Before you spend money on due diligence, check the public record.
GroundRules helps screen properties for public-record contradictions, zoning conflicts, hazard flags, and jurisdiction issues before you make an offer, quote a project, or pay for deeper review.
Batch screen 5–20 addresses for investor-friendly agents, small infill investors / flippers, and small builders / contractors qualifying leads.
LA-first professional screening workflow. Not permit approval, legal advice, or a buildability determination.
Three steps. No guesswork.
Start with automated public-record screening. Go deeper with human review when the property is worth it.
Enter an address
Drop in any property address. No account, no payment to start.
See records, risks & unknowns
A source-backed first pass: parcel facts, signals, and the items that still need verifying — unknowns shown, never guessed.
Decide on a reviewed packet
If it's worth going deeper, request the $149 reviewed packet before you spend on plans, bids, or offers.
See the checks behind the screen.
GroundRules shows the public-record steps behind each first-pass result — including what matched, what was found, and what still needs verification.
- +00:02Address matchedNormalized address and jurisdiction identified
- +00:04Parcel checkAPN/AIN and lot-size records searched where available
- +00:07Zoning signalsLocal zoning/source records checked where available
- +00:10Hazard signalsFire, flood, hillside, or other public layers checked where available
- +00:12Unknowns flaggedItems needing city or professional verification listed
- +00:15Report readyPrintable first-pass screen generated with sources
Illustrative example. Which records are available varies by address and jurisdiction.
What your free screen includes
GroundRules organizes the public-record facts, warnings, unknowns, and source links that shape an early property decision.
- Warnings
- Issues that may affect the decision
- Unknowns
- What couldn't be confirmed from public records
- Sources included
- Source links + retrieval dates, where available
See everything includedHide details
If the screen looks promising, request a human-reviewed packet before spending on plans, site visits, or deeper due diligence.
Illustrative example. Available records vary by address and jurisdiction. GroundRules is not a permit approval or buildability determination.
Public records disagree more often than people think.
Assessor says 6,503 sq ft. GIS parcel says 6,211 sq ft. GroundRules flags the mismatch before you make an offer, quote a project, or pay for deeper review.
Catch weak spots before deeper spend.
Contradictions, surfaced
When assessor, GIS, or jurisdiction sources disagree, GroundRules calls it out near the top instead of smoothing it over.
Professional screening first
Use public-record property triage to decide which addresses deserve deeper diligence, quoting time, or a client conversation.
Known, unknown, verify
Source-backed facts stay separate from what still needs verification, so you can move faster without over-claiming certainty.
Built for professional property triage.
Investor-friendly agents
Screen listings before you frame upside too confidently or send a client into deeper diligence too early.
Small infill investors / flippers
Triage a short buy list before you make offers, underwrite assumptions, or spend on third-party diligence.
Small builders / contractors qualifying leads
Screen early inquiries in batches before site visits, quoting time, or deeper manual research.
Screening several addresses? Run a bulk screen.
Free batch screen first. Pay only when a property is worth going deeper.
- ·Parcel, lot size, and zoning where available
- ·Hazard, jurisdiction, and contradiction signals
- ·Source-backed facts separated from verify items
- ·Unknowns shown, never hidden
- ✓Prominent contradiction warning when records conflict
- ✓Source-backed facts, knowns, unknowns, and verify items
- ✓Reviewed notes specific to this address
- ✓Questions to verify with the city or county
Public records don’t always agree.
Parcel, assessor, GIS, and jurisdiction sources can show different facts for the same property. GroundRules flags where sources may disagree or can’t be confirmed — so you verify the right things before you rely on them.
Lot size
Assessor records and county GIS geometry can report different lot areas for the same parcel.
Zoning & overlays
A base zone, conditions, and overlays each carry different rules — and aren’t always shown together.
Parcel / APN match
The geocoded point doesn’t always land on the right parcel — the match itself can need confirming.
We surface what to reconcile. We don’t guess which record is “right.”
Not a listing app or a valuation estimate — a source-backed first-pass screening layer.
Not approval. Better property triage.
GroundRules doesn't replace city, legal, architectural, engineering, or permit review. It helps professionals start smarter — with source-backed facts, contradictions surfaced, and unknowns shown.
Live coverage is Los Angeles first. Unsupported areas should be labeled clearly instead of guessed past.
If your area isn't covered yet, the check is free.
Have a specific property concern? Ask us to look into it.
Tell us what property concerns you want GroundRules to investigate next — contradictions, zoning conflicts, hazard signals, jurisdiction issues, permits, and other items that still need verification.
Screen before you spend.
Start with a batch screen before deeper diligence, quotes, or offer assumptions.