FAQ
Questions land buyers actually ask
Straight answers about what a satellite land report can tell you — and, just as importantly, what it can't.
How do I check if land floods before buying?
Run the parcel through LandBenchmark: the report reads the FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer for the mapped flood zone, checks USFWS wetlands, and adds what a map can't — surface water actually observed on the parcel across years of satellite imagery. Each value states its source and observation date. It is a desk screen, not an official flood determination, so a flagged parcel still warrants a surveyor's elevation certificate.
What is a perc test, and can you do one?
A percolation test digs holes on the parcel and times how fast water drains — it's what most counties require before approving a septic system. No, we can't do one: a satellite cannot dig a hole. The report screens soil drainage from soil-survey data and then puts the perc test itself on the human-verify checklist — it is a question only someone standing on the parcel can answer.
How do I find out what a parcel's soil is like?
The report reads the USDA SSURGO soil survey for US parcels and SoilGrids elsewhere — soil type, drainage and productivity, each cited to its source and date. That tells you what the survey mapped for that ground; for a decision that depends on soil bearing or septic suitability, the on-site tests on the report's checklist are still the final word.
Can I build on a steep slope?
Often yes, but it costs more — grading, foundations and access all get harder. The report measures slope from a digital elevation model and estimates usable acreage after removing steep ground, floodplain and wetlands, so you see how much of the parcel is realistically buildable. For genuinely steep ground it points you to a geotechnical engineer rather than pretending a satellite settled it.
Is the report free?
Yes — screening a parcel is free and takes about a minute from boundary to verdict, with no card required. The deeper satellite report and daily monitoring of land you own or are watching are part of Pro; the current price is on the pricing page, fetched live from our billing system so the page can never advertise a price we don't charge.
Does it work outside the United States?
Yes. You can analyze a parcel anywhere on Earth — 36 checks run globally from satellite imagery and worldwide datasets. Coverage is deepest in the US, where federal layers like FEMA flood zones, USFWS wetlands and the SSURGO soil survey bring the total to 56 checks.
Where does the data come from?
Public, authoritative sources: FEMA for flood zones, USFWS for wetlands, USDA SSURGO and SoilGrids for soil, digital elevation models for slope, and multi-year satellite imagery for what's observably on the ground. Every signal on a report cites its source, method and observation date — and the Accuracy Ledger publishes how often our reads agree with independent checks, including the word UNMEASURED where we haven't checked yet.
What can't satellites tell me?
Anything that lives in paperwork or under the ground: title, liens, easements, zoning, water and mineral rights, septic approval, well yield, soil bearing capacity. The report doesn't guess at these — each one goes on a human-verify checklist that states what to confirm before you buy.
How do I know if a parcel is landlocked?
A parcel is landlocked when it has no legal access to a public road — and legal access is a title question, not a map question. The report measures the physical side (nearby mapped roads and what surrounds the parcel) and flags a parcel with no road frontage; whether a recorded easement exists is exactly the kind of paperwork fact it routes to the human-verify checklist for a title search. Never close on 'the neighbor doesn't mind you crossing'.
What are water rights, and does the report check them?
No — water rights are legal records, and the report says so instead of guessing. In much of the western US, the right to use water is separate from owning the land above it and is allocated by seniority; a creek on the parcel does not mean you may pump from it. The report shows the water a satellite can observe (mapped water features and surface water seen in imagery) and puts the rights themselves on the human-verify checklist with your state's records office as the place to confirm.
How do I check zoning before buying land?
Call or search the county planning and zoning department — zoning is a legal designation that lives in county records, and no satellite can read it. The report handles the physical half (what is actually built and growing around the parcel, from imagery) and routes the zoning designation, allowed uses and minimum lot sizes to the human-verify checklist so you confirm them with the authority that decides.
What do FEMA flood zone letters like A, AE and X mean?
Zones starting with A (A, AE, AH, AO) are Special Flood Hazard Areas — mapped 1%-annual-chance ('100-year') floodplain, where a federally backed mortgage requires flood insurance. Zone X is outside that mapped high-risk area (shaded X = 0.2% annual chance). The report reads the parcel's zone from the FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer and cites the reading date — and adds surface water actually observed in multi-year imagery, because a map and the ground can disagree.
What happens if the parcel has mapped wetlands?
Building on or filling a wetland can require a federal Section 404 permit, and disturbing one without a permit is a serious liability — so mapped wetlands reduce the ground you can realistically use. The report reads the USFWS National Wetlands Inventory for the parcel and subtracts mapped wetlands from its usable-acreage estimate. The inventory is a map, not a ruling: the legally binding answer is an on-site wetland delineation, which the checklist tells you to get when it matters.
How many acres of a parcel can I actually build on?
Usually fewer than the deed says — steep ground, floodplain and wetlands all subtract from it. The report estimates usable acreage by measuring slope from a digital elevation model and removing mapped floodplain and wetlands, so '40 acres' becomes 'about N acres you could realistically build on', with each subtraction shown and cited. Setbacks and zoning minimums are county paperwork and stay on the human-verify checklist.
How accurate is LandBenchmark?
We measure it and publish the answer — including where the answer is 'we have never checked'. The Accuracy Ledger compares our signals against independent authoritative sources and is generated by a script from live checks, never typed in by hand: every signal shows its measured agreement or the word UNMEASURED with the reason. No other land report we know of publishes its own error rate.
How long does a report take?
About a minute for the free screen — you draw or pick a boundary, and the report goes from boundary to verdict in roughly 60 seconds. The deeper Pro report runs more signals and takes a little longer. You don't need to stay on the page; the report is saved to your account when it finishes.
Can I see who owns a parcel?
In states that publish parcel ownership as open data, yes — the report shows the owner of record, parcel number and assessed value, read directly from the state's own dataset and cited. Some states publish boundaries but redact names; others publish nothing free, and the report says exactly that instead of buying the data from a broker. The county assessor is always the authoritative source.
What is land due diligence?
Everything you verify about a parcel between 'interesting' and 'signed': flood and water, soil and slope, access, utilities, zoning, title, and the costs those imply. The efficient order is a desk screen first — eliminate parcels with visible deal-killers in minutes, cheaply — and spend money on surveys, perc tests and title work only on parcels that survive. LandBenchmark is that first phase, and it hands you the checklist for the second.
Does LandBenchmark keep watching land after I buy it?
Yes — that is what Pro is for. Mark a parcel as land you own (or land you're watching) and it is re-measured every day; when something moves beyond the measurement's stated noise floor — surface water appearing, vegetation loss, new disturbance — you get an alert that says what was observed and when. Quiet days produce no email.
Can LandBenchmark find land for sale?
No — it has no listings and does not know what is on the market. You point it at a parcel you found on a listing site, an auction, or a county map, and it tells you what a satellite can verify about that ground before you spend real money on it.
How recent is the satellite imagery?
Each signal answers for itself: every value on a report carries the date it was observed, because 'recent' is a claim and claims get cited. Observed-surface signals typically read from imagery within recent weeks, while history signals deliberately reach back across years to show change. If imagery for a window was unusable — cloud, for instance — the report says so rather than substituting an older scene silently.
A signal is flagged — does that mean walk away?
Not by itself. A flag means 'this measured value deserves your attention', and the verdict rule separates hard flags (deal-threatening findings like a mapped floodway) from context flags (things that cost money or effort but are routinely dealt with). A parcel can carry a context flag and still read GREEN. The report shows every flag's reason so you can judge it against your plans — a wet corner matters differently to a duck hunter than to a home builder.
What's the difference between the free screen and Pro?
The free screen gives every parcel a verdict, the headline hazards (flood zone, protected areas, major flags) and the human-verify checklist — enough to eliminate bad parcels. Pro unlocks the full measured picture (complete soil suite, contamination and EPA records, water, solar, deep climate) and adds daily monitoring with alerts for land you own or are deciding on. Current pricing is on the pricing page.
Can AI assistants and agents use LandBenchmark?
Yes — there is a REST API (one call returns the verdict plus every cited signal for a parcel) and a public MCP server, so agent frameworks and AI assistants that support MCP can run land checks directly. Responses carry the same citations and observation dates as the human report; an agent gets no less provenance than a person does.
Informational screening only — not a survey, flood determination, or a substitute for on-site inspection and professional advice.