The SiteFacts Blog
Know the ground before you break it
Real lessons from land due diligence: hidden costs, permit traps, and the questions that save builders and buyers from six-figure surprises.
Due DiligenceYour Customer's Lot Is in a Flood Zone. Can You Build? A Builder's Step-by-Step Guide
Building in a flood zone or floodplain starts with a local permit and a surveyor. Eight steps from map check to final certificate, in plain words.
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Due DiligenceElevation Certificates: A Builder's Guide to Timing, Cost and What Gets Measured
An elevation certificate records how high a house sits against the base flood elevation. Who signs it, when you need it and what the surveyor measures.
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Due DiligenceFlood Insurance on New Construction: Why Meeting Code Doesn't Set Your Premium
An elevation certificate is optional for NFIP flood insurance now, but it can affect the rate. Why meeting code and your premium are separate.
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Due DiligenceFlood Vents: Requirements, Engineered vs Non-Engineered, and How Many You Need
Flood vents let water in and out of a crawlspace below the BFE. See the 1 square inch rule, engineered vs not, and a worked example.
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Due DiligenceHow to Build a House in a Flood Zone: Design Decisions in Order
How to build a house in a flood zone: start with the required floor height, then walls, crawlspace, fill and stairs. Each choice sets the next.
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Due DiligenceLOMA vs LOMR-F: How to Get a Lot Out of the Flood Zone
LOMA, LOMR-F and LOMR are three different FEMA letters. Here is which one fits a lot, who does the work, and what fill has to do with it.
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Land BuyingHow to Find Zoning and Setbacks for a Property
The zoning map gives you the zone, not where the house can go. How to look up a lot's zoning and setbacks, and what state rules, road lines and CC&Rs add.
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Due DiligenceThis Lot Fronts a Public Road. It May Be Landlocked Anyway.
A lot on a paved county road may still have no approvable driveway. A 1990s survey, a voided plat process and a missing easement show how it happens.
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Due DiligenceBase Flood Elevation: How to Tell if a Lot Is in a Flood Zone Before You Buy
Base flood elevation is the water height of a 1% annual chance flood. How to check a flood zone, what the letters mean, and what to ask before closing.
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Due DiligenceLand Feasibility Report: When to Order One and Who Pays
Order a land feasibility report inside your contract's investigation window. Who pays depends on the contract. What to tell a buyer client, and when.
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Due DiligenceWetland Delineation: How to Tell if a Property Has Wetlands Before You Buy
A blank wetlands map and dry ground don't mean a lot is clear. What a wetland delineation is, how to check before you buy, and what to ask first.
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Due DiligenceLegal Lot of Record: What a Tax Lot Number Doesn't Prove
A tax lot number and a recorded deed don't prove a lot was lawfully created. What legal lot verification is, when it comes up, and what to ask first.
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Land BuyingBuild a House on Your Land: What to Check Before You Buy
Before you build a house on your land, check what zoning, septic, access and slope require. County examples from Oregon, Idaho and Washington.
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Fire SafetyOregon's Wildfire Map Is Gone. Here's What Decides Your Building Rules Now.
Oregon's wildfire map was repealed. R327 building standards now apply only where your city or county adopted them. Where they do, they can add $20,000 or more.
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Due DiligenceThe Listing Said Power Was Available. The Lines Were Transmission.
Power lines along a parcel don't mean usable power. How to tell transmission from distribution lines, and what one power line easement took on a real parcel.
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Due DiligenceHow Much House Can an Infill Lot Hold? Start With the Water Meter
Water meter size can cap an infill lot's density. This lot was eligible for middle housing, but the supplier would serve one small home. What to ask first.
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Due DiligenceRunning 170 to 200 On-Your-Lot Homes a Year Showed Me Where Land Due Diligence Breaks
Who ends up checking the customer's lot as an on-your-lot builder grows, what that cost us, and what changed when I did it before the contract.
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Due DiligenceWhy Is That Infill Lot Still Vacant?
Every reason to buy was on paper. Every reason to walk was under the trees. A Pacific Northwest infill case study, and the seven checks to run before you buy a vacant lot in the city.
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Due DiligenceWhat Land Buyers Find Out Too Late
The listing isn't wrong. The city isn't wrong. Nobody asked the next question. Here's what slope, zoning, and utilities can cost when you find them after the offer instead of before.
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Due DiligenceThe Landlocked Lot That Wasn't
A Florida lot priced as landlocked hid a recorded access easement and a wrong flood zone, up to $180,000 in value that a title report missed. The difference was researching three parcels instead of one.
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Land BuyingWhat Professional Services You Actually Need to Build a Home on Your Own Land
Which surveys, engineers, and reports your lot requires isn't up to you or your builder. It's decided by regulation and covenants attached to the land. Read that layer before the builder conversation.
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Site DevelopmentCut and Fill: The 50-Year-Old Site Prep That Can Kill Your Build
A LiDAR scan revealed a 1978 fill bench invisible on every aerial photo. Why building on 50-year-old unengineered fill can be a structural time bomb, and what the code and a geotech require before you pour.
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UtilitiesIt Looked Like an Easy ADU. It Wasn't.
A City of Bend case study in what actually ends ADU projects: not zoning, but the infrastructure nobody checked before purchase. Chapter 15.10 gives you two options, and sometimes neither works.
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Due DiligenceWhat a Dead Permit File Revealed for an ADU Investment
A commercially zoned lot with an old residence can carry grandfathered residential rights, and an abandoned permit file can hand you sewer, power, and parking answers before you ever call a builder.
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PermitsApplying for a Residential Building Permit in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest building permits take months and real money, and the requirements that blow up timelines never appear on the county checklist. What Oregon buyers actually face.
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UtilitiesWhen "City Sewer Nearby" Means $100,000+ in Hidden Land Development Costs
"Sewer is right there in the street" is one of the most expensive assumptions in land buying. Proximity isn't access, and the gap can cost six figures.
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SoilsThe Hidden Cost of Hydric Soils: A Builder's Guide to Oregon's Wetland Regulations
A lot can look bone dry in August and still be a mapped wetland. Here's how hydric soils quietly add a month and thousands of dollars to an Oregon build.
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PermitsSidewalk Requirements for Infill Lots: Avoiding Costly Surprises
Sidewalks are often a building-permit condition, not a property disclosure, so they never show up in the paperwork. On a corner infill lot, that can be a costly change order after your loan has already closed.
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UtilitiesPower Planning Guide: Electrical Service for Your New Home Build
Most first-time builders think power is a phone call to the utility. It's actually one of the longest-lead items in the whole build, and the number one cause of construction delays.
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Site DevelopmentGrading and Drainage: Why They Matter More Than You Think
Grading and drainage are the number-one post-move-in complaint in new construction, and the warning signs are visible on the first site walk. The drains PNW code requires, and the lots that make water.
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Site DevelopmentTree Removal Site Prep: The Stump Holes That Stop Your Build
Backfilled tree stump holes are one of the most common hidden conditions on cleared lots, and one that can halt your foundation on day one. Here's how Oregon code treats them and how to plan ahead.
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SoilsWhy Expansive Soils Matter When Buying Land
The lot looks perfect. The problem is what's under it: clay soils that swell, shrink, and quietly crack foundations long after closing.
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Due DiligenceWhat Is a SiteFacts Report? Your Land Feasibility Cheat Code
A SiteFacts Report is a plain-English due-diligence file that tells you whether a piece of land is actually buildable, before you spend a dollar on design or closing.
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Fire SafetyFire Truck Access Requirements for Residential Property
The driveway is the part of a build most people treat as an afterthought. The fire district can review it at permit submittal, and fixing it late gets expensive.
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UtilitiesUnderstanding Septic Systems in the Pacific Northwest: What Land Buyers and Builders Must Know
On most rural PNW lots, one question decides whether you can build at all: what will it take to treat the wastewater? Here's how septic feasibility really works, and what the wrong soil costs you.
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Land BuyingWhy Are Washington Home Construction Costs Surging Past the National Average?
Washington builds average $309 a square foot, more than double the national $130.68. Here's what BIAW's 2024 data says is driving it, county by county, and how to build smarter.
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Due DiligenceDon't Trust the Fence: Why a Land Survey Is a Must Before You Buy
A fence is not a property line. It just looks like one. On a tight lot, that gap can erase your entire build, and a survey is the only way to know before you're stuck with it.
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Due DiligenceWhat Is Due Diligence, and Why Do You Need It Before Buying Land?
Due diligence is the homework that separates a good land deal from a money pit. Here's what it actually covers, and why it belongs before the offer, not after.
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UtilitiesWhat Is a Perc Test? A Must-Know for Homebuyers and Developers
A perc test measures how fast your soil drains, and whether the land can legally carry a septic system at all. Fail it, and the fix can run five figures. Here's what to know before you buy.
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Land BuyingBeyond the Sale Price: How Location Affects Your Home's True Cost
Two neighboring Oregon counties, the same house, a $312,600 difference over 30 years. Where you build sets the permit fees and property taxes the sale price never shows.
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Site DevelopmentGeotechnical Reports: What a Soils Study Tells You Before You Build
A geotechnical report is a licensed engineer's read on what's beneath your build site. Here's when Pacific Northwest jurisdictions require one, and the $50,000 repair skipping it can trigger.
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Fire SafetyBuilding Near Nature? Understanding Wildland Urban Interface Requirements
A home with nature as your neighbor comes with a rulebook most buyers never see until permitting. Here's what a WUI designation actually costs.
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