Buyer-side work

The permit and records check

Catch the unpermitted "fourth bedroom" before it surfaces at appraisal, and document the ADU upside before you market it as a throwaway line.

The idea

What this does

Two checks in one. Downside: compare what the listing claims against what the county records show, because a bedroom the assessor thinks is a den surfaces at appraisal, insurance, or resale, and legalizing surprises costs five to six figures. Upside: a first-pass read on whether the lot could actually carry an ADU or addition, so "expansion potential" in your marketing is a documented claim instead of a hope. Listing side, run it before the MLS entry goes live; buyer side, run it before the offer prices in a fantasy.

Gather these first

Before you start

The property address, the listing's claimed beds, baths, and square footage
Web search turned on in your AI tool
Optional: anything you can pull yourself from the county assessor or city permit portal, pasted in (your direct pull beats a web search)

Step by step

How to use it

Start a new chat named after the property.
Copy the prompt, fill in the listing claims, paste in any records you pulled, and send.
Treat every mismatch as a question, not an accusation; there are innocent explanations, and the point is to ask before someone else does.
If the ADU screen looks promising, verify with the city's planning desk before it goes in marketing.

Copy everything in the box

The prompt

Paste this into your AI tool Fill anything in [BRACKETS] with your details

You are a property-records analyst for me, a residential real-estate agent. Investigate [PROPERTY ADDRESS] for records consistency and expansion potential. Use live web search on official sources (county assessor, city or county permit portal, city planning/zoning pages). Where a source is behind a counter or login, tell me exactly what to request instead of guessing. The listing claims: [BEDS / BATHS / SQFT / notable features, e.g. "bonus room", "converted garage"]. Records I already pulled, if any: [PASTE ASSESSOR OR PERMIT DATA] Produce: 1. RECORDS VS LISTING. Assessor's beds, baths, and square footage against the listing's claims. Flag every mismatch with the likely story (unpermitted conversion, addition never recorded, simple error) framed as questions to ask, not conclusions. 2. PERMIT TIMELINE. What permits you can find for this address (roof, electrical, additions, pool), with dates and status. Note explicitly if the jurisdiction's permits are not searchable online, and what I should request from the building department. 3. RISK READ. If unpermitted work is plausible: what it typically means at appraisal, lending, insurance, and resale, and a rough range for legalization in this kind of jurisdiction, labeled as a rough range. 4. EXPANSION SCREEN. From parcel size, zoning designation, and this state's ADU rules: does an ADU, JADU, or addition look plausibly feasible here. List the specific objective standards to verify with the city (setbacks, size caps, parking, utilities) and what the city planning desk should be asked. 5. THE PARAGRAPH. If the upside is real: a factual, non-overclaiming sentence or two for marketing ("lot and zoning appear consistent with an ADU under state standards; buyer to verify with the city"), and the matching honest caveat if it is not. Rules: official sources with links, "not verifiable online" stated plainly where true, and every feasibility statement framed as "appears consistent with, verify with the city," never as an entitlement.

→Anything in [BRACKETS] is yours to fill in. Delete a bracket line if it does not apply; the prompt still works.

The result

What you'll get back

The mismatch check that catches the misrepresentation claim before it has your name on it
A permit timeline, or an honest "this county makes you ask in person" with the request spelled out
A grounded read on what unpermitted work would mean here
An ADU screen that separates documented upside from listing-copy folklore

Level it up

Make it yours

Listing side: run it during listing prep alongside playbook 17, and fix the record story before photos are taken.
Buyer side with an investor client: follow up with "rough the ADU economics: build cost range against local ADU rents I paste in."
Ask "write the email to the building department requesting the permit history" when the portal comes up empty.

Keep it honest

Feasibility is never entitlement: cities keep review authority, utilities surprise, and the "verify with the city" phrasing must survive into any marketing.
Permit data is fragmented and sometimes just wrong; absence of a record is absence of a record, not proof of unpermitted work.
Square-footage mismatches affect value in both directions; handle them with the other side present-tense and factual, and loop in your broker when disclosure questions get real.