A plain checklist from the research I do on every piece of ground, from the LCAD record to the 5pm traffic count.
Every tract I bring to a client has been through the same list. Most of it is unglamorous. All of it has saved someone money.
- The LCAD record. Legal description, acreage on record, owner, and whether what’s marketed matches what’s platted.
- The plat and any pending replat. If the acreage is “going to be” 6.5, I want to see the application.
- Zoning and the future land use map. What can you build, and what does the city expect around you?
- Utilities. Water, sewer and power at the line, or a quarter mile away? That’s a six-figure question.
- Drainage and playa lakes. Flat ground drains into playas. Some tracts have one.
- Easements and setbacks. Pipelines, power lines and TxDOT right-of-way can quietly take a third of a tract.
- Access and curb cuts. Can you get onto the road where you need to?
- Traffic counts. TxDOT’s numbers, then I go stand there at 5pm.
- Who owns the neighbors. Future assemblage, competition or problem.
- Comparable sales. Including partial pad sales out of nearby tracts, the most recent and honest comps.
