LANDSHILOH · DEVELOPMENT LAND FEASIBILITY
The next feasibility investigation should answer a specific decision-relevant question. This page explains how to define its scope before commissioning more detailed work.
Price the next question, not the entire future at once
After an initial review, identify the most decision-relevant unanswered issue. Request a written scope describing the work, deliverable, limits, price and dependencies needed to answer it. This gives you a purposeful next step instead of commissioning numerous reports that rely on an untested central assumption.
Coordinate the feasibility schedule with the actual transaction documents. Inspection permission, access, deposits and deadlines require professional review. Maintain a versioned record of the concept, findings, decision notes and cost assumptions so a later reviewer can understand why the plan changed.
Put this subject into practice
Write the unanswered question, the decision it affects and the information already available. Ask the appropriate professional what work and deliverable could answer it. Include permissions, inputs, timing, exclusions and proposed reliance.
Compare scopes on the same basis. A lower price may omit work needed for the decision. Keep a clear record of what a conclusion would and would not establish, and review further recommendations before treating the question as closed.
Working record
Create a separate record for this subject so its findings are not mixed with unrelated approvals or investigations. Keep the actual source, review date and responsible person with each entry.
- Question and decision
- Available inputs
- Work and deliverable
- Exclusions and permissions
- Price and timing
Illustrative example
A buyer asks for an inexpensive report without explaining the proposed layout. Defining the actual question first helps the professional propose work that is useful to the decision rather than merely produce a document.
Fictional example for explaining the process, not a listing, valuation or approval.
When is a study too early?
When its usefulness depends on a central assumption that has not been investigated or a concept likely to change. Ask the project team to explain sequencing and what work can reasonably be reused.
General education from LandShiloh. Apply current records and appropriate professional review to the particular parcel, jurisdiction, proposal and transaction. This article does not supply an approval, legal opinion, financing commitment or property certification.