Neighboring commercial bldg is having an ALTA survey done - what are they up to?
My home adjoins a vacant lot, which is used as a parking lot (12-15 spaces). 

On the other side of that lot, is an alley.  On the other side of the alley, is a 3-story commericial building which is owned by a successful mental health company (outpatient), who have multiple buildings in the area.  So, I am 2 lots away from an intersection, which is a heavily residential area. 

Yesterday they knocked on my door and asked to cut through the yard, to get to survey points.  Not a problem, and that's when I got them to tell me it is an ALTA survey.   

They were out there yesterday all day, across the street, and even on the OTHER side of my house.  Across the street as well (not just across the alley).    Today they've been out there all day as well. 

What do you think they would be plotting, with a 2-day Alta survey?   

I've tried for years to be cordial with the property manager, but he's a socially-anxious type and doesn't respond to that.  Wrote him an email asking, no answer.


EDIT: the prop mgr was squirrely, but said 2 things:  (1) they are not selling, and (2) they are having a parking lot resurfaced.  He wouldn't say more, and I didn't push it.   Maybe it's a refi?
[{"id": "h1vu05c", "text": "it\u2019s probably being sold. Whenever we buy a property we have an ALTA done.\n\nCheck your city/county permitting or development review website to see if there\u2019s been any new projects proposed for the site.", "replies": [{"id": "h1w97ak", "text": "Are you usually buying MF Residential? Commercial? Industrial? What are you (typically ) paying for an ALTA survey; and do you do a zoning report at the same time?", "replies": [{"id": "h1wj437", "text": "We\u2019ve bought and developed everything from MF, to retail, office, hospitality, and industrial. Since the end of 2019 we\u2019ve really focused our efforts on MF acquisitions because the risk adjusted returns are what our investors are seeking.\n\nFor ALTAs I budget $10,000 and usually end up paying between $5,000-$8,000. That being said, we are under contract on a 15 building property, spanning 3 parcels, and has an additional 15+ acres of land that\u2019s going to cost $15,000. This is because of the number of buildings and additional land.\n\nA zoning report is usually $800-$1,000 and we order it every time just to be safe. A quick call into the city\u2019s planning department will tell you whether it is complaint or not but the extra $1,000 is worth being able to show our investors.\n\n99% of the time we use Partner Engineering to get our third parties from. Usually can have a quote/proposal back within a day.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h1vuhr5", "text": "It could be for a re-finance, but otherwise it's likely being sold. Could be same use, just ownership change. Hard to tell, but you could try to look at the city's planning department to see if anyone has applied for a permit or if any permits have been issued.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h1vvtog", "text": "Sounds like it'd either being sold or they want to build on it. I'm a Commercial Lender and we typically don't require a survey for a refi only a purchase. He could be telling the truth having it repaved as thelat could trigger it as well.", "replies": [{"id": "h1w89qs", "text": "On a commercial parcel purchase, who typically pays for the ALTA; seller, or buyer?", "replies": [{"id": "h1w8p8h", "text": "Buyer", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "h1w8q5a", "text": "Buyer", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h1vy3vv", "text": "Also, it\u2019s unfortunate but we keep our property managers mostly in the dark when it comes to an impending sale. He may seem as he\u2019s coming off shady but theres a good probability he simply doesn\u2019t know.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h1w2fzq", "text": "Prob development", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h2gflpj", "text": "Sounds to me like they are selling...OR they may have plans to redevelop the property and needs to verify lot lines, easements, etc for their plan. It could be as simple as wanting to know the actually lot lines to make sure they slurry the right areas....but that seems like over kill to me.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]