A deal score is a strategy-weighted composite that grades a property's metrics — cash flow, cap rate, DSCR, ROI, recouped equity, post-refi cash flow. Prop-Folio calls it PropScore and shows it on a 1 to 5 scale, to one decimal. It is not a buy recommendation. It is a fast way to compare deals against each other and against your own bar for what "good enough" looks like.
Why one number, and not a spreadsheet
Investors look at dozens of deals before they buy one. Cap rate alone misses cash flow. Cash-on-cash alone misses DSCR. Profit alone misses time-to-exit. A single composite score lets you sort, filter, and reject quickly — without forgetting that DSCR matters as much as ROI.
The four strategy-specific scores
Buy & Hold
Weighted toward monthly cash flow, cap rate, and DSCR. A B&H score is asking: does this rental pay me every month, and is it safe in a downturn? A 75+ B&H score means strong cash flow, healthy cap rate, and DSCR above 1.25.
BRRRR
Weighted toward Cash Left In, Recouped %, and Post-Refi Cash Flow. A BRRRR score is asking: did I get most of my money back at refinance, and does the leftover cash still produce monthly income? A 70+ BRRRR score usually means > 85% recouped and $200+/door/month cash flow.
Fix & Flip
Weighted toward Projected Profit, ROI, and MAO delta. A flip score is asking: am I making real money after all costs, and is my offer disciplined relative to ARV minus rehab? A 70+ flip score usually means $40k+ profit and 20%+ ROI.
Short-Term Rental
Weighted toward monthly cash flow, cap rate, and break-even occupancy cushion, with cash-on-cash and blended occupancy carrying the rest. A Short-Term Rental score is asking: does this pay every month, and how far can bookings fall before it stops? The cushion is the gap between the occupancy you are projecting and the occupancy you need just to cover costs — a deal running at 70% that breaks even at 68% is a different proposition from one that breaks even at 40%, even when this month's cash flow is identical.
The score does not compare Short-Term Rental against long-term rent. Whether the premium justifies the extra work, regulation, and turnover is a judgement about how you want to spend your time, not a number the app should collapse into a grade — run the same address as a Buy & Hold and weigh the two analyses yourself.
How to interpret the bands
Five bands, shown on the PropScore gauge in the app:
- 4.2–5.0 — Exceptional Score: deals don't measure this well often.
- 3.6–4.1 — Strong Score: the metrics hold up across the board.
- 3.0–3.5 — Moderate Score: workable, with something to look at closely.
- 2.4–2.9 — Weak Score: usually a rehab budget that is too aggressive or an ARV that is too optimistic.
- 1.0–2.3 — Very Weak Score: the metrics do not support the numbers currently in the model.
The bands describe the calculation; they do not tell you what to do. A property scoring 2.6 may be exactly right for an investor who knows the block and has a contractor on call, and a 4.3 may still be wrong for you if the numbers assume a rent you cannot get. That judgement is yours, and the app deliberately does not phrase it as an instruction.
What the score is not
- It is not a buy recommendation. It is one signal among many.
- It is not personalized investment, tax, or legal advice.
- It does not replace inspections, title work, appraisal, or local market judgment.
- It does not know about your tax bracket, your other holdings, or your liquidity.
How to use it well
Sort, don't decide
Use the score to filter 30 deals down to 5. Then dig in on those 5 the old-fashioned way — drive by, run comps yourself, get an inspection quote, talk to a property manager.
Watch the breakdown, not just the number
A 3.9 with strong cash flow but tight DSCR tells you the cash is great and the loan coverage is not. A 3.9 with balanced sub-scores is more durable than a lopsided one. The app lists what is helping the score and what is holding it back, so the composite never has to be taken on faith.
Set your own bar
Some investors only look at 4.2+ properties. Others happily buy 3.6s in markets they understand deeply. Calibrate to your own risk tolerance over time.
See it on your own deal
Prop-Folio computes a PropScore on every property you analyze, with a live breakdown that shows you exactly which metrics are holding the number back. Change an assumption and it moves as you type. Free on up to 3 saved properties — no card required.
Related: Chicago BRRRR underwriting · Free Chicago BRRRR calculator · Cook County flip calculator · Bronzeville BRRRR walkthrough