Too many projects are committed on assumptions. An approval timeline borrowed from another town. A cost per site from a comparable project. A belief that the utility has capacity. Each is reasonable on its own. Stacked together, they become a plan nobody has tested, with real capital committed against it.
Our philosophy is simple: to run a project well, and to determine the right things about it, we first validate the facts. That goes well beyond the budget. It starts with how the project gets approved and what it has to be designed and constructed to, and only then gets to what it will cost. Each layer depends on the one before it.
1. How the project gets approved
Current zoning decides the route. A project may be permitted by right, or it may need a site plan approval, a special use permit, a variance, a zoning text amendment or a rezoning. Many states add their own layer: manufactured housing communities, campgrounds and RV parks are commonly licensed or plan-reviewed at the state level. We list every entitlement and permit the project needs, every authority and utility with a say over the site, what each one reviews, how long it takes and when its boards meet.
2. What it has to be designed and constructed to
Every project answers to a set of standards, and they differ by product and place. HUD Code homes, state-approved modular homes and site-built construction are governed by different codes and inspection regimes. Add the local design standards, state community rules, fire access, accessibility, utility design standards, the lender's and insurer's requirements, and the conditions that come with each approval.
Then there is the intended use. A 55+ community, a workforce rental, an RV resort and a for-sale townhome project need different layouts, amenities, unit mixes and operations. Knowing what the property has to be on the day it operates is part of the facts, not a design preference to settle later.
3. Whether the site can deliver it
Boundary and topographic surveys, geotechnical and environmental reports, wetlands, floodplain and access each have the power to change the plan. So does utility capacity. Water and sewer capacity, or soils that cannot support on-site systems, can change how many units a site will hold. Capacity should be confirmed in writing by the providers during diligence, using a limited-scope demand estimate, before full design is under contract.
4. Only then, what it will cost
With the approval path, the standards and the site known, the costs can be stated honestly. Soft costs include design and engineering, surveys and reports, legal and entitlement work, permit, review, impact and tap fees, insurance, financing and carry. Hard costs include sitework, utilities, roads, foundations, the homes or vertical construction, installation and finish, and amenities.
Numbers mature as the project does, and they should be labeled as they go. Early on, what exists is a cost basis, every figure tagged by where it came from: proposals, manufacturer pricing, existing plans, comparable work. Once plans carry measurable quantities, an estimate from a quantity takeoff replaces it. The Control Budget is set after construction documents and before bids, approved by the owner and accepted by the lender, then revised to the executed contract. Both versions are kept, and the difference is tracked as procurement variance against a budget the owner and lender approved before the market was tested.
Why the order matters
A budget built before the approval path is known prices the wrong project. A layout drawn before utility capacity is confirmed may hold units the site cannot serve. A design started before the standards are listed is a design that gets redrawn. Validating the facts in order is what keeps the expensive work, design, procurement and construction, from being done twice.
Questions to answer before committing capital
- Which approvals does the project need, local and state, and what does each one require the design to show?
- Which codes and standards govern the product, and which conditions will come with approval?
- What does the property have to be on the day it operates, and does the plan deliver it?
- Has utility capacity been confirmed by each provider, in writing?
- Where did every number in the budget come from, and how far can it be trusted?
General information, not legal, engineering or investment advice. Approval requirements vary by jurisdiction.