Frequently Asked Questions
Clear answers for buyers, sellers, and investors \u2014 plus how Real Home Intel works and where the data comes from.
Platform
What is Real Home Intel?
Real Home Intel is a free AI-powered real estate platform designed to help buyers, sellers, and homeowners make more informed decisions. It brings together property intelligence, neighborhood insight, and access to verified real estate professionals and service providers in one place.
What is a Real Report Card™?
A Real Report Card™ is a fast, data-backed property review that helps you understand a home beyond the listing. It evaluates an address across key categories such as schools, environmental and natural risk, proximity, neighborhood factors, and market trends using 90+ data points from 15+ verified public and government sources.
Is Real Home Intel free to use?
Yes. Real Home Intel is free to use. You can run Real Report Cards™, browse professional profiles, and use the AI Advisor without a subscription, sign-up, or credit card.
Where does the report card data come from?
Our report card data is sourced from a wide range of verified public and government sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, FEMA, EPA, NCES, USGS, NREL, HUD, FCC, NOAA, EIA, Walk Score, RentCast, and OpenStreetMap.
Can I run a Real Report Card™ on any address?
You can run a Real Report Card™ on most residential addresses in the United States by entering the address on our homepage. The goal is to give you a faster, more complete picture of a property before you make a move.
How do I find an agent in my area?
You can search agent profiles by city, state, ZIP code, or name. Each profile is designed to help you understand an agent’s experience, specialties, service areas, and professional background before you reach out.
How do I contact an agent or service provider?
Every profile includes a direct contact form, making it easy to reach out with questions or request more information. Simply submit your name, email, and message, and your inquiry will be sent directly to the professional.
What can the AI Advisor help me with?
The AI Advisor can help you explore questions about properties, neighborhoods, market trends, home buying, home selling, and local services. It is designed to surface useful insights, relevant content, and verified professionals based on the location or topic you are researching.
What types of service providers can I find on Real Home Intel?
Real Home Intel includes a growing network of verified professionals, including lenders, home inspectors, title and escrow companies, real estate attorneys, appraisers, insurance agents, roofers, plumbers, electricians, HVAC companies, painters, landscapers, builders, and other trusted local service providers.
How are agents and vendors verified?
Professionals on Real Home Intel go through a review process before receiving a verified profile. Depending on their profession, this may include review of licensing, credentials, business information, experience, and other profile details intended to support trust and transparency.
Why does Real Home Intel feature local agents and vendors?
Because real estate is local. The best professionals do more than appear in a directory — they bring context, perspective, and real knowledge of the communities they serve. Real Home Intel is built to highlight professionals who take the time to share meaningful information, local content, and useful insight that can help consumers make better decisions.
How does Real Home Intel make money?
Real Home Intel is free for consumers. The platform may generate revenue through upgraded professional profiles, enhanced visibility options, and sponsored placements for agents and service providers.
For Buyers
Can I afford the monthly payment on this home?
Affordability comes down to principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and any HOA — plus your total debt picture and down payment. A Real Report Card shows estimated taxes and local cost signals. For an exact monthly number on a specific home, the fastest next step is a pre-approval with a verified lender so the numbers reflect your real rate and loan terms.
How much cash would I need to buy this home?
Plan for down payment plus closing costs (typically 2–5% of purchase price) and a reserve buffer for inspection surprises and moving. Lower down payments are possible with conventional, FHA, and VA programs. A verified lender can map your actual cash-to-close on a specific property in a short conversation.
How much should I offer on this house?
A strong offer balances comps, seller motivation, days on market, and how the home compares inside its price band. Look at recent nearby sales, how long similar homes are sitting, and whether the listing is priced above, at, or below the neighborhood baseline. A local buyer’s agent can turn those signals into a specific offer strategy with terms that fit this seller.
What repairs could surprise me at inspection?
The usual suspects are roof age and condition, HVAC life expectancy, water intrusion (roof leaks, grading, plumbing), foundation movement, electrical panel age, and pest or radon concerns. Knowing the home’s age and original build signals where to focus. A licensed inspector gives you the real list before you’re fully committed.
Is this area a good fit for schools, commute, and daily life?
The Real Report Card covers school district information from NCES, walkability, proximity to major employment centers, and environmental or natural-risk flags for the immediate area. For what the neighborhood actually feels like day to day — traffic patterns, new development, local quirks — a local agent who works that submarket weekly is the best source.
Who should I talk to first — an agent or a lender?
Most buyers benefit from starting with both at once: a lender to lock in your actual buying power and rate, and a buyer’s agent to help identify, tour, and negotiate on homes. The two work together well — the lender defines the ceiling, the agent helps you make the most of it.
For Sellers
What could my home realistically sell for?
List price lives at the intersection of recent comparable sales, current active competition, condition, and how motivated the buyer pool is right now. A Real Report Card gives you a baseline read on the home and the market. A local listing agent turns that into a real price range based on finishes, updates, and how your home stacks up against today’s active inventory.
What repairs should I actually do before listing?
Focus on items buyers notice immediately: paint, flooring, lighting, curb appeal, and anything clearly broken (leaks, torn screens, burned-out bulbs). Avoid expensive pre-listing projects unless an agent confirms they’ll return more than they cost in your specific market. A walk-through with a listing agent is the cheapest way to separate must-fix from nice-to-fix.
Should I sell as-is or improve the home first?
As-is is often the right call if the home needs significant systems work (roof, HVAC, foundation) or if timing matters more than top dollar. Light cosmetic updates usually do return their cost in most markets. The right answer depends on your timeline, your cash position, and what local buyers are paying for — a listing agent can walk this with you in one visit.
How long could it take to sell?
Median days on market varies a lot by price band, condition, and season — sometimes two weeks, sometimes two months. Pricing strategy is the biggest lever you control. Pricing at market accelerates offers; pricing above market typically means a price cut in 3–4 weeks. A listing agent can show you current DOM data for your exact zip and price band.
How much will I net after selling?
Expect total selling costs in the 7–10% range of sale price when you factor in agent commission, title and escrow fees, transfer taxes (state-dependent), any seller concessions to the buyer, and remaining mortgage payoff. A listing agent can run a net-proceeds estimate on a specific price point in a few minutes.
Should I list now or wait?
Timing depends on your personal situation (job move, second purchase, financial need) more than the calendar. Spring historically brings more buyers, but it also brings more competing listings. If your home shows well and you need to move, listing now often beats waiting for a theoretically better season. An agent can tell you whether your specific submarket is trending up, flat, or softening.
For Investors
Will this property cash flow as a rental?
Cash flow is rental income minus mortgage, taxes, insurance, property management, vacancy, and maintenance reserves. Our Investment Analyzer runs the full underwrite on any address in seconds — enter price, rent, and financing terms, and you get cap rate, cash-on-cash return, year-one cash flow, and a 30-year projection. You can edit every assumption.
What rent could this home realistically get?
Market rent depends on unit count, bed/bath count, square footage, condition, and comparable rentals within a few blocks. Our analyzer pulls rent estimates from RentCast data; real local comps from a property manager or investor-friendly agent will refine the number for the specific home.
Would this work better as a flip or a long-term rental?
Flip math hinges on ARV (after-repair value), rehab scope, holding costs, and exit timeline. Rental math hinges on sustainable rent and cash flow after debt service. A home can be a great flip and a weak rental, or vice versa. The analyzer handles the rental side; a local investor agent or contractor can size rehab and ARV for a flip scenario.
How much cash do I need into this deal?
Plan for down payment (typically 20–25% for an investment loan), closing costs (2–4%), rehab or turn-over budget, and operating reserves (2–6 months of expenses). DSCR loans and BRRRR strategies can change the math. The analyzer shows total cash-in and cash-on-cash return so you can size financing against your actual capital.
Is this priced right for an investor?
Investor pricing works backward from the deal — what cap rate, cash flow, or IRR do you need? Run the property through the Investment Analyzer, then compare to your target return. If the numbers only work with aggressive rent assumptions or negligible maintenance, the price is likely wrong for the deal you want.
What are the biggest rehab risks to watch for?
The budget-busters tend to be foundation, roof, major plumbing or electrical replacement, and mold remediation. Age of major systems is the best early signal. Get a pre-offer walk-through with a licensed contractor or investor-friendly agent before committing to a rehab number — a $10K rehab miss kills more deals than a 1% rent miss.
Still have questions?