How the Domora score is built.
No black box. The Domora score is a weighted average of six things we look at on every property — and you can click any one of them to see the data we pulled and the math behind it. When we don't have enough data, we don't guess — we tell you the score isn't ready yet.
A confident single number, no way to see what fed it, no way to push back.
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.
If a model's hunch about building condition weighs the same as a county tax record, the headline number starts treating noise like truth.
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.
A weighted average of six things — each one shows the data it's built from, its weight, and how many points it added (or took away).
- 27%Rent yield
How much rent this property could generate each month, relative to its purchase price. We use our rent estimate vs. our value estimate.
Higher yield lifts the score. A weak yield pulls it down.
- 20%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 gap
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%Tax and lien status
What the county holds against the parcel — delinquent property tax, how many years it has run, and liens recorded with no release on file.
A clean record is the neutral baseline. Delinquencies and liens drag the score.
- 10%City record activity
What the city has on file at this address and on the blocks around it — 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.
Real 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.
Live-style example of the Domora Score breakdown.
Sample property · DemoDomora Score breakdown
Weighted average of the 5 pieces below. We have data on 5 of 6 — tax and lien status is absent here: the county record for this parcel hasn't come back yet, so it is left out of the average. If we had fewer than three pieces, we'd hide the score instead of guessing.
Signal contributions
5 components · what moved the number| 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 |
| Condition risk Lower raw score is better. Some age-related risk on the roof and HVAC. | 32 / 100 | 68 | 20% | +3.6 pts |
| Permit gap Lower raw score is better. Listing matches the city permit record — no obvious unpermitted work. | 22 / 100 | 78 | 15% | +4.2 pts |
| Insurance cost risk Lower raw score is better. Houston wind exposure offset by a moderate flood discount. | 5 / 10 | 56 | 15% | +0.9 pts |
| City record activity Lower raw score is better. 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 — a directional cue, not the whole story. The headline is the weighted average of the normalized scores over the components we have data on (each score times its weight, divided by the weights that are present). This sample is for illustration; live property pages render this section against real signals.
If 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.
How to read itBig number on top. The pieces underneath.
- 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 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 awayA directional cue — how far each piece sits above or below the neutral 50, scaled by its weight. It's a nudge, not the whole story: the headline is the weighted average of the pieces we have data on, not 50 plus these numbers.
- 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.
Four buckets translate a 0–100 number into a clear starting posture.
Good rent yield, low condition risk, permits in order, a clean tax and lien record. Worth running the numbers and pulling a full report.
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.
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.
Multiple red flags. Possible, but condition risk, insurance cost risk, or tax and lien status 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.
Open any property in Domora and you'll see the breakdown wired up to the actual data we pulled for that address.
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.