A strong scoring model evaluates: profit margin as a percentage of ARV, confidence in the ARV estimate, rehab risk (scope complexity and contractor availability), market velocity (days on market for comparable properties), and exit strategy flexibility. FreeDealCalc weights these into a 0–100 score with letter grade.
A (90–100): Strong deal, execute. B (75–89): Good deal with minor concerns, review flagged items. C (60–74): Marginal deal, negotiate harder or walk. D (45–59): Weak deal, significant risk. F (below 45): Pass.
Experienced investors develop intuition over dozens of deals. Beginners don't have that library yet. A scoring system forces you to evaluate every dimension of the deal, not just the ones that feel good. It catches the deals that look great on one metric but fail on another.
A C-grade deal that scores low on profit margin but high on ARV confidence means the purchase price is the problem — negotiate harder. A C-grade deal scoring low on rehab confidence means the scope is uncertain — get a second contractor estimate before you offer.
Dan White is a licensed Virginia real estate agent at Pearson Smith Realty and founder of FreeDealCalc.com. He has analyzed hundreds of deals across Northern Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley.