How ForeclosureIntel Works

Formulas, data sources, and honest limitations for every metric on the dashboard. Last updated June 2026.

📊 Deal Score & Grade

The Deal Score is a composite 0–100 number. Each component is scored independently, then summed and capped at 100. A grade letter is assigned from the final score.

Score Components

Component	Max Pts	Logic
Equity Gap	40	Linear: 0%→0 pts, 30%+→40 pts (capped). Higher equity gap = more headroom.
Data Quality	20	Points awarded when TMV, assessed value, beds/baths, sqft are present. Missing PA data penalises.
Days Until Auction	15	5+ days → full points. Under 5 days → partial. 0 days → 0 pts (insufficient due diligence time).
Bank Loss Bonus	15	Moderate bank loss (10–20%) → +10. Deep bank loss (>20%) → +15.
Special Flags Penalty	−25 max	CONDEMNED, MOBILE HOME, TIMESHARE, FLOOD ZONE, IRS LIEN each subtract 5–10 pts.

Grade Thresholds

Grade	Score	Meaning
A	75–100	Strong deal — high equity, clean data, motivated seller
B	55–74	Worth reviewing — decent metrics but verify carefully
C	35–54	Weak metrics — thin margin or data gaps
D	0–34	High risk — unfavorable economics or major flags
?	—	Insufficient data to score

📐 Equity Gap

Two formulas depending on auction type. The switch is determined by whether a Final Judgment is present (foreclosure) or absent (tax deed).

Foreclosure

Equity Gap % = (Final Judgment − Opening Bid) / Final Judgment × 100
// Positive = bank is setting bid below what they're owed

Tax Deed

Equity Gap % = (Market Value − Opening Bid) / Market Value × 100
// Market Value = TMV from PA (preferred) or Assessed Value (fallback)
// Opening Bid = unpaid tax certificate amount

Equity Gap does not account for rehab costs, junior liens, HOA arrears, or title issues. It is a raw spread calculation — not a net profit estimate.

⚖️ Equity at Judgment

Eq@Judg % = (Assessed Value − Final Judgment) / Assessed Value × 100
// Positive = property assessed value exceeds debt owed
// Negative = debt exceeds assessed value (underwater)

Uses the tax-assessed value rather than market value because the assessed value is always available from public records, even when TMV is not. For homestead properties, assessed value may be significantly below market due to the Save Our Homes cap (3% annual increase limit).

🎯 Bid Projections (Real Bid / Bid Low / Bid High)

Estimated winning bids based on clerk-of-courts auction records from 2018 to present. Two data types exist depending on county:

FJ-Ratio Method (Palm Beach, Broward)

Bid Projection = (Historical Percentile Ratio) × This Property's Final Judgment

P25 (Bid Low) = p25_ratio × final_judgment
P50 (Real Bid) = p50_ratio × final_judgment // median
P75 (Bid High) = p75_ratio × final_judgment

The ratio is calculated from all closed sales in that county where a third party won (plaintiff wins excluded). PBC has 8,676 historical rows; Broward has 9,849.

Absolute Method (18 other counties)

Bid Low / Real Bid / Bid High = P25 / P50 / P75 of raw winning_bid
// Shown as raw dollars — not scaled to FJ

Charlotte and Orange county median bids include tax deed properties misclassified as foreclosure (case format does not trigger the auction-type detector). Use these estimates with extra caution.

🏦 Bank Loss Detection

Bank Loss % = (Final Judgment − Opening Bid) / Final Judgment × 100

DEEP = Bank Loss > 20% // highly motivated seller
MODERATE = Bank Loss 10–20% // meaningful discount accepted

When a bank sets the opening bid below their own court-ordered judgment, they are explicitly authorizing a loss to exit the property. This is a reliable signal of seller motivation — the lender's own attorney has been capped at a number below face value.

Bank Loss requires both Final Judgment and Opening Bid to be present. Most Florida foreclosure counties post the opening bid on auction day (9 AM ET) — it is not available on preview listings.

📈 Estimated Cap Rate

Cap Rate = (Annual Gross Rent × (1 − Expense Ratio)) / Purchase Price × 100
// Expense Ratio = 0.40 (management, maintenance, vacancy, insurance)
// Purchase Price = opening bid (proxy for acquisition cost)
// Annual Gross Rent = RentCast API estimate (currently inactive)

RentCast API is currently inactive (billing suspended). Cap rates shown are synthetic estimates using county-level median rents — not real comps. Do not use cap rate figures for investment decisions until RentCast is reactivated.

🔍 Data Sources

realforeclose.com

Auction listings, opening bids, final judgments, plaintiff max bids, case numbers, auction dates. Scraped Mon–Fri 7 AM ET (preview) and 3:30 PM ET (results).

County Property Appraisers (33 counties)

Market value (TMV), assessed value, beds/baths, sqft, year built, building type, owner of record, legal description, photos, sketches. Updated annually Jan 1. Enrichment runs each morning.

Clerk-of-Courts Auction Records

108,000+ historical auction results (2018–present) across 20 counties. Used for P25/P50/P75 bid projections. Imported from county clerk CSV exports on realforeclose.com.

Google Geocoding API

Street address → lat/lng for the map view. Used as fallback when the PA record has no coordinates. ~68% of listings are geocoded. Non-geocodable: blank address, city-only, or placeholder parcel IDs.

RentCast API

Rental comps for cap rate calculation. Currently inactive. When active: pulls market rent estimate by address/zip within 1 mile radius.

Google Street View Static API

Property street-view image shown in the Property tab. Requires a valid Google Maps API key with the Static API enabled. Falls back gracefully when no image is available.

🗺 Coverage & Limitations

Data Point	Coverage	Gap / Reason
Auction listings	33 of 46 FL counties	13 counties not yet on realforeclose.com or realtaxdeed.com
PA enrichment (TMV, beds, sqft)	~64% of listings	~35% have unsupported appraiser sites (JS-rendered, 404, blank parcel ID)
Geocoded	~68% of listings	Ungeocodable: blank address, city-only, UNASSIGNED LOCATION placeholders
Historical winning bids	20 counties, 2018–present	Only 2 counties (PBC, Broward) have enough data for FJ-ratio projections
Property photos	Broward only	BCPA exposes photos via JSON API; other counties do not
Tax balance (delinquency)	Not available	All FL county tax collector sites are behind Cloudflare JS challenge — browser-only

⚠️ Disclaimer

ForeclosureIntel is an information tool, not an investment advisor. All scores, projections, and metrics are algorithmic estimates derived from public records. They may be inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date. Always independently verify every data point before bidding. Order a title search. Inspect the property. Set a firm maximum bid. Florida foreclosure auctions carry significant risk — junior liens, code violations, title defects, and occupant issues may not be reflected in any data shown here.