Frequently asked questions

A preliminary property report for anyone thinking about building, adding on, or keeping animals on a parcel in Orange County or Chatham County, North Carolina. Enter an address or parcel ID and we pull together zoning, setbacks, impervious-surface limits, septic or public sewer, floodplain, streams, topography, and local animal rules — then translate it into plain English.

Orange County and Chatham County, including Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Pittsboro, Carrboro, and unincorporated areas in both counties.

Homeowners, prospective buyers, builders, real estate agents, and anyone who wants to understand what a property allows before calling a surveyor or architect.

Each report covers the recorded parcel facts, zoning district and standards, setbacks, impervious-surface allowance, buildable-area estimate, environmental constraints, septic or public-sewer status, topography, historic or neighborhood overlays, and what the local rules say about chickens, small animals, and bees. It also flags projects that may be possible — ADUs, pools, sheds, garages, home additions, decks — and what could get in the way.

It is a rough estimate of where a new structure could sit after subtracting setbacks, steep slopes, the septic field area, existing buildings, and stream buffers. It is not a surveyed buildable envelope, but it gives a realistic starting range for conversations with a designer or planner.

The report evaluates each common project against the property's zoning, setbacks, lot coverage, and other constraints and gives a likely status — for example, likely possible, possible with constraints, or unlikely — along with the reasons. It is not a permit guarantee, but it surfaces the key issues early.

Every fact is labeled as confirmed, estimated, or needs verification. Confirmed facts come straight from an authoritative record for that property. Estimated facts are derived from available data and are close, but not official measurements. Anything that cannot be answered from public sources is reported as unknown rather than guessed.

We read live public records from county and municipal GIS services, including parcel boundaries, zoning districts, floodplain mapping, stream and watershed overlays, septic permit records, building footprints, and elevation data. Ordinance text comes from the official town and county codes. You can still see the full source list inside every report.

No. The report uses public GIS data, which can be close but is not a surveyed boundary. Setback lines, easements, and exact buildable envelopes should be confirmed with a licensed surveyor and the local planning department.

Yes. A Can This Go Here? report is a starting point, not a permit determination. Zoning interpretations, exact setbacks, and permit eligibility are ultimately decided by the planning department during formal review. The report lists the specific questions to verify before you spend money.

If public sewer is not available, the report checks county septic records. When a permit has been recorded since 1985, we show the approximate permit area and explain how it affects where you can build, pave, or plant trees. The exact drainfield layout is only on the original permit drawing, which you can request from the county.

We check the OWASA primary service area for Orange County properties and Chatham County utility records where available. If the parcel is outside those service areas, we flag it as likely septic and/or well.

The report checks published stream, waterbody, and floodplain layers, but small intermittent streams, wetlands, and unmapped drainage may still exist. A site visit or environmental consultant is the only way to catch features that are not in the public data.

It depends on the zoning district and the town or county animal ordinance. The report compares the property's lot size and jurisdiction against the local rules for chickens, rabbits, bees, and small livestock and tells you what is allowed and what the setbacks or caps are.

Many towns allow small-scale keeping for personal use but restrict on-site sales, slaughtering, or commercial breeding. The report flags those limits when they apply.

One report is $5. There is no subscription or ongoing fee.

Try entering the Parcel ID or PIN instead. If we still cannot locate the property, we will let you know before any payment is processed.

Most reports are generated within a few minutes of payment. You will receive a link to view and share the report.