National Parcel Layer Primer for Improving Commercial Real Estate Due Diligence - Property Assessment validation - - $/SF subject parcel vs. nearby parcels. - Optimizing same Owner parcels when assembling land - Land Use and Zoning Map Display - WALK and TRANSIT Maps for anticipating Sustainable Communities - Automated Determination of same ownership of adjacent parcels Boundary Solutions, Inc. 230 East Blithedale Miller Ave. Mill Valley CA 95941 415-381-1750 February, 2014
National Parcel Layer Handbook for Increasing Real Estate Investment Due Diligence Currently, half of all Americans, 156,000,000 people, live in counties for which its digital parcel map is posted as a free ftp download or can be acquired for $100 or less. This offers everyone the opportunity to perform the same level of real estate decision making due diligence as the most capitalized companies in town. This National Parcel Layer Primer offers a missing piece: GIS techniques so your investment due diligence can equal that of the most advantaged investors. The maps shown here were produced by a very old copy of ArcView 3.2. Other GIS software options are free geoviewers like Arc Explorer, free cloud based softwares, and for-fee software like Delorme XMAP ($259). Bexar County, TX Land Use Thematic Map
National Parcel Layer Handbook for Increasing Real Estate Investment Due Diligence What this Primer is and is not. 1. All displays are based on actual parcel boundaries and joined tax roll attributes records. 2. The typical county ftp download digital parcel map comes with a full complement of attributes. If is does not, ask the county to add it to the GIS. 3. Limited to parcel-layer analysis only. 4. All findings are hypothetical, to communicate ideas only. 5. Some are a bit extreme to better clarify NPL benefits. 6. No reference yet to other layers such as hazards, Multiple Listings, soils, hydrology, demographics. 7. Primer is work in progress. Email corrections and additions to info@boundarysolutions.com Techniques Included: - Thematic Mapping - Multi Scale Analysis - Selected Land Use Analysis - Boolean Query - Comparative Value Analysis - Comparative Tax Analysis - Proximity Analysis - Spatial Trending Value Analysis Bexar County, TX Land Use Thematic Map
MULTI SCALE ANALYSIS Step back and see the whole region. Then identify a subarea of interest. Then identify high value opportunities. Take some time to identify the extents of a sub-region you are the most interested in analyzing to measure, compare and rank real estate investment opportunities according to greatest possible margin at the lowest possible risk. Bexar County, TX Land Use Thematic Map
EXTENDED ATTRIBUTES Typical open record USA digital parcel maps come with multiple tax roll attributes. Bexar County, TX is exceptional compared to most USA counties, providing not only the essential situs, owner information and perfunctory valuation fields at no cost, but year built, floor area, lot area, unit count, use code among others as well. Such robust geospatial data models enable everyone, from the smallest business to families wanting to invest their risk capital locally, to make the smartest possible investments. Progressive counties like Bexar figure that the more they give away the more that comes back as optimized investments by local and International investors that find this high level of transparency irresistible. NOTE: The tax rolls include physical and owner address for contacting owners and occupants. Thematic Map Types Graduated from numeric fields (Value, Year Built ) Unique from non numeric fields (Use code, Type ) USE CODE Values determining color in Thematic Map
Automating Same Owner of Adjacent Parcels
SELECTED LAND USE ANALYSIS To avoid comparing apples with oranges, query the national parcel layer for all parcels that have a common land use designation like Residential, Commercial, Office / Industrial etc. In this case, all residential land of all densities were queried, highlighted and written to a Residential Layer. QUERY: USE CODE = *RESIDENTIAL* Target Parcel filter is applied to isolate all properties compliant with a value proposition like QUERY: FL AREA > 3,000 AND Value < $150,000 AND UNIT COUNT = 1 Use multiple listings or direct contact from the address info in the tax rolls to see if you want to make a red filtered parcel a blue target parcel. Target Properties are selected from first filter if for sale or other reasons.
THEMATIC MAP USE CODE To observe Development Patterns Relative to Interested Properties ALL PARCELS THEMATIC MAP YEAR BUILT Residential Parcels ONLY To observe Age of Neighborhoods Relative To Interested Properties ONLY RESIDENTIAL PARCELS
ASSESED VALUE ANALYSIS There are many ways to compare relative value of properties (residential in this instance). In this map, the total assessed values of land and improvements of each parcel are used to generate a thematic map of relative value. This is great for comparing your target property to others but fails to look at this issue in terms of value per square foot. THEMATIC FIELD SELECTION: TOTAL ASSESSED VALUE Target Properties
RELATIVE ASSESSED VALUE ANALYSIS Here the value is made more useful by reducing to a unit count rather than a lump sum. To do this, an additional field is added to the attribute table. FIELD CALCULTION: $/SF = TOTAL VALUE/BLDAREA THEMATIC FIELD SELECTION: $/SF Target Properties
ASSESSED PROPERTY APPRAISAL CHECKING A great advantage of using value per sq feet rather than total assessed value is the ability it offers to compare properties side by side and up and down the block in the direct relative terms of value per square foot. In this model, the colors reflect the total assessed value (not marked) of each house (only single family in this test) divided by their total floor area. With the colors being determined values assigned by the assessor, question is, do: - Light colors next to a lot of dark colors means underassessment? - Dark colors next to a lot of light colors means over assessment?
PROXIMITY ANALYSIS The unsustainable sprawlbased American housing market, not able to spread out any more, has no choice but higher density implosion. With the Boomers getting old and many not that well off, what better soft landing than HUD s most commendable Sustainable Communities protocols to expedite returning to a lot like we were before - - this time with highly pedestrian oriented older and younger populations who find living within 1,000 feet of goods and services a huge plus. Pedestrian Access to Goods and Services 1,000 Foot Buffer Around Commercial Target Properties