Each TEAM Consulting workshop has been developed to maximize learning and can be tailored to fit your organization's needs. See below for an overview of our Mapping and GIS workshop offerings. 

This workshop covers the History of Land Ownership in the United States and the Principles of Property Law.

If we accept the purpose that both attorneys and land surveyors apply principles of law toward ownership of real property, we must also accept the role of an assessor and staff as experts regarding the county Cadastre. The cadastral expert applies law, rules and common sense in forming an opinion of ownership and location of property boundaries for assessment purposes. This workshop adds to the body of knowledge of the participant in making the decision necessary for an accurate American Cadastre. This workshop focuses on the terminology and components of legal documents involved in the ownership and valuation of real property.

Modern day local assessment offices are staffed with individuals who possess different skill sets and knowledge than deemed necessary even five years ago. It is through the taxation of real property that tax jurisdictions within the United States generate a majority of their revenue. The Assessor’s Cadastre workshop is designed to provide students with an understanding, and most importantly, a working knowledge of legal documents related to real property ownership and the rights associated with that ownership. Understanding real property law is critical to the valuation of parcels in conformance with generally accepted appraisal standards. This class covers real property ownership and tax assessment in the United States, as well as real property law, from the county assessment office standpoint.
The lecture will cover the following topics: the history of land conveyances; the history of real property assessment; understanding the various components of property transfers; the recommended order of importance of ambiguous legal instruments; how assessment staff should handle various legal deed and taxpayer requested abnormalities; redefining the relationship between the county’s recorder’s office and the assessor; how to acquire new imagery without using the county’s capital funds; the best business practices for maintaining and accurate and equitable real property assessment database.

How can drones be safely used to map property and buildings in three dimensions and what about the privacy laws affecting the safe use of this invasive technology? Another fascinating history of the technology and law, and how society changes with time.

GPS and professional surveying tools are explained as well as how these points, lines, and polygons are the foundation of your Geographic Information System. Like the first day, we poke some fun at the old ways of doing things, while learning the nuance of map distortions and errors.

Human history has literally connected the dots to define property ownership for several thousand years. Of course, the motivation was typically taxes. This history of mapping led to understanding the shape of the earth as well as how to measure time. There is lots of humor and surprises on this first day.

The last day examines how CAMA will likely move towards a three-dimensional cadastre. 3D buildings and virtual reality will be explained. Also, how automated change detection works, including with 3D point clouds but also with neural networks processing new air photos. And what does this mean for today’s Assessor.