Help

Help, in plain words

Everything in the app has a small question mark next to it. This page collects all of those explanations in one place. If something is still unclear, it is our fault, not yours.

Getting started

Your priorities: The things you care about, in the order you care about them.; Why it matters. The order decides how much each thing counts. Switching something off removes it completely.; What to do. Put what you would not compromise on first. Be honest, nobody else sees this.
The places you need to be near: The places that matter in your life. Work, a school, a station, a beach, a river, family. Up to three.; Why it matters. We measure every property to each one so you can see who is close. Each extra place gets its own row in your priority list, so you can rank them or switch one off.; What to do. Type a name or an address, then press Add another place for the next one. For a river or a beach we measure to the nearest bit of it, not one spot. If a name is misspelt we work out what you meant, say so in the report, and stop with a message if we cannot.
Listing links: The web address of each property on realestate.com.au or domain.com.au.; What to do. Open the listing, copy the address bar, and paste one per line. You need at least two to compare.

Reading the result

The score out of 100: How well this property fits what you said matters, compared with the others on your list.; Why it matters. It is only a comparison of your shortlist. A score of 70 does not mean a good home, it means better than the others here on your priorities.; What to do. Use it to decide which ones to inspect first. Then check the reasons and the property page before you decide anything.
Points out of 10 for one thing: For each thing you care about, the best property on your list gets 10 and the worst gets 0. Everyone else sits in between.; Why it matters. This is how we turn a price, a distance or a bedroom count into something that can be added up.; What to do. A 0 is not a fail. It only means this one is the weakest on your list for that thing.
Weights: How much each thing you care about counts towards the score. Your first priority counts the most.; Why it matters. Your order sets these automatically. First gets about a third, second about a quarter, and so on down.; What to do. Drag the sliders to see how the ranking changes if you feel differently. Use reset to go back to your order.
Compared with your list only: Every number here compares the properties on your list with each other, not with the whole market.; Why it matters. If all your properties are far from the beach, the closest one still gets full points for distance.; What to do. If you add or remove a property, the scores for everyone else can change. That is expected.
What is missing: The things we had to guess because the listing did not say.; Why it matters. A guess can be wrong, and if a guess sits behind one of your top priorities, the ranking can change when you find the real figure.; What to do. Ask the agent for the floorplan and the owners corporation fee. Then update the figures and the ranking recalculates.
What if you cared more about this?: This chart moves the weight of one thing from nothing to a lot and shows how each property's score responds.; Why it matters. If the ranking flips with a small change, the result is close and you should not read too much into first place.; What to do. Find the point where the lines cross. That tells you how sure you can be.
What makes up each score: Each bar is one property. The coloured pieces are the points it earned for each thing you care about.; Why it matters. It shows why a property ranks where it does, not just that it does.; What to do. A long piece means it does well on that thing. A missing piece means it did worst on your list.
Price against distance: Each bubble is a property. Left is closer, lower is cheaper. Bigger bubbles have more floor area.; Why it matters. The bottom left corner is where cheap and close meet.; What to do. Hover a bubble to see which property it is.
Shape of this property: Each point of the shape is one thing you care about. Further out is better on your list.; Why it matters. A big even shape is a solid all rounder. A spiky one is great at one thing and weak at others.; What to do. Compare shapes between properties to see the trade offs.

Photos and floorplans

Looking at the photos: Claude looks at every photo and any floorplan on each listing. It measures floorplans, checks for the things you said it must have, and notes anything worth asking the agent about.; Why it matters. Listings leave out floor areas and never mention what is missing. Photos fill some of that in.; What to do. Anything seen in a photo is reported as seen or not visible, never as missing. Photos only show what the photographer chose. It never judges style and it never replaces a building inspection.
Must haves: Things the home has to have for you, like heating, a dishwasher or a bath. We look for each one in the photos.; Why it matters. Each one comes back as seen, not visible, or could not tell. The share seen becomes a score you can rank like anything else.; What to do. Not visible is not the same as missing. Ask the agent about anything you could not see.
Seen, not visible, could not tell: Seen means it appears in a photo. Not visible means no photo showed it. Could not tell means the photos did not let us decide.; Why it matters. Photographers choose what is in frame. A room without an air conditioner in the photo may well have one.; What to do. Treat not visible as a question for the agent, never as an answer.
Measured from the floorplan: Where a listing includes a floorplan with dimensions, we add up the rooms to get a floor area.; Why it matters. That is far better than a guess from the bedroom count, but it is still our reading of a drawing.; What to do. The listed figure, if there is one, still wins. Ask the agent for the floorplan with measurements to be sure.
Things worth asking about: What Claude noticed in the marketing photos that you might want to raise with the agent, such as a mark on a wall or an older kitchen.; Why it matters. Marketing photos are chosen and edited to hide problems, so a short list here does not mean there is nothing wrong.; What to do. Use these as questions for the agent, then book a building inspection whatever the answer.
Your rating of the look: Give each home one to five hearts after looking at its photos. It becomes one of your priorities, with your name on it.; Why it matters. Taste is yours. We will not pretend a computer knows what you find beautiful, but your own rating is a fair thing to rank on.; What to do. Rate every property or none, so the comparison stays fair.

Where numbers come from

Listed: Taken straight from the listing's own facts box, the little icons that show beds, baths and cars.; Why it matters. That box is the most reliable part of a listing. The written description is the least.; What to do. If the description promises more than the facts box, we show both and keep the facts box figure.
Estimated: A figure we worked out ourselves because the listing did not give one. It is shown in italics with a dotted line so you never mistake it for a fact.; Why it matters. Listings often leave out floor area and fees. We fill in a typical figure so the comparison still works.; What to do. Treat it as a placeholder. Ask the agent for the real number.
Found: A figure from a different listing for the same building, usually a fee.; Why it matters. Fees vary a lot between apartments in the same building, so a figure for one is only a guide for another.; What to do. Ask for this property's own fee before you rely on it.
Stated: A figure you typed in yourself, for example a fee the agent told you.; What to do. Make sure you wrote down what the agent said, not what you hoped.
Verified: Read from an official document you supplied, such as a Section 32.; Why it matters. This is the only source that settles fees and what is on the title.; What to do. Nothing. This is as good as it gets.
Where a listing contradicts itself: Sometimes the description promises more than the facts box, like a second car space.; Why it matters. We saw this happen for real. We keep the facts box figure and show you both so nothing is hidden.; What to do. Only the Section 32 settles what is on the title. Ask for it.
Distance: A straight line from the front door to the place you named, as the crow flies.; Why it matters. Walking is always further, sometimes a lot further if a road, river or train line is in the way.; What to do. Walk the route yourself before you count on it.

Money

Owners corporation fees: The money you pay every quarter for the building's shared costs like lifts, pools, gardens and insurance. Sometimes called body corporate or strata fees.; Why it matters. Buyers forget these. On a shortlist of nine apartments the difference was almost $3,000 a year.; What to do. Ask every agent for the current fee, how much is saved in the sinking fund, and the last two years of committee minutes.
What it costs to own each year: Owners corporation fees plus council rates plus anything else you pay every year just to own it, before your mortgage.; Why it matters. Two properties with the same price can cost very different amounts to hold.; What to do. Look at the cost adjusted rank to see if the cheaper one is still cheaper once these are added.
Cost adjusted rank: The ranking redone with the purchase price replaced by price plus several years of ownership costs.; Why it matters. It shows whether a bargain price is hiding an expensive building.; What to do. Change the number of years to see how the picture shifts.

Getting around

Filters: Narrow the list down without deleting anything. Scores do not change, you just see fewer rows.; What to do. Clear the filters to see everything again.
Under offer or under contract: Someone else has already agreed to buy it. Deals do fall over, but you are probably too late.; What to do. Ring the agent and ask. If it is gone, take it off your list.
Download as a spreadsheet: An Excel file with every tab in this report, including a live scoring model.; Why it matters. Change a weight in the spreadsheet and the whole sheet re-ranks itself, just like here.; What to do. Use it to share with someone helping you decide.
Building facilities: Things like a pool, gym or rooftop terrace shared by everyone in the building.; Why it matters. We score buildings on the share of the facilities you said you would use, not on how many they have.; What to do. Remember they come with higher fees. Pick only the ones you would really use.

Before you make an offer

Get the Section 32 for anything you are serious about. It is the vendor's legal statement and the only thing that settles fees and what is on the title.
Ask the agent for the floorplan with measurements, the current owners corporation fee, and the last two years of committee minutes.
Walk the route to the place that matters to you. Straight line distance is always shorter than the walk.
Book a building inspection. Photos are chosen to hide problems.
Read the Victorian due diligence checklist.

This app shows analysis, not advice. It never tells you what to buy. Talk to a conveyancer before you sign anything.

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