How ALTA Surveys Assist When Refinancing Commercial Property 

08/11/2026 10:44 AM       Mark Goodman

People refinance their home or their commercial property all the time. Perhaps they need to refinance to have more flexibility with their payment options, they are trying to free up cash for another purchase, or rates have dropped and they can save money by refinancing their loan. 

Refinancing seems like a pretty straightforward process. You already own the property, you’re refinancing for less than your original loan amount, and you’ve already had a land survey conducted on the commercial property before you closed on it originally. So why is your title insurance company requiring another ALTA land survey before they’ll issue a title insurance policy following your refinancing request? Below, we explain the role that an ALTA survey plays in securing title insurance when refinancing your commercial property. 

A title insurance policy protects the financial institution or the property owner from a specific set of risks. Encroachments, title clouds, boundary disputes, things like that. However, the policy is tied to your original loan. When you refinance, you do so by receiving another loan to close out the original loan. Thus, the original loan that the title insurance policy is tied to ceases to exist. 

Even if nothing has changed with the property, the refinancing process essentially forces the title company to investigate again. On their end, they are underwriting a new transaction, and they are going to need current evidence that everything appears as it should be before they issue the policy. Relying on old information opens the company up to additional risk, and since they can defer the costs of mitigating the risk onto the party that’s taking out a new loan, it’s a simple measure on their end to protect their financial interests. 

You probably don’t love the idea of having to pay for another ALTA survey in order to secure title insurance, but it is simply the cost of doing business, and it is a value that should be incorporated into whether or not it makes financial sense to refinance. There are more fees when refinancing than most are aware of, so work with an industry professional to crunch the numbers to ensure you’re making the right choice for your money. 

Working with a title services company like Commercial Partners can help you get a better understanding of a ballpark figure for title insurance if you’re considering refinancing your commercial loan. 

For more information about title insurance or any aspect of commercial property acquisition, connect with the team at Commercial Partners today at (612) 337-2470.