​

How RealClear produces a Site Memo

This is the operational version—not a glossy diagram with a little rocket ship on it. A Site Memo starts with a specific property and ends only when the work is fit to release. It is a decision-support document, not a promise that a project will be approved, financed, permitted, or profitable.

​

1. Start with the property, not a generic market

Add a site using the best property signal you have:

• Street address
• Parcel or APN
• Latitude and longitude
• A short practical hint, such as the intended use, scale, or what needs investigating

RealClear resolves and classifies the location, looks for relevant local records, and asks follow-up questions where the initial information is ambiguous. You confirm or correct the property name, use, and scale before it enters research. If the location or the brief is wrong, fix it at this stage. Researching the wrong parcel very quickly produces a beautifully cited answer to the wrong question. Marvellous, but useless.

​

2. The site enters the research queue

When you finalize the property, it enters RealClear’s 24-hour research queue. The product records that the work is queued and emails you when the Site Memo is ready. The queue is property-specific. It is not a generic chatbot answer pasted onto a pin on a map.

​

3. RealClear assembles the evidence record

Research is organized around the questions that change a development decision. Depending on the property and the question, that can include:

• Land-use and zoning rules
• Planning, hearing, and entitlement records
• Jurisdiction and local-policy context
• Utilities, infrastructure, and physical constraints
• Community, opposition, and approval signals
• Comparable outcomes and relevant nearby activity

The result separates what the evidence says from what the analysis infers. A missing record is not quietly promoted into a reassuring conclusion.

​

4. Claims are tied back to sources

Material claims in a RealClear report are expected to carry supporting evidence. Citations and source links let the reader inspect the underlying record rather than taking the prose on faith. RealClear distinguishes:

• Sourced facts — what a record, document, or authority states
• Analysis or inference — what that evidence may mean for the site
• Known unknowns — questions where the available record is thin, conflicting, or not yet sufficient

That last category matters. It is better to flag an unresolved issue than invent a soothing answer.

​

5. Release checks decide whether the memo can be delivered

A memo can be held before delivery. The two customer-facing hold states are:

• Citation review — material claims need sufficient source support
• Quality review — the report needs further quality checking before release

While a memo is held, RealClear does not present it as released. A polished PDF with hollow claims would be rubbish; the system is designed to stop that.

​

6. Delivery and the next decision

Once released, the memo is available in the workspace and the delivery notice is sent. You can use the cited evidence to review the property, discuss it internally, or share a bounded package with counsel where enabled. A Site Memo helps structure a decision. It does not replace legal, engineering, environmental, title, lending, or other professional advice.

​

What you should provide for the best result

Bring the exact parcel/address if you have it, the contemplated use and scale, any known issue or deal question, and any deadline that changes what matters first. The more precisely the question is framed, the less time gets wasted admiring irrelevant paperwork.