Sand and Sage Solutions LLC

05/19/2026

A property inside City of Bend. Three and a half acres, existing home, existing septic, room to build. It looked like an easy ADU.

It wasn't.

The existing septic couldn't support an additional unit. City sewer was more than a quarter mile away. A licensed professional was brought in specifically to find a workaround. His conclusion: there wasn't one.

The ADU was abandoned.

This isn't a universal City of Bend rule. But the pattern it represents is everywhere. ADUs get stopped by things that don't show up in a zoning search: sewer distance, septic capacity, sizing limits, solar setbacks, parking requirements, access standards, distance rules between the ADU and the main home. Most buyers go straight to a builder. Builders start at the build phase, not the feasibility phase. The infrastructure questions don't get asked until it's too late to walk away.

Check before you commit. That question has a real answer before you own the property.

Full details at the link in the first comment.

Comment ADU or DM us if you have a specific property you are evaluating.

04/30/2026

New from Sand & Sage Solutions: Permitting Services.

If you've ever pulled a permit yourself, you know. The applications. The confusing requirements. The file naming conventions. The corrections. The waiting.

We handle all of it. You send us the building plans, we handle the application, documentation, submittal, and every conversation with the jurisdiction along the way. Don't have a site plan yet? We draft those in AutoCAD as an add-on service.

We work with:
- Custom builders who'd rather build than chase paperwork
- OYL builders whose customers need a hand with the permit step
- Owner-builders running their own GC
- Realtors with clients buying land or planning a build
- Homeowners tackling a project — new home, ADU, addition, shed, deck, fence, electrical

If it needs a permit, we'll get it through.

Comment PERMITS or DM us, we'll send pricing and walk you through how it works. 👇

10/18/2025

I’ve been both humbled and amazed at how many people can relate to the hidden challenges properties hold.

My passion is helping people make good decisions with clear, black and white data that saves time, money, and stress before a single shovel hits the ground.

Next week I’m launching something new called Below The Surface — a short, story-driven newsletter about the real problems we uncover during due diligence and how to spot them before they turn into expensive surprises.

If that sounds like your kind of read, drop a 🏠 or comment “I’m in” and I’ll DM you the subscribe link.

The first issue comes out Wednesday morning, and I can’t wait to share the first story.

09/19/2025

This week’s due diligence review revealed a growing trend.

Builders are getting blindsided by erosion control on projects that never used to trigger it.

And the costs are stacking up fast.

We’ve been doing due diligence in Lane County, Oregon, for years. Rural single-family homes were always straightforward. Erosion control was never a major consideration.

But this week, during a SiteFacts review, we found something different. Lane County recently passed Mercury TMDL regulations.

The result? In large portions of the county, even rural residential projects now require basic erosion control measures like silt fences, stabilized construction entrances, and routine inspections.

And this isn’t just an Oregon story. Across the country, erosion control is creeping into places where builders never expected it.

Here’s where I see it catching people off guard:

- Subdivisions where your individual lot is under an acre, but the overall development triggers requirements
- Cities that are pushing compliance down to single-lot homes
- Rural counties that never had rules adopting stormwater standards
- Projects near streams, wetlands, or floodplains facing extra scrutiny

The reality is simple. What used to be free now comes with a price tag.

Wattles, fencing, soil stabilization, inspections. It adds up.

Red flags to watch for:

- FEMA flood zones
- Properties near streams, rivers, or seasonal waterways
- Wetland areas
- Jurisdictions with stormwater systems
- Steeper slopes or tricky drainage

What smart builders are doing:

- Checking erosion requirements as part of the first site review
- Building relationships with suppliers and inspectors before they are needed
- Budgeting compliance costs up front instead of reacting later
- Timing construction carefully to minimize risk

Here’s the lesson I keep coming back to. Even if you know a market well, you can’t assume the rules will be the same this year as they were last year.

The builders who adapt quickly will protect their margins. The ones who get caught by surprise will be dealing with blown budgets and delayed projects.

Are you seeing erosion control show up in markets where it never used to?

What’s been your experience?

Follow for weekly SiteFacts insights on due diligence, regulations, and market intelligence.

09/10/2025

The $50K mistake I see land buyers make every week 😬

Twice in the last week I've given customers the hard truth that land use approvals are going to cost them tens of thousands of dollars and months of time.

In both cases, the customers found land, fell in love, purchased on the best information they had, but failed to get legitimate due diligence before they closed on the property.

Now they are working with builders to plan their dream home build and discover that there are expensive caveats to their "buildable" lots.

Here's what you need to know: 👇

The very first thing we look at when reviewing lots is zoning AND overlays. You can't trust the seller, the listing, or sometimes even the jurisdiction.

It takes about 30 minutes to pull the zoning code to determine if single-family residential is permitted outright and if there are any overlays that will trigger further planning reviews.

Once you enter into the world of planning reviews, you are beholden to the requirements and timelines of the jurisdiction, and building your house in the timeframe you wanted is not their priority.

Public notices, multi-disciplinary reviews, restrictions on where and how and when you build your house.

The key here is doing this review BEFORE closing on land. 🔑

Don't make decisions on emotion. Use data and logic. You may still buy the lot, but at least you'd know what you were getting into.

Have you seen buyers get burned by skipping due diligence? What's your advice for first-time land purchasers? 💬

05/23/2025

If you’re shopping for land this weekend, please don’t skip the due diligence. This SiteFacts report saved a customer over $15,000 before the builder even stepped foot on the lot. If you find a property you like, shoot me a message and I’ll take a quick look. I’ll help you avoid surprises before they become expensive problems.

🏠💥 $15,000 Surprise Avoided Before He Even Stepped Onsite

Last month, a custom builder called me about a new project.
Tight timeline. Excited client. Dream home in the works.

But he was about to make a very expensive mistake.

Like many builders, his original plan was:
1️⃣ Walk the site
2️⃣ Then do the due diligence

This time, he flipped the script.
He ordered a SiteFacts Report first.

What we found? A buried septic drain field, right where the home was planned.

Had he built there, it would have triggered:
✅ $2,000+ geotech report
✅ Soil mitigation and over excavation
✅ Engineered fill and multiple compaction tests

💸 Total surprise cost: $15,000+

Because of the report, he stepped onto that lot prepared.
✅ Knew where not to build
✅ Had answers before the client asked
✅ Kept the project on budget
✅ Protected his reputation

Realtors and land buyers — this is why early due diligence matters.
What you don’t see on a site walk can cost you thousands.

City records don’t show themselves.
Old permits don’t read themselves.
But we do.

If you’re out shopping for land this Memorial Day weekend, send me a DM to set up a 15-minute SiteScore consultation. We’ll take a quick, expert look at the property and flag any early red flags.

05/19/2025

The best leaders don’t answer every question.

It might sound backwards, but some of the most important leadership moves I've made with teams started with not answering someone’s question.

Instead of stepping in with the solution, I’d redirect it to another team member:

“That’s a good one. Joe’s probably got better insight on that than I do. Run it by him.”

Sometimes I did know the answer. But building a team that can think, teach, and lead doesn’t happen if every question bounces straight back to you.

Redirecting questions with intention can:

🔸 Build peer-to-peer respect
🔸 Develop subject-matter leaders (without handing out a new title)
🔸 Create ownership and accountability
🔸 Loosen the bottleneck at the top

I watched a Project Manager go from overlooked to essential just because the team started coming to him instead of me. His game elevated. The team leveled up. And when it was time to promote a new lead, he was already leading.

If you're in a leadership seat, ask yourself:

“Does this question need my answer, or is this a chance to grow someone else?”

Sometimes leadership isn’t about being the expert. It’s about knowing when not to be.

05/16/2025

The $10,000 Sidewalk You Didn't See Coming

Buying land in an older neighborhood and planning to build? Here's a surprise you don’t want to discover too late:

Many cities require new homes on infill lots to install sidewalks—even if none of the neighbors have them.

We've seen it happen too often:
✅ Buyer secures land and financing
✅ Builder draws up plans
✅ Permits are submitted
❌ City flags missing sidewalks
💸 Change order hits for nearly $10,000

It’s not just concrete. You could be on the hook for right-of-way permits, curb and gutter upgrades, ADA compliance, and utility conflicts.

One corner lot alone might need 160 feet of sidewalk at 5 feet wide. That’s 800 square feet at about $12/sqft. Surprise math? Try $9,600 in unexpected cost.

👉 In places like Garden City, Idaho, sidewalk installation is mandatory for any new development. Even if the whole block is sidewalk-free, your project is still required to build one.

This isn’t just an Idaho thing. Cities across the Northwest and beyond use infill sidewalk policies to build out their networks, one new home at a time.

If you’re representing a buyer or shopping for land yourself, make sure sidewalk rules don’t catch you off guard.

Assumptions cost money. Smart questions save it.

05/15/2025

Who We Are | Sand and Sage Solutions

If you're building on your own land, or helping someone who is, there's a lot to figure out. Zoning, permits, utilities, contractors, site conditions… it can get overwhelming fast.

That’s where we come in.

At Sand and Sage Solutions, we help homebuilders, realtors, and land buyers navigate the complexities of land development with clarity and confidence.

✅ Quick SiteScore buildability checks (great for land shoppers)
✅ SiteFacts Reports, flat-rate deep-dive feasibility reports
✅ Pre-construction and permitting support
✅ Builder operations consulting and AI development support

We work across Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and we’re growing.

Whether you’re planning a build, representing a buyer, or trying to make smarter decisions on land, we’re here to help.

📩 Want to chat? DM me or book a free 15-minute discovery call here: https://calendly.com/dhealy-sandandsagesolutions/15-minute-sitefacts-intro

05/02/2025

This can be really easy to overlook and cause massive headaches. Makes sure that checking the tree codes is part of your feasibility processes when preparing to buy land or build.

“That tree might cost you five grand... and you’re not even cutting it down.”

You find a clean city lot. Flat. Power’s right there. Zoning looks good. It feels like an easy win.

Then the city steps in and says:
“Don’t touch that tree. Don’t dig near it. Hire an arborist. Show it on your site plan. Also, plant a couple more before you’re done.”

Here’s what trips people up:

🌳 You might need an arborist to document every tree over a certain size ... even if none are being removed

📏 You’ll probably need to show tree locations and measurements on your site plan

🛑 Most cities have something called a Critical Root Zone (CRZ). It’s an invisible no-go zone around the tree. Can’t dig in it. Can’t trench. Sometimes can’t even walk through it.

💰 We’ve had to reroute trenching 50 feet on a project just to stay clear of one tree’s CRZ. That added over $4,000.

🌲 And yes, some cities will hold your Certificate of Occupancy until you plant new street trees

Urban lots are great, but only if you know what you’re stepping into.