What each signal means (and how the score works)

A signal is a public record that suggests an owner may be under pressure to sell.

The signals

• Pre-foreclosure: the lender has started foreclosure (a notice was filed) but the sale has not happened. See What is a pre-foreclosure?
• Auction posted: the property is posted for a trustee sale on a specific first Tuesday. See Foreclosure auctions explained
• Tax delinquent: the owner is behind on property taxes. We show the amount owed and years behind. See Tax-delinquent data
• Code violation: the city cited the property (overgrowth, unsafe structure, junk). See Code violations, evictions and probate
• Eviction: an eviction case was filed at the property, often a tired landlord.
• Probate: the owner has died and the estate is in probate court.
• Loans maturing: a private or hard-money loan to an LLC comes due soon. See Loans maturing

The score (1 to 100)

Each property gets a distress score from the signals on it. Pre-foreclosure weighs the most, then tax delinquency, code violations and evictions. Owning through an LLC, a recent cash purchase or an open permit add a little. Two or more signals on the same property multiply the score, because stacked problems are what move owners to sell.