FAQ & Real Estate Investing Help Center

RealixData is an AI-powered real estate investment analysis platform designed to help investors find, analyze, and compare profitable rental properties across the United States. Unlike standard listing sites that simply show you properties for sale, RealixData runs the numbers automatically on every listing — calculating cash flow, cap rate, ROI, and more — so you can identify strong deals without spending hours in spreadsheets.

The platform pulls data from multiple sources including Zillow and FRED economic data to provide accurate rent estimates, expense projections, and market conditions. Every property is assigned a deal score from 0 to 100 based on six weighted investment factors. Investors can search any U.S. market, set up deal alerts, track a portfolio, compare properties side-by-side, and export professional PDF reports.

Whether you're a first-time buyer looking for your first rental or an experienced portfolio manager tracking dozens of properties, RealixData provides institutional-grade analysis at a fraction of the cost. Start with our top deals page to see the highest-scoring properties found today.

Every property analyzed on RealixData receives a deal score from 0 to 100, calculated using six weighted factors that professional investors rely on. The scoring formula weights cash flow at 30% (the single most important factor for buy-and-hold investors), cap rate at 20%, the 1% rule at 15%, price-to-rent ratio at 15%, local market conditions at 10%, and estimated property condition at 10%.

A score above 75 indicates a strong investment opportunity with healthy cash flow and favorable market dynamics. Scores between 50 and 75 are decent deals that may work depending on your investment strategy and financing terms. Below 50 typically signals weak cash flow or unfavorable market conditions that require additional due diligence.

Importantly, our scoring methodology is completely transparent — you can read the full breakdown of how scoring works including examples, edge cases, and the logic behind each weight. We also flag outliers where data quality may affect accuracy, so you always know exactly how each property earned its score. Browse today's best investment deals to see scoring in action.

RealixData aggregates data from multiple best-in-class real estate data providers to ensure accuracy and depth. Property listings and pricing come from Zillow's comprehensive MLS feed, covering over 260,000 active residential listings across all 50 states. Rental estimates are sourced from Zillow Zestimates and state-level market data, which provide neighborhood-level rent predictions based on comparable leases, property characteristics, and seasonal trends.

Market-level economic data comes from FRED (the Federal Reserve Economic Data), giving us interest rates, employment data, and housing market indicators that inform our market condition scoring.

All listing data is refreshed multiple times daily, market statistics update every 24 hours, and deal scores are recalculated whenever fresh data arrives. This multi-source approach means the analysis you see on RealixData is more complete than what any single data source could provide alone. You can explore live data on our best rental markets page.

Yes — RealixData offers a generous free tier so you can experience the platform before committing. Free users get 3 property searches and 5 full deal analyses per week, including deal scoring, cash flow projections, and market data. This is enough to evaluate a handful of properties and get a feel for how the analysis works.

The Pro plan removes all limits and unlocks advanced features designed for active investors. Pro includes unlimited property searches and analyses, AI-powered investment insights that explain why a deal is strong or weak in plain English, portfolio tracking with historical value charts, customizable market alerts that notify you when new deals match your criteria, weekly email digests of top deals, and priority support.

Pro pricing is designed to pay for itself with a single better-informed investment decision. You can compare Free vs Pro plans in detail, and cancel anytime from your billing page with no long-term commitment.

Cash flow is the single most important metric for buy-and-hold rental property investors, and RealixData calculates it using a comprehensive expense model that accounts for seven categories most beginners overlook. The formula is straightforward: Monthly Cash Flow = Estimated Monthly Rent minus all monthly expenses.

The seven expense categories we model are: (1) mortgage payment (principal and interest based on current rates and 25% down payment), (2) property taxes (sourced from county records, typically 1-2% of property value annually), (3) insurance (estimated based on property type and location, usually $100-$200/month), (4) maintenance and repairs (budgeted at 5-10% of monthly rent), (5) property management (8-10% of rent), (6) vacancy reserve (5-8% of rent to account for turnover), and (7) HOA fees where applicable.

A positive cash flow means the property earns more than it costs to own — that's the goal. Experienced investors typically target a minimum of $200-$300 per month per unit. Learn more about our full methodology in our guide on how cash flow analysis works, or explore today's best cash flow deals.

Cap rate (capitalization rate) is one of the most widely used metrics in real estate investing because it lets you compare properties regardless of how they're financed. The formula is: Cap Rate = (Annual Net Operating Income / Purchase Price) x 100. Net Operating Income (NOI) is your annual rental income minus operating expenses (excluding the mortgage payment).

For example, a $200,000 property generating $15,000 per year in NOI has a 7.5% cap rate. Generally speaking, cap rates above 8% indicate excellent cash flow markets (common in the Midwest and Southeast), 5-8% represents solid rental markets with balanced appreciation, and below 5% typically signals appreciation-driven markets like Los Angeles or New York City where investors are betting on property value increases rather than monthly income.

Cap rate is particularly useful for comparing deals across different markets and price ranges. A $500,000 property with an 8% cap rate may outperform a $200,000 property with a 5% cap rate in terms of income generation. RealixData calculates cap rate automatically for every listing and uses it as 20% of the overall deal score. You can also explore which markets offer the best cap rates on our best rental markets page.

The 1% rule is one of the fastest screening tools in rental property investing. It states that a property's monthly rent should be at least 1% of its purchase price. For example, a $200,000 home should rent for at least $2,000 per month, and a $150,000 property should bring in at least $1,500 per month. If a property meets this threshold, it's likely (though not guaranteed) to produce positive cash flow.

The rule works best in cash flow-focused markets in the Southeast, Midwest, and parts of Texas where property prices are moderate relative to rents. It tends to break down in expensive coastal markets where almost nothing meets 1% — but those properties may still be good investments for appreciation. It can also mislead in very low-cost areas where high ratios mask poor tenant quality or high vacancy rates.

RealixData automatically flags every property that meets the 1% rule, making it easy to spot promising deals at a glance. We recommend using the 1% rule as a first-pass filter, then running a full analysis with cash flow, cap rate, and deal scoring to make your final decision. For a complete breakdown including the 50% rule comparison, read our full guide to the 1% rule.

BRRRR stands for Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat — it's an investment strategy that allows investors to recycle their capital across multiple properties. The process works like this: you buy a distressed property below market value, renovate it to increase its value and rentability, rent it out to tenants, refinance to pull out most or all of your initial investment, then repeat the cycle with the recovered capital.

RealixData assigns a BRRRR score to every property based on factors that indicate suitability for this strategy: estimated after-repair value versus purchase price (the "spread"), rehab cost estimates, rent potential in the neighborhood, and refinance feasibility based on current lending standards. Properties with a large spread between purchase price and potential value, combined with strong rental demand, score highest.

The BRRRR strategy is particularly popular among investors looking to scale quickly without needing enormous amounts of capital for each acquisition. However, it carries more risk than traditional buy-and-hold because it relies on accurate rehab cost estimates and timely refinancing. Use our BRRRR property finder to see which properties score highest for this strategy, or read our detailed BRRRR strategy guide.

RealixData's rent estimates are generated by cross-referencing multiple data sources including Zillow Zestimates, comparable lease data, and property-specific characteristics such as bedroom count, square footage, and property type. Our estimates are typically within 5-10% of actual market rents for most properties in well-covered markets.

Accuracy varies by market depth — major metro areas like Tampa, Atlanta, Houston, and Jacksonville tend to have the most accurate estimates due to high transaction volume and robust data coverage. Smaller or rural markets may show wider variance. We always recommend verifying estimates against 2-3 local comparable listings before making an offer.

The rent estimate directly impacts every other metric we calculate — cash flow, cap rate, deal score, and BRRRR suitability all depend on accurate rental income projections. That's why we invest heavily in multi-source data validation rather than relying on a single provider. For a deeper look at how rent estimates flow into our analysis, read our guide on how to analyze rental properties.

The Pro plan is designed for active real estate investors who analyze multiple deals per week and want a competitive edge. It includes unlimited property searches and full deal analyses (free tier limits you to 3 searches and 5 analyses per week), AI-powered investment insights that explain in plain English why a deal is strong or weak, portfolio tracking with historical value charts, customizable market alerts delivered to your inbox when new deals match your criteria, and weekly email digests highlighting the top-scoring properties.

Most Pro users tell us the plan pays for itself within the first month — one better-informed investment decision can save (or earn) thousands of dollars. Whether it's avoiding a property with hidden cash flow problems or finding a deal before the competition, having unlimited access to institutional-grade analysis removes guesswork from the process.

You can see the complete feature comparison on our pricing page. Pro subscriptions can be cancelled anytime from your billing dashboard with no cancellation fees or long-term contracts.

Yes — you can cancel your Pro subscription at any time directly from the Billing page in your account settings. There are no cancellation fees, no long-term contracts, and no hidden charges. When you cancel, you'll retain full Pro access until the end of your current billing period — we don't cut you off mid-cycle.

After your Pro access expires, your account automatically reverts to the free tier. All your saved properties, portfolio data, and analysis history remain accessible — you'll just be subject to the weekly search and analysis limits. You can re-subscribe at any time to regain unlimited access. If you have billing questions, reach out to us via our contact page.

RealixData operates on a continuous data refresh cycle to ensure you're making decisions based on the latest available information. Property listing data — including prices, statuses (active, pending, sold, off-market), and listing details — is refreshed multiple times daily from Zillow's MLS feed. This means a property that goes pending or drops in price will typically reflect those changes on our platform within hours.

Market-level statistics including average prices, rent-to-price ratios, and cap rate benchmarks are recalculated every 24 hours across all covered markets. Deal scores are recalculated whenever new data arrives for a property, so scores evolve as market conditions change. Our top deals ranking is regenerated twice daily, ensuring the leaderboard always reflects the current best opportunities.

For market-level trend tracking, including price appreciation, rent growth, and inventory levels, we pull from FRED and MLS aggregated data on a daily basis. This level of freshness means the analysis you see today reflects today's market — not last week's.

RealixData covers all 50 U.S. states — you can search any city, ZIP code, or state. Our data infrastructure supports over 260,000 active listings at any given time, spanning residential single-family homes, townhouses, condos, and multi-family properties from coast to coast.

That said, data depth varies by market. Our featured markets — Tampa, FL, Jacksonville, FL, Atlanta, GA — have the deepest coverage with the most reliable rent estimates, detailed market comparisons, and historical trend data. Other major metros like Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Orlando, and Phoenix also have excellent coverage.

We focus on residential investment properties — single-family homes, small multifamily (2–4 units), townhomes, and condos. Check our best rental markets comparison to see how different cities stack up on the metrics that matter to investors.