A sale-leaseback lets an owner sell a property and keep using it. The owner sells to a buyer, then signs a lease and stays on as the tenant. An ALTA survey gives everyone in the deal a clear, measured picture of the land and the buildings on it. That picture helps the buyer, the seller, the lender and the title company review the property against the transaction documents.
Chicago sees plenty of these deals. Commercial and industrial owners in Cook County often free up cash this way while staying in place. The survey work behind a sale-leaseback can look a little different from a plain purchase. The reason is simple. Ownership and use don’t stay with the same party.
Why a Sale-Leaseback Calls for a Different ALTA Survey Conversation
In a sale-leaseback, ownership and occupancy split apart. The buyer takes title to the property. The seller stays and becomes the tenant. So the survey talk may center on the exact property interest in play, not a plain fee-simple sale.
In a regular purchase, one buyer takes the whole parcel and moves in. A sale-leaseback works differently. The seller hands over ownership but keeps using the space under a new lease. The lease sets out what the tenant will occupy, and that could be the full parcel or only part of it. Because of that, the survey scope may need to speak to a defined interest. It helps to treat the job as its own kind of deal rather than a copy of a standard sale.
Define the Leased Area Before Survey Work Starts
Give the surveyor the proposed lease exhibit, the legal description and any transaction documents early. That way the survey covers the right ground from day one.
The parties should say up front what the lease actually covers. A single building on its own lot is easy to pin down. A leased portion inside a larger property takes more care. Share the details before fieldwork so the surveyor knows the target area.
The lease might cover:
- An entire parcel
- A whole building on the site
- A defined portion of a larger property
Each of these changes what the survey needs to show. A defined portion, for example, calls for a clear line on where that area starts and stops. The sooner the surveyor sees the lease exhibit and legal description, the better the fit with the deal.
Compare the Lease Exhibit With the Survey Evidence
An ALTA survey shows the property and its buildings as they really sit on the ground. The team can hold that surveyed picture next to the lease exhibit and the legal description and check whether they match.
The survey maps boundaries, structures, parking, easements and other features you can see and measure. With that in hand, anyone reviewing the deal can line up the drawing with the lease exhibit and the transaction documents. Gaps or mismatches show up early, while there’s still time to sort them out.
One thing stays clear. The surveyor does not read the lease or decide legal rights. Those calls belong to the title company and the attorneys. The survey supplies the measured facts, and the legal and title professionals handle what the documents mean. That keeps the roles clear for everyone.
Set Table A Items Around the Actual Deal Requirements
Table A items are optional. The team picks them based on what the buyer, lender, title insurer and tenant need for this deal. No single list fits every sale-leaseback.
An ALTA survey has a set of mandatory requirements plus a menu of optional Table A items. The current 2026 ALTA/NSPS Minimum Standard Detail Requirements took effect on February 23, 2026, and they set the baseline every ALTA survey follows. Table A sits on top of that baseline. One deal might want flood zone information or building dimensions, and another might not. The right move is to talk early with everyone who will rely on the survey and choose the items that fit this sale-leaseback. Picking items to match the deal beats copying a list from a different job.
Keep the Survey Deliverables Aligned With the Parties Who Need Them
Before the surveyor signs off, confirm the certifications, the delivery format and the exact recipient names. Then each party gets the survey their review calls for.
A sale-leaseback can pull in several parties at once. The buyer takes the title. The seller becomes the tenant, so the same company often shows up as both seller and tenant. A lender and a title insurer usually join too. The survey’s certification names the parties who can rely on it, and if a name is left off or spelled wrong, that party may not be able to lean on the survey for its review.
So settle a few things before the final survey goes out. Confirm who needs to be named in the certification. Confirm the format each party wants, whether that’s a sealed print, a PDF or a CAD file. Confirm how and when it gets delivered. A licensed land surveyor signs and seals the finished work, and recorded documents give public notice of interests tied to the land. Getting the recipient list right up front saves a round of reissues later.
