Customized Feasibility Report
A Seattle ADU feasibility study for your address — what fits, and whether the City will approve it.
A property-specific ADU feasibility study for your Seattle lot. Every factor a developer checks before committing — zoning, setbacks, buildable envelope, critical areas, trees, utilities, and a permit path — is measured against your address from City of Seattle and King County records, then reviewed by a person. Call it a DADU, a backyard cottage, or an ADU; the answer is measured from your parcel, not guessed.
No-risk window: the $149 report is read by a person before it is released, and if you change your mind before it goes out we refund you in full — refund policy.
-
30+ data layersMeasured from City of Seattle and King County records
-
Reviewed by a personEvery draft is checked before it is sent
-
Within 24 hoursDelivered by email as a private report link, after a person reviews it
-
$149 one-timeStripe-secured checkout. No subscription, no account
What’s inside the feasibility report
Measured for your parcel, not a template.
Typically 35–40 pages — the length depends on what your lot turns up, and the sample is 40 pages. Measured from your address — zoning, the buildable envelope, trees, critical areas, utilities, fees, and a permit path — then reviewed by a person before it reaches you.
- Executive Summary
- Property Overview
- Regulatory Framework
- Site Constraints & Hazards
- Site Access
- Buildable Area Analysis
- Concept Schemes
- Government Fees: What It Costs
- Property Tax & Separate Sale (Washington)
- Permitting: How Long It Takes
- Action Items: What to Do, in Order
- References / Source Index
- Feasibility Score Methodology
How it is made
Measured from the public record, not a guess.
Each report is assembled from the same sources a land-use consultant pulls — then reviewed by a person before it goes out.
-
01
Pull the parcel
King County Assessor parcel boundaries, lot dimensions, and sales history.
-
02
Map the constraints
Seattle GIS zoning, environmentally critical areas, and tree canopy.
-
03
Check the records
SDCI permit records, plus SPU and City Light service maps.
-
04
Measure the buildable area
Mapbox Satellite for measurement, USDA NAIP orthoimagery as fallback, and King County Assessor property photo — with building outlines to draw your DADU zone. Measurement is never done on Google imagery.
How we compare
Four honest ways to answer the same question.
You can answer “can I build a DADU here?” four ways before you reach us. Each has a real job. Here is what each is good for — and what the report adds on top.
| Option | What it is good for | What ours adds |
|---|---|---|
| A builder’s free study | A free consult that sizes up your lot — and your budget. It is lead generation for their build: Ballard Backyard Cottages and New Image both invite you to talk about your lot before quoting a build. | Independent — no build is sold and no referral is taken. The numbers are measured and sourced, not sized to win the job. |
| An architect’s feasibility package | A drawn, site-specific assessment — the real thing, and the right step once you’re serious. Seattle studies typically run $1,500–$3,500 (source). | $149 answers the go/no-go first, so you pay for drawings only after you know the lot works. |
| SDCI’s free coaching | 20 minutes of free video coaching on permit, zoning, drainage, and code questions — straight from the department that issues the permit. SDCI Services. | A written, parcel-specific measurement of your lot to bring to that call, so the 20 minutes go further. |
| ADUniverse (free) | The City’s own education on the DADU and ADU rules, and the ten pre-approved plans. ADUniverse. | ADUniverse teaches the rules; the report measures your parcel against them — setbacks, trees, slope, utilities, and a permit path. |
Two different questions
This report measures your lot. It does not hand you the documents.
If what you want is the paper trail on the house — who owned it, what was permitted, what is buried in the yard — that is a different report, and it costs a great deal less. Neither one replaces the other, and most people who buy both start with the cheaper one.
Customized Feasibility Report
$149 · this page- Your buildable envelope, measured in feet on your parcel
- Setbacks, lot coverage, trees, critical areas, sewer, water and power
- The fee and tax envelope, concept schemes and a permit path
- Read by a person before it goes out
- Not included: recorded deed images, the scanned microfilm permits, side-sewer cards, or the tax roll year by year
Seattle Property Records Dossier
$13.99 · separate report- Who owned it, and every sale with its recorded deed
- Every permit we can retrieve, including the scanned microfilm where SDCI holds it
- Tanks, hazards, side-sewer and water cards, historical aerials
- 42 records, 12 County and City sources, 11 documents attached in the published sample
- Not included: any measurement of your lot — no buildable envelope, no DADU verdict, no cost, fee or rent figure
What you get
A property-specific report, not a template. Each section is measured on your parcel, with what to verify next.
-
Zoning & eligibilityCurrent NR zoning under Ordinance 127376, lot coverage, and how many units your lot can hold.
-
Buildable envelopeMeasured lot width and depth, alley status, setbacks, and a buildable-envelope estimate.
-
Critical areasSteep slope, landslide, liquefaction, peat, flood, and riparian layers mapped to your lot.
-
Trees & canopyMapped tree crowns on and around your lot, with likely protection tiers.
-
UtilitiesSewer main, water main, and City Light service flags, with what to verify next.
-
Permit pathDADU permits near you, realistic timelines, and a recommended route through SDCI.
How it works
Three steps. You give us the address; we do the measuring.
-
Enter your address
We match it to the King County parcel on the spot and show you the matched address, parcel number and lot size. You confirm it is your property before you pay.
-
Pay securely with Stripe
$149 one-time. Card details never touch our servers.
-
We measure, review, and send
Every factor is run against public records, a person reviews the draft, and the finished report lands in your inbox.
Sample
See a finished report first
A real Seattle parcel run through the full engine — every section, chart, and recommendation exactly as yours will arrive.
View a sample reportPreliminary planning report only. Not permit approval, legal advice, architectural design, engineering analysis, a land survey, or an official City of Seattle determination. Based on publicly available information; verify with licensed professionals and the City.
Report questions, answered
What is an ADU feasibility study?
An ADU feasibility study measures a specific Seattle property against the rules that decide whether an accessory dwelling unit — a detached DADU or an attached ADU — fits and can be permitted: zoning, setbacks, lot coverage, critical areas, trees, utilities, and a permit path. Our $149 report runs that review on your address from City and County records, and a person checks it before it reaches you.
Is a DADU feasibility report worth $149 if I might not build?
Cheaper than one hour of an architect ($150–$250/hr), and it tells you whether to build at all before you spend on design. If the answer is no, it just saved you the $8,000–$15,000 design fee you would otherwise waste.
Is this a builder trying to sell me a build?
No. Bob is retired. There is no builder relationship and we take no referral commissions from builders, architects or lenders — none. The report is independent and has no upsell to a construction contract.
How is this different from the city’s free ADUniverse tool?
ADUniverse checks zoning. We measure your specific buildable envelope, trees, slope, utilities, and give a permit path — then a person reviews it before it reaches you.
What if my lot can’t support a DADU?
That is the most valuable report you can get. It saves you the design fee and months you would otherwise spend on a project that was never going to work.
Is this a permit approval?
No — it is preliminary planning. It is the pre-work that makes the real permit fast, not a substitute for SDCI review.
Why $149 when builders give free feasibility studies?
Free studies are lead generation for a $450K build. Ours is independent, reviewed by a person, and has no upsell.