What we look at6Rent yield, building condition, permits, insurance cost, owner pressure, the neighborhood — each one weighted and clickable.
When we won't score3 of 6If we have fewer than three of the six pieces, we hide the score instead of pretending. Better to say 'come back later' than guess.
Model versionv1.2Weights are public and we version every change — when the method shifts, the version number does too.
The problem3 reasons most property scores feel useless
01 · Black boxA single number with no breakdown is just a guess.
Most property scores hand you one digit. No way to see what fed it, no way to argue back when the number doesn't match what you're seeing.
02 · Apples and orangesA guess shouldn't count the same as a hard fact.
If a model's hunch about building condition weighs the same as a county tax record, the headline number starts treating noise like truth.
03 · Confident on thin dataA 72 from two pieces looks the same as a 72 from six.
Most scoring engines don't tell you when they're working with half the picture. A confident number from a thin slice of data feels just as confident as the real thing.
How Domora does itOpen method · 6 pieces
- 27%
Rent yield
How much rent this property could generate each month, relative to its purchase price. We use our rent estimate vs. the AVM, with a sanity check against recent comparable sales.
Higher yield lifts the score. A weak yield vs. comparable sales pulls it down.
- 20%
Building condition risk
How likely the inspection is to surface expensive surprises — roof, HVAC, plumbing, foundation, electrical near end-of-life.
A clean building lifts the score. Aging systems pull it down.
- 15%
Permit issues
Whether the work done on this property matches what's on file with the city — unpermitted additions, missing finals, open permits.
A clean record is neutral-positive. Gaps and open permits pull the score down.
- 15%
Insurance cost risk
How hard or expensive it will be to insure this property — flood zone, wildfire, wind/hail, and whether insurance carriers are pulling out of this market.
Easy-to-insure markets nudge up. Hard markets and high-risk zones pull down.
- 13%
Owner financial pressure
Signals that the current owner may be motivated to sell — tax delinquency, recorded liens, and other public-record signs of financial pressure.
A clean record is the neutral baseline. Delinquencies and liens drag the score.
- 10%
Neighborhood signals
How the surrounding block is trending — vacancy, 311 complaints, code violations, and the recent rhythm of small-business activity.
Active blocks with clean records lift the score. Code-violation clusters pull it down.
Why this mattersReal estate is local and the data is rarely complete. A score built from six named pieces with weights you can see falls apart gracefully — when we're missing data, we say so instead of guessing. When we have the full picture, you get a breakdown you can take into a conversation with a partner, a lender, or yourself.
What you’ll see in productSample · Houston, TX
Live-style example of the Domora Score breakdown.
Domora ScoreEstimated
72/ 100
BandWorth a look
Band range 60 – 80
Weighted average of the 5 pieces below. We have data on 5 of 6— owner financial pressure is missing here (clean record, nothing to flag). If we had fewer than three pieces, we'd hide the score instead of guessing.
Signal contributions
5 components · what moved the numberSample Domora Score breakdown showing each contributing component, its measured signal value, its normalized 0 to 100 score, its weight in the composite, and the signed point contribution to the headline.| Component | Signal value | Norm. 0–100 | Weight | Contribution |
|---|
| Rent yield Estimated rent vs. estimated value — strong yield against nearby comps. | 8.4% gross | 84 | 27% | +9.2 pts |
|---|
| Building condition risk Lower is better. Some age-related risk on the roof and HVAC. | 32 / 100 | 68 | 20% | +3.6 pts |
|---|
| Permit issues Listing matches the city permit record — no obvious unpermitted work. | 22 / 100 | 78 | 15% | +4.2 pts |
|---|
| Insurance cost risk Houston wind exposure offset by a moderate flood discount. | 5 / 10 | 56 | 15% | +0.9 pts |
|---|
| Neighborhood signals Some city-service calls and code-violation activity, offset by a vibrant block. | 38 / 100 | 62 | 10% | +1.2 pts |
|---|
Contribution is the signed nudge each component applied vs. a neutral 50 / 100 baseline, scaled by weight. Sum the column and add the baseline to recover the headline. This sample is for illustration; live property pages render this section against real signals.
When we won't scoreIf we have fewer than three of the six pieces, we hide the big number and tell you what's missing. Better to say “come back later” than fake a confident answer from half the picture.
- The big number0–100. The label next to it (Strong deal, Worth a look, etc.) maps the number to one of four buckets.
- The raw dataWhat we actually pulled — e.g. 8.4% rent yield, 32 out of 100 building condition risk. This is the evidence, not a derived score.
- The 0–100 lineEach piece gets translated onto the same 0–100 scale before we average. 50 is neutral. Above 50 helps the score. Below 50 hurts it.
- Points added or taken awayHow much each piece moved the score up or down, scaled by its weight. Add them all to 50 and you get the headline.
- When we won't scoreIf we have fewer than three of the six pieces, we hide the headline instead of pretending. You'll see a coverage note explaining what's missing.
How to read the numberFour-band scale
80 – 100Strong deal
Good rent yield, clean inspection profile, permits in order, no signs of owner pressure. Worth running the numbers and pulling a full report.
60 – 80Worth a look
Mixed signals — one or two pieces are dragging the average. Click into the breakdown to see which, then decide if those trade-offs are your kind of risk.
40 – 60Worth more digging
Several pieces are dragging the score. Deal can still work, but budget extra time and money for repairs, insurance, or permit clean-up before you bid.
Below 40Caution
Multiple red flags. Possible, but the inspection risk, insurance cost, or owner situation is loud enough that you should walk in ready to negotiate hard or walk away.
These bands are a starting point, not financial advice. A high score isn't a green light and a low score isn't a no — both are jumping-off points for the digging the breakdown points you toward.
The Domora score sits at the top of every property page, with the same breakdown you saw above. Read the comps method next to see how we build the value and rent estimates from the same data.