Lots & the Lot Lifecycle

A Lot is the central object in SMART. Almost every transaction in the database — a deposit, a PO, a service request — is anchored to a Lot via ProjectID + BuildingID + UnitID.

At a glance

• 29,386 lots in the test database across 775 projects.
• Identified by the composite key (ProjectID, BuildingID, UnitID). There is no single int “LotID”.
• The single-letter Lot.Status is the most-read column in the system — it’s updated by Contract operations (accept / ratify / close / cancel), never edited by hand.
• A Lot’s lifecycle is roughly Land Acquisition → For Sale (s) → Sold (f/i) → Production (p) → Closed (c), with side branches for Models (v), R&D (w), and inventory (p).
• The Lot table has ~98 columns; you usually only touch a dozen.

The lot lifecycle

1Land Acquisition
Lot exists in LandAcq* tables.

2Lot Created
Becomes a Lot row, status z (Not Available).

3For Sale
Status flips to s. Marketing is live.

4Sold / Reserved
Status f (Sold) or i (Sold, Contingent). A Contract row exists.

5Accepted
Status m. Buyer signed; just waiting on ratification.

6Production Inventory
Status p. Build is authorized; schedule live.

7Closed
Status c. Money exchanged. Warranty clock starts.

A few statuses don’t fit neatly in that line: v (Model Home), w (R&D Home), a (Job Cost Job), b (Non‑Job). See Lot Statuses for the full list with codes.

What a Lot row holds

The Lot table has roughly 98 columns. Most days you only touch the identity, status, plan, and a few date fields. Money columns and construction-loan columns matter only at specific stages of the lifecycle.

All 98 Lot columns, grouped by purpose

Group	Columns
Identity	ProjectID, BuildingID, UnitID, Address, City, State, Zipcode, County
Status	Status (1‑char), StatusAtStart, PendingStatus, Reserved, ReservedExpDate, LockedAfterClose, LockedAfterCloseDate
Plan	PlansID, SchPlansID, SchOptionsID, PlanRatified, LimitPlanType, CADPlanID, PlansCADVersionSysID
Dates	StartDate, OrigStartDate, SchComplete, SoldDate, CloseDate, PurchaseDate, PermitAppliedDate, PermitReceivedDate, DevelopedPadReady, ProcessThruDate
Money	LotCost, LotPremium, LotValue, AppraisedValue, BalanceClosing, BalanceWIP, BalanceFinance, BalanceOnOrder, InvoiceTotal, VariancesRecorded, VariancesUnrecorded, TotalBudgetCurrent, TotalBudgetOriginal
Construction Loan	ConstructionLoanCommitment, ConstructionLoanBalance, ConstructionLenderID, ConstructionLoanCloseDate, ConstructionLoanPrefixID, ConstructionHLPRequestedDate, ConstructionHLPApprovedDate
Legal	LegalLot, LegalBlock, LegalSection, LegalPhase, LegalBook, LegalPage, LegalDistrict, LegalLandLot, LegalMunicipality
Workflow flags	EstimateRan, ProcessEstimate, RecalcPO, ReversePlan, ErrorsExist, AllowNoDollarPOs

How a status actually changes

The single‑letter Status column is updated by SMART when significant events happen — almost always as a side effect of a contract operation, not a direct edit. The full set of triggers and the matching contract proc is below; you’ll find the same cascade documented from the contract side at Contracts.

Status transition triggers (with the proc that drives each one)

Trigger	Code change	What else fires
Lot setup is completed	z → s	Lot becomes visible in marketing screens
Contract status moves to Accepted (acc)	s → f (or i if contingent)	Lot is reserved on the schedule
Contract status moves to Ratified (rat)	f → p	Schedule is regenerated; estimate runs; POs generate
Closing happens	p → c	LockedAfterClose=1; Bills can post; warranty starts
Sale cancels	f → s/z	Schedule cleared; deposits reversed
Conversion to a Model	any → v	Standard sales rules disabled

Backdoor edits

Lot status is not edited by hand in production. Customer Support keeps a folder of vetted SQL scripts (under SOURCECODE/SMART/Documentation/CustomerSupportDocumentation/) for legitimate special cases — for example ChangeLotStatusToModel.sql, Unratify.sql, Unreverse a lot.sql. Always log and review.

Where to find a Lot

App	Where
SMART	Production → Lot Inquiry · Sales → Contract → Lot tab
SMART 2.0	production/, web-reports/
Builder Portal	Schedule.aspx, WorkOrders.aspx, WorkApproval.aspx
Trade Portal	quick-view.aspx, order.aspx
Home Owner Portal	Schedule.aspx (one lot per buyer)

Common queries

Active inventory by community

SELECT  c.CommunityName, COUNT(*) AS LotsByStatus, l.Status
FROM    dbo.Lot l
JOIN    dbo.Project p   ON p.ProjectID   = l.ProjectID
JOIN    dbo.Community c ON c.CommunityID = p.CommunityID
WHERE   l.Status IN ('s','f','i','m','p')
GROUP BY c.CommunityName, l.Status
ORDER BY c.CommunityName, l.Status;