Academy track
ADU Lead Handling for Contractors
Qualify leads by parcel readiness, risk flags, timeline, budget, and missing information.
Designed for
Builders, designers, permit expediters, and consultants receiving early-stage ADU inquiries.
Lesson 1
Screen for jurisdiction and project type
Jurisdiction identifies which planning and building departments control the parcel. The APN connects assessor, GIS, zoning, utility, and department records to the same property.
Practice: Record an APN, open the assessor and GIS sources, and document whether city or unincorporated county rules appear to apply.
Lesson 2
Ask about utilities, septic, access, and overlays
Service territory, visible infrastructure, and legal connection availability are different facts. Rural wastewater and water paths may require separate Environmental Health review.
Practice: List the likely provider for each service, the source used, what remains unknown, and the exact question to ask next.
Lesson 3
Separate design interest from permit readiness
A reliable feasibility workflow separates known facts, user assumptions, official sources, unanswered questions, and the professional work that may be required next.
Practice: Create a one-page record of facts, sources, open questions, responsible departments, and next actions for a sample property.
Lesson 4
Send prospects toward documents and department confirmation before quoting too tightly
A reliable feasibility workflow separates known facts, user assumptions, official sources, unanswered questions, and the professional work that may be required next.
Practice: Create a one-page record of facts, sources, open questions, responsible departments, and next actions for a sample property.
Build a usable project record
Create a repeatable intake record covering ownership, jurisdiction, APN, existing structures, desired use, budget context, target timing, utilities, access, known overlays, available documents, and next qualification step. The record should make clear whether the lead is ready for design, needs research, or needs a specialist first.
Completion check: A reviewer can tell what is known, what is missing, and whether the next step is research, design, estimating, or referral.
Use sources with discipline
Start with assessor, GIS, planning, building, utility, Environmental Health, fire, and recorded-document sources that can be tied to the property. Record the page title, URL, date accessed, parcel identifier used, and what the source actually establishes. Keep screenshots or downloaded records when information may change. Search results, listing remarks, maps from commercial portals, contractor opinions, and neighbor experiences can suggest questions, but they should not be presented as official confirmation.
Finish each research session by separating confirmed facts from working assumptions and unanswered questions. Assign each open item to a department, provider, owner, or qualified professional and identify the decision that depends on it. That habit makes the work easier to update and reduces the chance that an attractive property or design moves forward on an untested assumption.
Use the supporting tools
TinyHomeNavigator provides educational information only. Rules vary by parcel, zoning district, city, county, overlay, utility provider, fire authority, and environmental health department. Always confirm directly with the local planning department, building department, environmental health department, fire authority, and utility providers before buying land, designing, permitting, placing, or building any structure.