This is a small format survey, usually done on a legal size page. This kind of “map” is typically ordered by a realtor for a buyer or seller to assure them that the property has no glaring issues. This may be done with or without a title commitment on the property. If no title work is available, the ILC can still be useful for a “snapshot” of the property. It can be ordered by a property owner to give a less expensive and fully measured drawing of everything built on their lot. The original purpose of the ILC was for the mortgage and title insurance industries to be assured that there were no title or legal problems with the property, such as encroachments or structures built over the property lines.
In the past five years more governmental agencies have decided to accept the ILC for certain types of building permits. Because this represents such a cost savings to the property owner, it is well worth checking with your local Building Permit Department to see if the ILC can be provided to obtain a building permit for your proposed project.
• Requires finding any existing property corners, measuring house, sheds, driveways, walks, fences, patios and all built environment details;
• Setback distances measured from the major buildings to the property lines – BUT are approximate, since no property corners may be found, but the drawing is still issued with a surveyor’s seal and signature;
• Surveyor’s certificate text includes the legal description, reference to title insurance information (easements and exceptions), warnings about use for construction and the surveyor’s seal and signature.
Since some governmental agencies accept the ILC for a building permit, it can be used by an architect, engineer or designer for preparing a “Plot Plan”, also called a “Site Plan”. The only drawback to using the ILC for the plot plan is that, if the setback distance a newly constructed deck or addition have to be shown to the property line, and NO PROPERTY CORNERS are found, the ILC does not provide for setting missing property corners. Hence, the setback distances cannot be accurately measured.
Even though ILCs are commonly referred to as “surveys”, they are technically not and are prepared only for the specific purposes. By Colorado state statutes there are no monuments set and the resulting document is not deposited in the County Clerks Office records as are Improvement Survey Plats and other types of Land or Boundary Surveys.