To appraise a development site from a brochure or listing, treat the brochure as the starting point, not the evidence base. Extract the site identity, boundary, area, asking price, planning status and proposed scheme, then verify the material facts against primary sources before building the first-pass values, costs, programme, finance and residual land value. The output should show both the answer and the assumptions that still need checking.

How This Works

An agent brochure or online listing is often enough to decide whether a site deserves an initial appraisal. It is rarely enough to support the final conclusion by itself.

A good first-pass workflow moves through five layers.

1. Capture The Site

Start with the information supplied:

Keep the original document attached to the site record so the team can see exactly what was claimed.

2. Verify The Planning And Site Position

Check the local planning authority, planning history, development plan position, relevant policy, major constraints and any material evidence that affects development quantum, value or cost.

Where ownership, title or legal control matters to the decision, use the appropriate source and professional review rather than relying on marketing copy.

3. Build A Working Development Schedule

A brochure may say “potential for 70 homes”. Treat that as an input to test, not a confirmed scheme.

The team should review gross and net developable area, unit count, mix, tenure, floorspace and any obvious infrastructure or constraint that may change the working schedule.

4. Build The First Financial Case

Estimate or evidence the main appraisal inputs:

Then solve for the output needed by the team, such as profit at the asking price or residual land value before agreeing a price.

5. Record What Is Still Unknown

An early appraisal should not disguise uncertainty.

For each material assumption, record whether it is confirmed, evidenced estimate or assumption, along with the source and date. Then prioritise the missing evidence capable of changing the decision.

Worked Example

Imagine an agent sends a brochure for a 4.2-acre residential opportunity with a £3.5 million guide price and the phrase “potential for circa 70 homes, subject to planning”.

A weak first appraisal simply divides the asking price by 70 units and starts building a model around the brochure wording.

A stronger first pass asks:

Suppose the first evidence review suggests a lower net developable area than the brochure implies and identifies a material infrastructure allowance that was not mentioned in the marketing pack.

That does not make the brochure “wrong”. It changes the assumptions that the land team needs to test before deciding whether £3.5 million works.

The first-pass output should therefore be a decision pack, not a false final valuation: current scheme assumption, current evidence, residual or profit result, sensitivities, missing information and next action.

Review Method

Before a brochure-led appraisal is relied on, check seven things.

  1. Site identity and boundary

Make sure the appraisal is actually modelling the land being offered.

  1. Development quantum

Separate the vendor or agent proposition from the team’s own working assumption.

  1. Planning evidence

Check the current policy, planning history and constraints that could change the scheme.

  1. Values

Use relevant evidence and record the adjustments made.

  1. Costs and obligations

Separate evidenced costs, benchmark allowances and assumptions.

  1. Programme and finance

Check that timing is consistent with the development and sales assumptions.

  1. Decision and missing evidence

State what the team should do next and what evidence could reverse that view.

Sources Used

Limitations And Professional Review

A marketing brochure is not a substitute for planning, legal, valuation, cost, engineering or technical due diligence.

The first appraisal may be deliberately incomplete because the purpose is to decide whether further work is justified. That is acceptable when the gaps are visible and the team understands which assumptions drive the result.

Where a formal valuation, planning conclusion, title opinion, cost plan or other professional judgement is required, use the appropriate qualified advice.

Where Harold Viability Fits

Harold Viability is designed for this exact handoff from incoming opportunity to first reviewable appraisal.

A team can start from a listing, brochure, plan or address, review the extracted site information, planning evidence and comparables, then test the development schedule, costs, GDV, finance, residual land value, cash flow and sensitivity in the same workflow.

The aim is not to accept the brochure faster. It is to get from “this site has arrived” to “we know what needs to be true for it to work” without rebuilding the same information across separate tabs and spreadsheets.

Get your site appraised with Harold Viability.

For the wider land workflow, see Harold Land.

Sam Sykes