About Section Line Land Services

How it started

Section Line Land Services was founded in 2021 by James Corvallis. The idea was simple. Land work kept running into the same few problems, and most of them were about paper.

The first problem was the records themselves. Some counties had everything online. Others had a deed room where the oldest books were kept, with handwritten indexes and pages that had been copied, folded and copied again. Even the scanned deeds were a mixed bag: pages cut off at the edge, a margin note you could not read, a file named with a date and nothing else. Title work is only as good as the images behind it, so we started by doing the imaging carefully and naming every file so it matched its row in the runsheet. Reading and sorting those images by hand was slow, so we looked for ways to let software do the first pass once the tools were good enough. A person still checks the result.

The second problem showed up after the title opinion. A list of requirements would come back, and each one needed an affidavit, a probate file or a corrective deed. Too often the list sat in an email while everyone assumed someone else was working on it. We added title curative services so that each requirement had an owner, a status and a recording date. The hard files were the ones we kept being asked about: gaps in the chain, missing probates, old mortgages with no release, and names that changed from one deed to the next. We decided to take those on, not hand them back.

The third problem was the leases. Boxes of them, some typed, some signed in pen, and a take-off that did not quite agree with the record. We added lease acquisition support to check the leases against the ownership and keep one list of who had signed and what was still out.

How it grew

We started with title work in a few counties and added states as the work led us there. Today we work in Montana, North Dakota, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. Every state keeps its records a little differently, so we write down what we learn. Our county notes cover five of those states so far, and we add more as we check them.

Growing meant needing more people in more places. Instead of building a fixed crew, we built a network of contract landmen. Today we work with hundreds of landmen around the country, which is how large projects get split up and finished on a deadline.

The tools grew too. We now use modern technology, including AI, for the repetitive parts of land work, and we keep a person in charge of every result.

What we specialize in

Technology

We apply modern technology and AI to land work. In practice that means faster review of large stacks of documents, imaged records that can be searched, runsheets that follow the same layout from county to county, and quality checks that flag names, dates and descriptions that do not agree. A person reviews the work before it goes out, every time.

Scale

We work with hundreds of landmen around the country. They are contract landmen, not employees, and we are always adding more. When a project is large, we put people in the counties where the work is, keep one format across all of them and finish on the date we agreed.

Complex title and curative

We are set up for the hard files: gaps in the chain, missing probates, old mortgages that were never released, and name discrepancies. We report the problem clearly, and then we do the curative work to clear it, so the file can go back to the attorney in better shape. See also our mineral title research and oil and gas title work.

A note from the founder

I started Section Line to make title work easier to read and easier to check. A good packet lets the next person pick it up without calling the person who made it. That is the standard we try to meet on every project, whether the file is simple or one that other people have put off.

James Corvallis, Founder and CEO

What we do

We research county records and turn them into documents people can use: runsheets, abstracts, ownership reports, curative trackers and indexed image sets. We also support lease acquisition and due diligence with the same research, and we take on complex title and curative.

How we work

• We keep the scope clear. You know what you are getting, how far back it goes and when it is due.
• We report what the record shows. Conclusions about title belong to your attorney.
• We follow your format. If you have a template or a checklist, we use it.
• We show our work. Every row traces back to an image.

What we are not

We are not a law firm and do not give legal advice. We do not write title opinions. We do not insure title. See how it works for the full list.

Work with us

Our landmen are contract landmen, not employees, and we are always adding landmen to the network. We use contract people for title research, curative, imaging and lease support. See careers for the roles, typical day rates and how to apply.

How to reach us

By email at [email protected]. See the contact page for what to include.