How we grade a property

Hazards

Starts at 100; deducts for mapped flood (Special Flood Hazard Area −35), liquefaction (high −20 / moderate −10), tsunami zone (−25), wildfire risk (extreme −25 / high −15 / moderate −5), geologic hazard (−15), a mapped volcanic lahar hazard zone (−10), and FEMA area-level extreme-heat risk (very high −8 / relatively high −4). Missing layers lower confidence, not the grade.

Systems & Permits

Anchored to external authorities rather than in-house weights. The grade is lowered ONLY by a genuinely-open, RECENT permit — one whose status is actively open (not finaled, not expired) and filed within ~2 years, so it is plausibly live, uninspected work (real closeout/resale friction): −10 each, cap −20. Per ICC IBC §105.5 an expired permit is an administrative lapse from inactivity — not a defect — and an old un-finaled permit is a records/closeout artifact; neither lowers the grade. Absence of a permit is never a penalty: permit records are incomplete (especially for pre-1950 homes), so "not recorded" does not mean no work was done. Home age and how recently each major system was last permitted are shown as recommended-inspection context, keyed to InterNACHI’s Standard Estimated Life Expectancy chart (e.g., roof coverings ~20–30 yr, furnaces 15–25 yr, water heaters 6–12 yr). A records-based grade is not an inspection — the authoritative assessment of a home’s current condition is a professional home inspection (RCW 18.280).

Water & Septic

Starts at 100; deducts −20 for an on-site septic system (inspection required at sale), a further −30 if its status appears failing/expired/non-conforming, −5 if septic status is unknown, and for the serving public water system’s open (unresolved) EPA health-based drinking-water violations (3+ −10 / 1+ −5). Public sewer with a known water district and a clean water system grades A. Missing data lowers confidence, not the grade.

Title & Taxes

Starts at 100; deducts −40 for a tax delinquency on record, −15 more if multiple tax years are delinquent, −10 more if the amount exceeds $10,000. Unpaid property tax becomes a lien that follows the property. A full title & lien search is out of scope — this is not a title report.

Environment

Anchored to external authorities rather than in-house weights. The grade is lowered ONLY by an ACTIVE Ecology Toxics-Cleanup-Program site (a confirmed cleanup site with an active status) within its ASTM E1527-21 search distance — essentially adjacent −25, within ~1/4 mile −15, within ~1/2 mile −8 (tank/underground-storage cleanups screened to ~1/4 mile, other state cleanups to ~1/2 mile), per the record-type-keyed relevance in ASTM E1527-21. Everything else is context with a recommended check, never a deduction: under ASTM E1527-21 proximity to a listed site is not a "Recognized Environmental Condition" and Ecology’s lists include routine, closed, and "suspected" records (verify the actual site on Ecology’s What’s In My Neighborhood). EPA’s radon zones are area-level and "should not be used to determine if individual homes need to be tested" — EPA, the Surgeon General, and WA DOH recommend testing every home (fix at or above 4 pCi/L). A private well is an owner-tested water source, not a defect (test annually for coliform and nitrate). Shoreline jurisdiction (RCW 90.58) is a land-use / permitting designation.

Location

Starts at 100; deducts for a heavy crash corridor nearby (−15 at 25+ crashes within 1/4 mile, −8 at 10+), unserved (−10) or underserved (−5) broadband, and transit more than a mile away (−5). Measurable context, not neighborhood quality.

County records (King County first)

• •Assessor — parcels, assessed values, building characteristics, year built
• •Treasurer — property tax status and delinquencies
• •Permit records — building/mechanical/electrical/plumbing permits and status
• •Recorder / sales — recorded sales history and instruments
• •On-site septic (OSS) records — septic presence and status
• •Shoreline master program — shoreline jurisdiction

State of Washington

• •WA Department of Natural Resources (DNR) — liquefaction, tsunami, wildfire, geologic hazards
• •WA Department of Ecology — contaminated / cleanup site locations
• •WA Department of Health (DOH) — drinking-water service areas and well logs
• •OSPI — school district boundaries
• •WSDOT — crash data
• •WA Broadband Office — broadband service availability
• •HUD Small Area Fair Market Rents & Zillow ZORI — rent context (estimate)

Federal

• •FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer — flood zones and Special Flood Hazard Areas
• •GTFS transit feeds — transit stop locations