSPS are unable to provide their clients with the advice they seek without a thorough understanding of these details. That is where the experienced professionals at CalVada can help.

The results of the survey must be acceptable to a title insurance company if they are to properly insure a given property. This means that the property must be free and clear of matters (except that disclosed by the survey and indicated on the accompanying plat or map), and that specific and pertinent information be clearly communicated between all interested parties.

Our experienced professionals understand the requirements that need to be met for the proper evaluation of a property, ensuring your survey is accepted the first time.

To learn more about topographic surveys, please contact us at (800) CALVADA or visit www.calvada.com.

Calvada proudly serves Corona and all surrounding areas.

The Importance and Process of Boundary Surveys | Corona, CA

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Boundary surveys arguably provide one of the most important pieces of information a prospective property owner can gather. When properly performed, a boundary survey will allow a current or prospective property owner to understand the exact coordinates of their property line so he or she may build their structure with confidence and identify potential encroachments. Not only would an owner not want to extend beyond their property line, but should someone encroach upon theirs, the results of this survey may become an important piece of evidence in court.

So, how are boundary surveys conducted? Our team of experienced professionals begins by acquiring all the necessary documentation required to conduct research and pre-calculations. Once they have a general understanding of the area, a field crew visits the site to assess existing monumentation and conduct survey measurements. That information is then passed along to our office staff to review and determine boundary coordinates. The results of that determination then go back to the field crew who then set the property’s corners and prepare a Record of Survey.

The Record of Survey is then filed with the County Surveyor and results are provided to the property owner. We pride ourselves on providing high-quality boundary mapping services. Our clients can proceed with confidence knowing that their property corners are located accurately.

To learn more about boundary surveys, please contact us at (800) CALVADA or visit www.calvada.com.

Calvada proudly serves Corona and all surrounding areas.

Is Technology Taking Out the Land Surveyor? | Corona, CA

Traditionally the land surveyor had a job that the typical layman couldn’t do – use fancy equipment to survey a particular piece of land and report back any data needed. It was complicated and very necessary to the function of America. It was the backbone of progress.

Today, things have changed due to the continued progression of technological advances. There is now much more sophisticated equipment developed that is now accessible to the public. People have learned to use equipment used by the land surveyor. Perhaps not for land surveying purposes, but they use it for other purposes. They can use the scanners, they can fly drones. They may not have the knowledge that land surveyors do, but with all this technology at their fingertips, is there life after technology for the land surveyor?

Curtis Sumner of the National Society of Professional Land Surveyors spoke about the future of land surveying amidst the development of COVID-19 and technology, and how we can save the future of land surveying.

To read more about his speech, click here.

To find out more about the future of land surveying, please contact us at (800) CALVADA or visit www.calvada.com.

Calvada proudly serves Corona and all surrounding areas.

Information Regarding NSPS and COVID-19 | Corona, CA

Recognizing that federal legislation addressing the COVID-19 pandemic won’t be final until the Senate and House reach agreement, National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) wants to share with members the information that is known from time to time. Below is a summary of the current situation provided by American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC)

Business Tax Relief

  • Deferral of payment of the employer portion of the Social Security tax, with half due by December 31, 2021 and the other half due by December 31, 2022.
  • Allows net operating losses arising in 2018, 2019 and 2020 to be carried back for five years.
  • Modifies the loss limitation applicable to passthroughs and sole proprietors so they can utilize excess business losses and access cash flow.
  • Increases business interest deductibility from 30 to 50 percent for 2019 and 2020.
  • Provides a refundable payroll tax credit for employers whose operations are partially or fully suspended by a COVID-19 shutdown order or whose gross receipts declined by more than 50 percent compared to the same quarter in the prior year.
  • Provides a technical fix for the qualified leasehold improvement provision in the TCJA.

Small Business Assistance

  • Provides $562 million for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) to small businesses. 
  • The package also authorizes $350 billion worth of 100 percent guaranteed SBA loans, a portion of which SBA will forgive based on allowable expenses for the borrower.
  • This small business package also includes $10 billion in direct grants for businesses that do not qualify for the EIDL program, and $17 billion to have SBA step in and make six months of principle and interest payments for all SBA backed business loans.
  • Establishes the maximum 7(a) loan amount to $10 million through December 31, 2020 and provides a formula by which the loan amount is tied to payroll costs incurred by the business to determine the size of the loan.
  • Note that 501 c(3) non-profits qualify for small business assistance programs, not 501 c(6) entities; ACEC will work with ASAE and other associations to address in the next package.

Individual Assistance

  • The agreement provides direct payments to individuals with incomes up to $75,000 ($150,000 for couples), $1,200 for each adult ($2400 for couples), as well as $500 for each child.
  • The bill would add $600 per person per week onto the base maximum unemployment benefit for four months.
  • The bill enables employers to provide a student loan repayment benefit to employees on a tax-free basis, contributing up to $5,250 annually toward an employee’s student loans, and such payment would be excluded from the employee’s income. The $5,250 cap applies to both the new student loan repayment benefit as well as other educational assistance (e.g., tuition, fees, books) provided by the employer under current law. The provision applies to any student loan payments made by an employer on behalf of an employee after date of enactment and before January 1, 2021.  Note that this provision is based on legislation that ACEC has advocated for to Congress as part of the Council’s workforce agenda.

Transportation

  • $25 billion for mass transit systems
  • Available for operating expenses to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19, and reimbursement for lost revenue
  • Distributed under current transit program formulas
  • $10 billion for airports
  • $7.4 billion available for any purpose, distributed 50/50 by number of enplanements and ratio of overall debt service
  • $2 billion for AIP formula grants, available for any purpose
  • $500 million to cover the 100% federal cost share of FY20 programs
  • $1 billion for passenger rail
  • $492 million for Amtrak Northeast Corridor, to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19

State Assistance – Provides $150 billion to States, Territories, and Tribal governments to use for expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19 in the face of revenue declines, allocated by population proportions, with a minimum of $1.25 billion for states with relatively small populations.

Community Development Block Grant – $5 billion is provided for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to enable nearly 1,240 states, counties, and cities to rapidly respond to COVID-19 and the economic and housing impacts caused by it, including the expansion of community health facilities, child care centers, food banks, and senior services.

Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund — Provides $500 billion for loans, loan guarantees, and other investments, distributed as follows:

$25 billion for passenger air carriers, eligible businesses that are certified under part 145 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, and approved to perform inspection, repair, replace, or overhaul services, and ticket agents

$4 billion for cargo air carriers

$17 billion for businesses important to maintaining national security

$454 billion, as well as any amounts available but not used for direct lending, for loans, loan guarantees, and investments in support of the Federal Reserve’s lending facilities to eligible businesses, states, and municipalities. Federal Reserve 13(3) lending is a critical tool that can be used in times of crisis to help mitigate extraordinary pressure in financial markets that would otherwise have severe adverse consequences for households, businesses, and the U.S. economy.

To find out more about COVID-19, please contact us at (800) CALVADA or visit www.calvada.com.

Calvada proudly serves Corona and all surrounding areas.

So, You Want to Be a Land Surveyor | Corona, CA

Are you a fan of maps? Do the land variations of a certain area fascinate you? If so, you may be an ideal candidate to be a land surveyor. A land surveyor is a technical specialist who uses mathematics and data gathered to measure surface distances and boundaries. You will observe and record elevations and depressions in an area, calculate coordinates and research property information to identify boundaries and prepare sketches, maps and reports. But what does it take to become a land surveyor? Here are the five simple steps:

High school/apprenticeships. If you’re interested in surveying, high school courses in algebra, trigonometry, geometry, drafting and computers may help prepare you for this type of work.

Earn a bachelor’s degree. A bachelor’s degree program in surveying includes, satellite surveying and remote sensing, land information systems, survey research, statistical methods and real estate law.

Obtain a surveyor’s license. All states require surveyors become licensed. Most states accept the results of two exams administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (www.ncees.org).

Seek employment. You’ll find surveying jobs mainly at government agencies and at architectural, engineering, mining, construction and utility companies. These jobs will be the result of more demand for surveyors, especially on infrastructure projects, as well as the retirement and turnover of current workers.

Certifications and specializations. Many employers prefer to promote workers who have obtained a voluntary Certified Survey Technician (CST) certification from the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS). This four-tier certification is available at stages throughout your first six years of experience as a surveyor.

To find out more about becoming a land surveyor, please contact us at (800) CALVADA or visit www.calvada.com.

Calvada proudly serves Corona and all surrounding areas.