Field notes
The owner's side, in writing.
Short, practical notes on the situations that bring owners to our desk — pay applications, plan check, change orders. Read them, use them, act on them with or without us.
N-101
How to review a contractor's pay application
A pay application is a claim, not an invoice. Five checks every owner should run before releasing money: schedule of values, work in place, stored materials, retainage, and lien releases.
N-102
What to do when plan check rejects your drawings
A plan check correction list is not a verdict — it's a work list with an owner's side. How to read the corrections, assign them to the right party, and stop the resubmittal cycle from eating your schedule.
N-103
Change orders: what the owner actually owes
The contract — not the change order form — decides what you owe. Where change orders really come from, how to scrutinize their pricing and time claims, and when to push back.
N-104
Before you buy the land: the feasibility review that decides the project
What to verify before buying land to build: the all-in feasibility number, what zoning actually allows, site conditions, and walk-away discipline.
N-105
Feng shui in site selection: what developers should check before buying
Feng shui site checks that move marketability: road alignment, orientation and slope, lot shape, neighbors, history, and numbering — free to run before you buy, expensive to discover after.