How we score tax sale deals

    A 0–100 deal score built from four dimensions — with worked examples for each. Trace any score back to the factors that made it.

    Equity cushion

    How far the parcel's assessed and market value clear the minimum bid, taxes owed, and known encumbrances. A parcel with a $180k market value, $12k minimum bid, and no surviving liens has a large cushion. A parcel with a $95k value and a $70k IRS lien has almost none.

    Worked example: Market value $180,000 − minimum bid $12,000 − surviving liens $0 = $168,000 cushion. Ratio 14.0×. Strong contribution to score.

    Yield potential

    Modeled against the statutory framework of the parcel's state — bid-down interest floors, redemption penalty tiers, cure windows, and time-to-deed. We compute a risk-adjusted expected return, not the state's headline rate.

    Worked example: Florida certificate at 18% headline, bid-down floor 5%, 2-year median redemption. Modeled IRR ≈ 5–7% net of expected losses.

    Property & market risk

    FEMA flood zone, FEMA National Risk Index composite, wetlands overlap, property type, vacancy signals, and neighborhood distress trends. Material risks penalize the score in proportion to expected loss severity.

    Worked example: Parcel in AE flood zone with 40% NWI wetland overlap: −15 to score. Vacant lot on collector road with fire-hazard tier 3: further penalty.

    Hidden-risk penalties

    Open building permits with unpaid fees, active code enforcement cases, HOA liens, UCC filings, and no-legal-access findings each carry a deduction sized to the finding. Multiple findings compound, capped at the parcel's estimated equity.

    Worked example: Open $8,400 code lien + HOA lien of $2,900 + no recorded access easement: combined penalty ≈ −20 and a title-caution flag on the deal card.

    Principles

    We publish the dimensions. We don't publish the weights.

    You can trace any score to the four dimensions above and see which factors contributed. Exact weights stay tuned inside the platform — publishing them invites gaming and dulls the signal for every honest user.

    Bad data is worse than no data.

    If a source is stale or a required enrichment failed, the score shows a data-quality caveat instead of guessing. Missing fields never render as zero.

    The score is a starting point, not a verdict.

    The score orders your queue. Every high-scoring deal still gets a due-diligence checklist, a title review recommendation, and the raw source links so you can verify what the score is built on.

    See scored deals in your market

    Start a 14-day trial and open any active auction in TX, FL, AZ, CA, or GA — every parcel gets scored the moment it's enriched.

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