Qualify Properties

Exact steps

1. Open the county's or city's GIS/property viewer (search "[county name] GIS parcel viewer") and type in the parcel's address or APN.
2. Check the utilities/infrastructure layer for water lines — note whether it's a public water line or if the property relies on a well (no line visible, rural area).
3. Check the same viewer for a sanitary sewer line layer — note whether a public line runs near the property, or whether septic is implied (no nearby sewer infrastructure).
4. Turn on the GIS's contour-line layer (often labeled "topography" or "elevation," usually 2-ft intervals) and visually trace the parcel from its highest point to its lowest point.
5. Compare the parcel's lowest point elevation to the elevation where the nearest public sewer line sits — low point higher than the line means gravity flow is possible; lower means flag it as a feasibility risk.
6. Call the city/county public works or engineering department and ask: "Is there a cost-sharing or reimbursement policy for extending water/sewer lines to a parcel, or is extension 100% developer-funded?"
7. Log what you find (well vs. public, septic vs. public, gravity pass/fail, who pays for extension) in TownshipPro's checklist notes for the Utilities category.

Exact steps

1. Identify the nearest public sewer line to the parcel (from your 3a research) and note its approximate street address or manhole location.
2. Call the city or county engineer's office (ask for "engineering" or "public works engineering") and say: "I'm evaluating a parcel for development — can you tell me the depth and invert elevation of the sewer line near [specific address/manhole]?"
3. If they can't answer on the phone, ask whether "as-built" or "record drawings" for that sewer segment are available to request or view — these documents show pipe depth.
4. Subtract the reported pipe depth from the surface elevation at that point to get the true invert elevation, then compare it to your parcel's low-point elevation.
5. If the depth doesn't solve the problem, estimate how many vertical feet of fill dirt would be needed to raise the low point enough to allow a gravity connection.
6. Search "[your area] fill dirt disposal" or "[your area] cut and fill exchange" to see if any nearby grading/excavation projects have surplus dirt they need to get rid of — a cheaper fill source than buying it new.
7. Log the final depth answer and any fill-dirt estimate in the checklist notes so you don't have to repeat this call on a future look at the same parcel.

Exact steps

1. Search "[city or county name] Capital Improvement Plan" or "Capital Improvement Program" — most jurisdictions publish this as a downloadable PDF on their public works or finance department webpage.
2. Open the document and find the infrastructure project list, usually organized by category (water, sewer, streets, parks).
3. Scan specifically for sewer or water line extension projects — look for a project name, a route/map reference, a funding status, and a target year.
4. Open the project's route map (often a separate page or appendix) and note which streets or parcel areas the planned line will run along.
5. Read the project's justification text, if included, for phrases like "promote development" or "extend service area" — this confirms the jurisdiction's own stated intent.
6. Cross-reference the planned route against parcels you're tracking to see if any currently-unbuildable parcel sits along that corridor.
7. Log the CIP project name, funding year, and affected parcel in your notes so you can revisit before the extension becomes public knowledge to everyone else.

Exact steps

1. Open the jurisdiction's zoning map (search "[county/city] zoning map" if you don't already have the link saved).
2. Click on or search for the parcel and read off its zoning code abbreviation (e.g., R-7, C-2, AG).
3. Open the jurisdiction's zoning code or glossary page and look up what that abbreviation stands for in plain terms (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural).
4. Separately, open the jurisdiction's comprehensive plan map (search "[jurisdiction] comprehensive plan map" if it's a different layer or document from the current zoning map).
5. Compare the current zoning designation to the comprehensive plan's future designation for the same parcel — note any difference.
6. Write a one-line plain-English summary: "Currently zoned ___, broad use allowed is ___, future planned zoning is ___."

Exact steps

1. Open your region's environmental/slope GIS layer if one exists (search "[your metro area] regional GIS slope map") and turn on a slope overlay.
2. Note any area of the parcel shown with slopes over 25% — most jurisdictions won't permit building there; treat it as unbuildable.
3. Open Google Maps satellite view on the parcel, hold Shift and click-drag to tilt into 3D view, and visually look for any creek, drainage channel, or low valley cutting through the property.
4. Search "[jurisdiction] wetlands map" or "[jurisdiction] conservation overlay map" and check whether any wetland or buffer zone overlay crosses the parcel.
5. Look at the satellite image or GIS overlay for any visible power line easement or above-ground transmission corridor crossing the property.
6. For each constraint found, rough-estimate the acreage it affects and subtract it from the gross acreage to get a rough buildable estimate.
7. If you find two or more serious constraints stacked on one parcel (e.g., creek + steep slope + easement), treat that as a strong pass signal rather than something to engineer around.

Exact steps

1. Search "[jurisdiction name] Transportation System Plan" or "[jurisdiction name] TSP map" — most cities/counties publish this as a PDF or interactive map on their transportation/planning department page.
2. Open the map and find the legend — identify the line styles for "neighborhood street," "collector," and "arterial" (collectors/arterials are usually thicker or dashed lines).
3. Locate your parcel on the TSP map using the address or nearby cross-streets.
4. Check whether any collector or arterial line crosses directly through or along the parcel boundary — not just a neighborhood street.
5. If a collector/arterial crosses it, note roughly what percentage of the parcel's width or length the planned road corridor would consume.
6. If you find one, treat it as a hard negative input: it adds construction cost, eats buildable ground, and does not benefit the subdivision directly — do not value that ground as sellable.

Exact steps

1. Identify the parcel's current zoning and the zoning it would need to become — note whether this is a main-category change (e.g., ag to residential) or a subcategory change (e.g., 10,000 sq ft lots to 7,000 sq ft lots).
2. Open the jurisdiction's comprehensive growth plan map and check whether the parcel sits inside or outside the designated growth boundary/urban growth area.
3. If the parcel is outside the growth boundary and needs a rural-to-urban rezone, treat the odds as very low regardless of what the seller claims.
4. If it's inside the growth boundary, or it's a subcategory change, call the jurisdiction's planning department, ask for "the planner assigned to this area," and ask: "Informally, what's your sense of how a rezone application for [parcel/area] would be received?"
5. Separately, search "[jurisdiction] civil engineer land use" or ask local contacts for a civil engineer who has recently filed a rezone application in that same jurisdiction, and ask them the same informal question.
6. Ask explicitly about capacity constraints (e.g., "Is there any known sewer capacity issue in this area that would affect a density increase?").
7. Draft your offer with two prices written in: one if the rezone is approved, one lower fallback price if it's denied — so the deal still works regardless of outcome.

Exact steps

1. List the stages in order: feasibility study, application prep, submission/deemed-complete, decision period, preliminary plat approval, appeal period, construction drawings, construction drawing approval, construction, final plat recording.
2. Assign each stage its typical duration: ~90 days feasibility, 30–60 days application prep, 30 days deemed-complete, 120 days decision, 14 days appeal, 60–90 days construction drawings, 60–180 days drawing approval.
3. Add the low-end numbers together, then add the high-end numbers together, to get a best-case and worst-case total (roughly 12–18+ months before any horizontal construction starts).
4. Mark "Construction Drawing Approval" as the true "can start digging" milestone — not preliminary plat approval, which only approves the 2D layout.
5. Note the preliminary plat's 2-year expiration date on your timeline, plus the extension rule (commonly up to 3 one-year extensions, 5 years total) as a hard deadline to track.
6. Search "[jurisdiction] land use application requirements" or call the planning department and ask: "Does a public hearing before City Council apply to this type of subdivision, or is it staff-level approval only?"
7. Write your final best-case/worst-case date range into your deal notes so anyone reviewing the pro-forma knows when to expect "shovel ready."

Exact steps

1. Open the Zoning Code Parser and load one of the four preloaded example districts to see a real parsed zoning code structure (density basis, min lot size, density range, setbacks, permitted uses).
2. Find the zoning abbreviation's meaning — for a fixed-lot-size code (like R-5, R-7, R-40), the number is the minimum lot size in thousands of square feet (R-5 = 5,000 sq ft minimum).
3. If the code instead shows a units-per-net-acre range (e.g., 8–14 units/net acre), note both the minimum and maximum numbers — this is a range model, not a fixed lot size.
4. Calculate net acreage: gross acreage minus unbuildable acreage (from your 3e research).
5. Convert net acreage to square feet (net acres × 43,560), then multiply by the 0.7 efficiency factor for streets/infrastructure loss — this gives net buildable square footage.
6. For a density-range zone, multiply net acreage by the minimum units/acre for your low-end lot count, and by the maximum units/acre for your high-end lot count, then average the two for your default valuation basis.
7. If the parcel has split zoning, measure each zoned area separately using a map area-measurement tool and run this calculation once per zone, then add the lot counts together.

Exact steps

1. Calculate the parcel's standard subdivision lot count first (gross acreage × base zoning density, no PUD).
2. Calculate how many lots are lost once unbuildable ground (wetlands, steep slopes) is subtracted under a standard subdivision.
3. Search "[jurisdiction] Planned Unit Development" or "[jurisdiction] PUD code" to find the jurisdiction's specific PUD ordinance section.
4. Find the minimum open-space percentage required to qualify for PUD (commonly around 20%) and check whether your parcel's unbuildable percentage meets or exceeds it.
5. Find the jurisdiction's absolute minimum lot size floor for PUD-shrunk lots (e.g., 5,000 sq ft) and check whether the base zoning is already at or below that floor — if so, PUD provides no benefit.
6. If both conditions pass, recalculate the lot count assuming the unbuildable ground becomes dedicated open space and remaining lots shrink toward the minimum floor size, aiming to hit the original full-zoning lot count.
7. Call the planning department and ask: "Does a PUD application in this jurisdiction require City Council approval, or can it be approved at staff level?" — PUDs commonly require Council, a higher-friction path than standard subdivisions.