Pillar field notes
Practical guides to sourcing land, screening sites, and deciding what to investigate next.
Site screening
5 min read
A homebuilder's method for checking water and sewer will-serve responses against the proposed project, conditions, capacity reservation and remaining work.
Read guide: Will-serve letters for land development: what does the response cover?Site screening
7 min read
A homebuilder's guide to testing land development assumptions, organizing planning and site questions, and handing off a feasibility review with a worksheet.
Read guide: Land feasibility study: from a desktop screen to a reviewable planSite screening
4 min read
Reconcile gas volume, therms and billing rates before comparing commercial property expenses. Includes a worked example and a copyable review worksheet.
Read guide: CCF vs. therms: checking commercial property gas billsSite screening
4 min read
Keep parcel fields understandable when sharing a shapefile. Check shortened names, missing values and companion files with a copyable handoff worksheet.
Read guide: Sharing property data as a shapefile: an export checklistSite screening
4 min read
Check a geocoded address against parcel records before screening a site. Includes a live Census example and a copyable location-review worksheet.
Read guide: Address geocoding vs. parcel boundaries: checking a site before you map itSite screening
3 min read
Review the parcel match, citations, dates, calculations, and unresolved questions before an AI-generated report informs a site decision.
Read guide: How to check an AI-generated property research reportOwner outreach
3 min read
A California example for connecting parcel records, recorded documents, and business filings while keeping unverified ownership and contact claims separate.
Read guide: How to research an LLC property owner without confusing the recordsSite screening
3 min read
Choose the right OnTheMap analysis, preserve its geography and job settings, and avoid turning workforce counts into a customer or commute forecast.
Read guide: Using Census OnTheMap for site selection: jobs, workers, and the study areaLand sourcing
3 min read
Choose a product and plan around the deliverable you need: parcel data in another system, a research workspace, or a shareable property map.
Read guide: Regrid and Land id: how to compare parcel data and property mapping toolsSite screening
4 min read
Find NYC occupancy records, distinguish a CO from a TCO or completion letter, and document questions about a proposed tenant's use.
Read guide: How to check an NYC certificate of occupancy before leasing spaceSite screening
4 min read
Check elevation datums before comparing a survey with flood records. Includes a labeled conversion example and a copyable site-review worksheet.
Read guide: NGVD 29 vs. NAVD 88: comparing elevations in site researchOwner outreach
3 min read
Keep properties, owner entities, and people connected without treating every parcel as a separate prospect. Includes a copyable list structure.
Read guide: How to build a property prospecting list a broker can actually work