Lot Lab™ · by Sun Collective Design Group

Did you get your Lot Lab?

Before you buy, build or sell a Houston lot, know what it can hold. Free lot checks and neighborhood guides, plus full feasibility reports from an architecture studio.

Get my Lot Lab

Or jump to your step

Five steps from curious to built

Each step answers more about your lot. Jump in where you are. Every paid report counts toward design.

  1. 01

    Curious

    Explore

    Neighborhood guides

    Free

    Plain-English guides to building in eight Houston neighborhoods.

    Find your neighborhood
  2. 02

    Have an address

    Check

    Free lot check

    $0

    Your lot drawn on an aerial, with its buildable area, sun, breeze and the overlays that apply.

    Get my Lot Lab
  3. 03

    Doing homework

    Learn the rules

    Rulebooks + Infill PlaybookComing soon

    From $49

    Every deed-restriction section in a neighborhood, and our playbook for building infill in Houston.

    See what's inside
  4. 04

    Ready to offer

    Decide

    Investor Brief · Developer SetComing soon

    $295 / $895

    Your section's restrictions, utilities, trees, layouts and the numbers, before you buy or build.

    See levels and prices
  5. 05

    Ready to build

    Design

    Design with the studio

    Report credited

    We design it. The report price comes off the design fee if you hire us within 90 days.

    Talk to the studio

Step 01 · Free

Find your neighborhood

Tap a neighborhood for its free guide: who sets the rules, what you can build and what it costs to get approved.

Lot Lab neighborhood map of central HoustonMap of central Houston with Loop 610, the freeways and bayous. The neighborhoods with free Lot Lab guides are highlighted and link to their guides.WOODLAND HEIGHTSLINDALE PARKNEAR NORTHSIDEMUSEUM DISTRICTOak Forest: free guideOAK FORESTGarden Oaks: free guideGARDEN OAKSLazybrook: free guideLAZYBROOKTimbergrove: free guideTIMBERGROVEIndependence Heights: free guideINDEPENDENCE HEIGHTSHouston Heights: free guideHOUSTON HEIGHTSMontrose: free guideMONTROSEEast End: free guideEAST ENDDOWNTOWNLOOP 610N
Free guide Coming soon · Swipe the map to see more · Boundaries from HCAD parcel records and City of Houston GIS, simplified.
Coming soonWoodland HeightsShady AcresLindale ParkNear NorthsideRice MilitarySpring BranchMuseum DistrictLot elsewhere in Houston? Request a lot check

Step 03

Rulebooks and the Infill Playbook

For when you're doing your homework: the full rules for a neighborhood, and our playbook for building infill in Houston.

Lot Lab RulebookGarden OaksEvery section. Every rule.

Neighborhood Rulebooks

$49 each · $199 for all eight

Every deed-restriction section in one neighborhood, read from the recorded documents and put in plain English.

  • Who sets the rules, and how design review works
  • Section by section: building lines, stories, outbuildings, garage apartments
  • Minimum lot width and size for splits and replats
  • City overlays: historic, conservation, lot-size and building-line areas
  • What you can build, the money, and the approval path
  • Pitfalls we see in that neighborhood

PDF · one per core neighborhood

Coming soon · notify me
Lot LabThe Houston Infill PlaybookFor builders and investors doing 1–12 homes

Houston Infill Playbook

$149 launch price $99

How small builders and investors find a lot, read the rules, run the numbers and get a permit on the first or second try.

  • The infill math and the buy-right land formula
  • The 10-minute lot screen and the red flags
  • The rules stack: City building lines, lot size, floodplain, deed restrictions
  • What you can build: six products and their approval paths
  • The pro forma, line by line
  • Approvals, and the 12 City comments that cost the most time
  • Design that sells, plus checklists

PDF guide · checklists included

Coming soon · notify me

What's in a Lot Lab

Houston has no zoning, so the answer is spread across the plat, Chapter 42, the city's map layers and a deed restriction recorded decades ago, often different for each section of a neighborhood. We pull them together for your lot.

  • Deed restrictions
  • Building lines
  • Trees
  • Sun and breeze
  • Utilities
  • Green options
  • Lot splits
  • Unit count

Every Lot Lab is reviewed by our studio before it goes out. The neighborhood research behind it grows with every lot we study.

Sample Lot Lab buildable-area diagram A 60 by 130 foot lot with a 40 foot front building line, 10 foot side and rear lines, a shaded buildable area and a detached garage zone at the rear. LOT LAB BY SUN COLLECTIVE DESIGN GROUP SAMPLE LOT · GARDEN OAKSSECTION 5 Lot 60' × 130' · 7,800 SF Deed restricted: yes Front BL 40' · sides 10' Rear 10' · 2 stories max Floodplain: none Historic district: none BUILDABLE FOOTPRINT ≈ 3,200 SF before coverage & design-review limits Buildable area Detached garage zone ILLUSTRATIVE · NOT A SURVEY STREET 40' FRONT BL 10' REAR 10' SIDE 60' 130'
Every report includes a buildable-area sheet like this one, drawn for your lot.

Steps 02 + 04

Lot Lab levels and prices

The free check tells you what's possible. The paid levels tell you what it's worth and how to get it approved.

Step 02

Free lot check

$0

For anyone with an address

  • Aerial site view of your lot
  • Setback lines and the buildable area drawn on it
  • Equity snapshot: land value, new-home value and equity potential
  • Sun path and prevailing breezes
  • Lot size, floodplain and height limit
  • Historic, conservation and lot-size overlays
  • Deed restricted: yes or no
  • What our studio would add to your design

About 1 business day · 2-page PDF

Get my Lot Lab

Most popular

Step 04

Investor Brief

$295

Know your profit before you make an offer

  • Profit snapshot: projected sales, all-in cost, profit and the buy-right land price
  • Everything in the free check
  • Deed restrictions for your section, read from the recorded document
  • Building lines from the plat and Ch. 42
  • Buildable-area sheet for the lot
  • Existing trees, sun path and prevailing breezes
  • Water, sewer and electric locations
  • Green design options with costs and payback
  • Can it be split or replatted?

3 business days · 5-page brief

Coming soon

Notify me

Step 04

Developer Set

$895

Build-to-sell and small developments

  • Everything in the Investor Brief, as an 11×17 drawing set
  • 2–3 layout options (single-family, shared drive, courtyard)
  • Unit count and heated SF per option
  • Full pro forma per option: nearby comps, sales, costs, profit, margin and buy-right land price
  • Parking and shared-driveway layout
  • Replat and approval path with timeline
  • One round of follow-up questions

5 business days · 8-sheet 11×17 set

Coming soon

Notify me
Need a survey too?Coming soon: a sealed boundary survey from our licensed partner surveying firm, ordered and tracked for you with your Lot Lab.

Build it with us and the report is free. Hire Sun Collective Design Group to design the project within 90 days and we credit the full report price to your design fee.

Get your Lot Lab.

Free lot check: tell us the lot and where to send it. You'll get a 2-page PDF in about one business day. By sending, you agree to the Lot Lab Terms and that we may contact you about this lot.

Form not loading? Open it in a new tab or email the lot address to info@suncollective.org.

Questions

Which step is right for me?

Just curious about a neighborhood? Start with a free guide. Have an address? Get the free lot check. Writing an offer or lining up a lender? The Investor Brief. Planning townhomes or a small development? The Developer Set. Ready to design? Talk to the studio, and your report price comes off the design fee.

Is the free lot check really free?

Yes. Send the address and within about one business day we email a two-page PDF: an aerial view of your lot with the setback lines and buildable area drawn on it, the sun and breeze directions, the City overlays, and whether it is deed restricted. No obligation.

Why do deed restrictions matter so much in Houston?

Houston has no zoning, so recorded deed restrictions often decide what you can build: setbacks, stories, how many homes per lot and whether a lot can be split. They differ by section of a neighborhood, so we read the document for your lot's section.

Is a Lot Lab report a survey or a title report?

No. It is a design-feasibility study by an architecture studio. Add a boundary survey from our licensed partner if you need one, and confirm the final word with your title commitment before you close.

How fast will I get my report?

The free check takes about one business day. The Investor Brief takes 3 business days and the Developer Set 5, counted from payment.

How do I pay?

The free lot check is free. The Investor Brief and Developer Set open for orders soon; use “notify me” and we'll tell you the day they do.

What if I hire you to design the project?

If you hire Sun Collective Design Group to design it within 90 days of your report, we credit the full report price to your design fee.

Can I share or resell my report?

Your report is licensed to you for the property it covers. You can share it with your own lender, partners, agent and design team for that property. You can't resell it, publish it or use it to build a database. See the Lot Lab Terms.

Which areas do you cover?

Lots inside the City of Houston. Our deepest coverage is in the Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest, Timbergrove, Lazybrook, Independence Heights, Montrose and the East End.

Lot Lab reports and guides are preliminary design-feasibility research prepared by Sun Collective Design Group, an architecture studio, from public records available on the date shown. They are not a survey, plat, title commitment or title opinion, appraisal, engineering study, legal advice or a guarantee that any permit, replat, variance or association approval will be granted. Deed restrictions, plats and City rules can be amended or interpreted differently. Confirm everything with a current survey, a title commitment, the governing association and the City of Houston before you buy, design or build. Our total liability for any report is limited to the fee paid for it.

© 2026 Sun Collective Design Group. Lot Lab™ is a trademark of Sun Collective Design Group. Guides, reports, drawings and the research behind them are protected by copyright and trade-secret law. Copying, scraping, republishing or using this content to train AI or build a database is not permitted. See the Lot Lab Terms.