Learn · Property due diligence
10 property checks before you make an offer
Mark each of the ten Districts checks as pass, fail or unknown. Coverage counts evidence, not property quality.
Districts Research · ·
Ten checks
N of 10 completed measures available evidence. It is not a score for the property.
- CompletedA source existed for that check
- UnknownNo usable source — not a fail
Swipe the panels.
What this word means
What are the ten checks I should run on a property before making an offer?
These ten slots are the questions a Districts property page asks of every lot. They are not a score. A slot is completed only when a named source answered it. When the source is missing, the slot is unknown. Unknown is not a pass.
Use this page as a sheet you can mark. The full research workflow, including building and title, lives in how to research a property. The product stack that produces the slots lives in the Districts method. Do not treat those three pages as the same job.
The ten slots, in product order
Copy the row. Mark Pass, Fail or Unknown from the evidence column, not from the listing.
| Check | Question | Evidence | Pass | Fail | Unknown | Who verifies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development optionality of this lot | Does the loaded zone, overlay set and parcel geometry contemplate a second dwelling or subdivision? | zone.code, overlays, parcel geometry; optionality screen labelled as derived. | Screen completed and the use you care about is contemplated, subject to standards. | Screen completed and the use is not contemplated, or overlays block it. | Planning layer not loaded. | Council or state scheme; a town planner for a proposal. |
| Nearby development pipeline | What applications are recorded near the lot, and in what status? | Register extract, grouped projects, status, distance. 800 m is a software default, not a planning rule. | Query ran. You have read the projects that matter for amenity or supply. | A project next door or a large competing pipeline conflicts with the use you stated. | No adapter or register for that council. | Council or state register and the decision notice. |
| Honest achievable rent | What advertised rents for the same class actually support? | Advertised rent, comparable listings, suburb aggregate, each labelled. | A range from current comps, not an appraisal letter alone. | The claimed rent sits above every current comparable listing. | No rental tape loaded. | Current listings; a written managing-agent appraisal. |
| Rental supply pressure | How many comparable rentals compete now, and what does the pipeline add? | Districts construct: nearby comparable rentals plus residential projects. See the supply-pressure guide. | Inputs are listed and you can see the count. | A large competing stock or pipeline sits against the rent you need. | Listings or pipeline not loaded. | Current listings and the planning register. |
| Price explanation | Do lot constraints help explain where the ask sits relative to land size? | Ask, land size, overlays, comps. Not a valuation. | You can name the constraints and the comps you used. | Ask unexplained against similar unconstrained sales. | No comps or no parcel. | Recorded sales; a registered valuer if you need an opinion. |
| Lot-level flood | Does a mapped flood overlay intersect the official parcel, and what share? | Intersected overlay, floodShare, materiality, retrievedAt. | Layer queried. Intersection and share are written. | Intersection conflicts with the building envelope or with finance and insurance you can obtain. | Layer not retrieved. | Council flood information, insurer, lender. |
| Catalyst exposure | Have funded infrastructure catchments been loaded for this location? | Loaded catchment fields only. Announcement is not a catchment. | A funded catchment is loaded and dated. | A loaded project would harm the use (rare; usually the slot is unknown). | Common. No catchment loaded. | The agency page for that project’s stage. |
| This lot's DA history | What applications are recorded against this parcel itself? | This-lot register rows, status, dates. Not nearby rows. | Query ran. You have read refusals, lapses and approvals. | A refusal or lapsed approval kills the use you are paying for. | Register not loaded. | Council or state portal; the decision notice. |
| Statutory land value versus ask | What official land valuation is loaded, on what basis and date, against the ask? | Jurisdiction series (land / site / UV / CIV / GRV / AUV) with date. Not a sale estimate. | Series loaded with basis and date. | Not usually a fail. A huge gap is a question, not a defect. | Series not loaded for that state or lot. | The issuing valuer-general or revenue office. |
| Net yield / holding costs | What is net property yield after itemised holding costs? | Sourced rent, itemised costs. Completed only where cost inputs exist. | Costs itemised from notices or quotes. | Known costs erase the surplus you need. Still not personal advice. | Cost inputs not loaded. Common. | Rates notices, insurer, strata, state revenue office, tax agent. |
How to mark pass, fail and unknown
Pass: the loaded source answered the question in a way you can quote. Example: the flood layer was queried and does not intersect the official parcel. Fail: the source answered, and the answer is a problem for the use you stated. Example: a flood overlay covers most of the building envelope you need. Unknown: no source, no adapter, or the field is not loaded. Do not convert unknown into pass because the listing was silent.
A property can have eight passes and still be wrong for you if one fail kills the intended use. See one red flag. A property can have four unknowns in a council with no open register. That is coverage, not a worse lot than a neighbour in a well-mapped council.
Research coverage is not a property score
The page shows how many of the ten slots were completed. Six of ten means six had a source. It does not mean the property scored six. A lot in a council with an open planning register and a flood layer will show more completed slots than an identical lot where those adapters are absent.
Read the number as: how much of the picture is in, and which parts still need a source. Then go and find those sources. See why research coverage is not a property score.
Traps that turn a slot into a verdict
These mistakes treat the sheet as a mark.
- Reading an unknown flood slot as “not flood affected”.
- Treating optionality as an approval.
- Comparing coverage counts across states as if the adapters were the same.
- Stopping at the completed slots. The unknown ones are the verification list.
- Using this sheet as a substitute for inspection and title.
What a completed check does not establish
A completed optionality screen does not say council would approve an application. A completed flood intersection does not say depth, velocity or premium. A completed nearby pipeline does not say an approved project will be built. Catalyst, statutory land value and net yield are often unknown because those series are loaded for few jurisdictions. That is a limit of the evidence. Planning names and portals also differ by state and territory, so a completed DA slot in one state is not the same object as a completed permit slot in another.
How Districts marks the ten slots
Each slot has a source list, a confidence note and, when unknown, the reason. Figures inside a slot are labelled as source data, a Districts calculation or a Districts-derived indicator. Nothing is estimated to fill a slot. Open the property page and mark this sheet from those labels.
How to confirm the slots you will act on
Planning and DA: the council or state portal for that jurisdiction. Flood: council flood information and your insurer. Rent: current comparable listings and a written appraisal. Price explanation: recorded comps, not the slot itself. Statutory value: the issuing valuer-general or revenue office. Yield inputs: notices, quotes and that state’s land-tax schedule. Building and title never appear in these ten slots. They still have to be done.
How Districts derives it
Explore using Districts
Related guides
Using Districts
The Districts property due diligence method
The product stack: ten checks, three labels, unknown with a reason, listing beside record. Not a score or a valuation.
Using Districts
How to read a Districts property page
Walk identity, View, planning, DA, terrain, price, nearby, unknowns and verification on one property page.
Data literacy
Why research coverage is not a property score
Six of ten means six sources existed. Property A versus Property B is often a publishing difference, not a lot difference.
Property due diligence
How to research a property before buying in Australia
A dated research file: listing, parcel, sales, planning, hazards, nearby, building, title, rent, suburb, then unresolved gaps.
Data literacy
Why Districts shows unknown data
Unknown means no source for that slot. Three product examples. Not zero, not clear, not a fail.
Research purposes only. Not personal financial advice, a valuation, or a planning certificate. Always speak to a licensed financial adviser before you act.