Frequently asked questions
Every question below has been asked by a real investor or sourcer on a real call. Where the honest answer is "not yet" or "no", it says so, because a wrong expectation costs you more than it costs us.
If your question is not here, the methodology page covers how every figure is calculated, and you can ask us directly from any report.
Data and sources
Where do the properties come from? Which portals does it cover?
You can paste a link and get a full analysis from Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket, and the three Scottish centres: ASPC, TSPC and PSPC. Deal Radar, the continuous scanner, currently watches Rightmove only. Off-market properties can be entered manually with photos and a floor plan on the Enterprise plan, so a deal that is not listed anywhere can still get the full analysis.
Where do the sold comparables actually come from? Are they real sold prices or Rightmove listings marked as sold?
They are HM Land Registry transaction records, supplied through PropertyData, so every comparable is a price a property genuinely changed hands at, not an asking price or a sale that is still subject to contract. That distinction matters: an SSTC listing can fall through or complete at a different figure, and a valuation built on them inherits that uncertainty.
How recent are the sold comparables?
The search starts with a 24 month window. Land Registry registrations lag completions by weeks to a few months, so the newest sales are always slightly behind the market; that lag applies to every tool built on sold prices, including ours. When the recent window is thin the system widens to 36 and then 48 months rather than fabricating a confident figure from too little data, and the report tells you when it has done that.
Are the comparables actually like for like? Other tools show me terraced houses when I am analysing a flat.
Each comparable is scored on property type, bedroom count, distance and floor area, and the valuation is built from the matched set, not from everything nearby. The report shows exactly which sales were used and which were excluded, with the reason in plain English. Rental comparables are matched on bedroom count and property type the same way. You can also include or exclude any comparable yourself, and the valuation recalculates.
Where do the buying, holding and selling costs come from? Can I change them?
Every cost starts from a sensible regional default: stamp duty at the correct rate for an additional dwelling, legal fees, surveys, bridging rates anchored to the Bank of England base rate, agent fees on exit and so on. All of them are editable, including sourcing fees, and every change recalculates the whole deal. The defaults exist so a new user gets a realistic answer with no setup; the editing exists because your solicitor is not our default solicitor.
Does it use the Home Report for Scottish properties?
Yes. On Enterprise, a Scottish Home Report can be uploaded and the analysis reads it, including the surveyor's valuation and condition ratings.
The refurb estimate
How does the refurb costing actually work?
The AI reads the floor plan to identify each room, then reads the photographs of each room and judges the work needed line by line: a clean recent kitchen is costed at zero, a dated but functional bathroom as a refresh, a wreck as a wreck. Rates are regional, so the same bathroom prices differently in Middlesbrough and in London. EPC works are costed separately, overheads like scaffolding or a rewire are triggered by what is visible, and a 15 percent contingency is always carried.
How accurate is the refurb estimate really?
The honest answer is that early evidence is good and a systematic study has not been done yet. On the record so far: one customer's builder quoted 14,500 pounds against our 14,800 pound estimate, and another customer who prices work with builders regularly reports our estimates landing within 500 to 1,000 pounds of actual quotes. We will publish a measured error rate when we have collected enough actual project costs to compute one, and not before.
Can it price extensions, loft conversions or adding a stud wall?
Partially, and we are careful about the claim. The HMO mode looks at the floor plan and flags rooms that could be converted or divided, with a cost for that work. Full extension and conversion modelling, where you tick what you plan to add and the costs adjust, is being built and is not there yet. If your deal depends on a rear extension, price that part with a builder for now.
Can I upload a walkthrough video instead of photos?
Not yet. The analysis works from listing photographs, floor plans and EPC documents today. Video is on the roadmap but we will not pretend it is there.
What does the refurb estimate miss?
Anything the photographs do not show. A damp problem behind furniture, a roof photographed from its good side, or anything behind a closed door is not in the estimate, which is exactly why the contingency is always carried and why the report flags surveys, like damp and timber, where the pictures suggest them. Treat the estimate as a well-evidenced starting point for a builder conversation, not a substitute for one on a property you are serious about.
The valuation and the numbers
How is the end value calculated, and can I see the working?
From up to 100 sold comparables, scored and filtered as above, concluded as a conservative trimmed median and cross-checked on price per square foot. The full comparable table is on every report with dates, distances and floor areas, the exclusions are explained in plain English, and there is a written explanation of how the number was reached, because a bare figure with ten comparables ranging either side of it is exactly what investors push back on.
Does it give me a target purchase price once I have set my figures?
Yes. When a deal does not stack at the asking price, the report works backwards from the end value, refurb, costs and your target return to the highest price at which it does, and states it plainly: this stacks at 107,500 pounds, which is 17,500 pounds below asking. That number is your negotiating position rather than a rejection.
Can I change the numbers? My sourcing fee is fixed, and I know my own rates.
Everything is editable: purchase price, end value, rent, every cost line, finance structure, rates and fees. Edits recalculate everything downstream immediately, and your saved preferences apply to future analyses so you are not re-entering the same fee every time.
Does it do serviced accommodation and short term rental analysis?
Yes. There are dedicated run modes for short term rental and rent-to-SA alongside standard, HMO and social housing. The SA modes model nightly rates, occupancy, and the full operating cost stack rather than pretending an SA unit is a buy to let.
I sell deals on. Does it produce a pack I can send to an investor?
Yes, an investor pack as an editable Word document, so you can put it in your own template and voice before it goes out. It carries the analysis, the comparable evidence and the financial breakdown, which is the working an investor will ask for anyway.
Deal Radar
How does Deal Radar decide what to send me?
You set the area, price band, size and a return threshold, or simply describe what you want in a sentence and confirm what it understood. The radar then watches Rightmove continuously, runs the full analysis on every new match, and emails you only the deals that clear your threshold. Every match consumes one analysis from your allowance, and the setup tells you roughly how many to expect a week before you save it.
Is it only new listings as they come to market?
By default it looks at recently listed properties so you see deals while they are still fresh, and the recency window is adjustable. It also respects your exclusions: auctions are excluded by default, and retirement, shared ownership and new build exclusions are available.
Can it exclude auctions?
Yes, and it does so by default, because an auction guide price is not an asking price and treating it as one distorts every downstream number. You can switch auctions back on for a radar if you want them.
Can it filter on things like Article 4 or wording in the listing?
Article 4 data is pulled for HMO analysis where PropertyData has it. Filtering on listing wording, such as certificate of lawful use or existing HMO references, works where the agent has put it in the description, and is an area we are actively extending. What it cannot yet do is planning-level intelligence like HMO saturation analysis, and we will not pretend otherwise.
What happens when my allowance runs out mid-month?
The radar pauses rather than silently billing you more, and you are told when it happens, with the reset date. The setup screen also warns you before you save a radar whose expected volume would outrun your allowance, so you can narrow the criteria instead of finding out later.
Plans, limits and practicalities
How many analyses do I get and what do they cost?
Plans start at 7.99 pounds a month. Professional includes 100 analyses a month with all portals, and Enterprise includes 500 with off-market and Home Report analysis. Every new account starts with free analyses and no card. An analysis means a full report: refurb, valuation, rent and every strategy, whether you pasted the link or the radar found it.
How long does an analysis take?
Typically around three minutes. The AI reads every photograph, the floor plan and the EPC, pulls and ranks up to 100 sold and 100 rental comparables, and models the strategies, which is why it is not instant. You get an email when a radar finds something so you are not watching a spinner.
Does it work for HMOs properly, licensing rules and all?
The HMO mode reads the floor plan, checks rooms against minimum space standards, flags conversion potential and pulls Article 4 data. What it does not do is act as a licensing adviser: local authorities layer their own standards on top of the national ones, amenity requirements vary by council, and the software does not know every council's scheme. It gets you to a well-evidenced candidate quickly; the licensing conversation with the council is still yours.
What does it deliberately not do?
It is not a RICS valuation and does not replace a survey or lender valuation. It does not do title splits or commercial valuation yet, and if either is your strategy it will not serve you well today. It does not see beyond the photographs. And it does not publish accuracy percentages that have not been measured: the claims we make are limited to what named evidence supports, and the methodology page states exactly what has and has not been tested.
Last reviewed 4 September 2026. Sourced from real customer and prospect calls.