About RiskBeforeBuy
Property risk intelligence, democratized
RiskBeforeBuy aggregates data from six federal agencies to give home buyers and developers a clear picture of property risk. Flood, earthquake, wildfire, and crime data -- all in one platform with 30-year cost projections.
The Problem
Home buyers make the largest financial decision of their lives without understanding the true long-term risk. Flood zones, earthquake fault lines, wildfire corridors, and crime patterns are scattered across dozens of government databases in formats only GIS analysts can read. Meanwhile, a single flood event can cost a homeowner $50,000+ in repairs -- and most standard homeowner policies do not cover it.
Our Approach
We ingest data from FEMA (flood maps and the National Risk Index), USGS (earthquake hazard models), NOAA (weather and storm events), USFS (wildfire probability), FBI UCR (crime statistics), and the U.S. Census Bureau (demographics). This data is normalized, indexed, and scored at the census tract level. Our 30-year NPV model then translates those scores into dollars -- the real financial impact of location risk over a typical ownership period.
Our Values
Data Integrity
We use only authoritative federal data sources. No proprietary black-box models. Every score can be traced back to its source.
Accessible Intelligence
Property risk data has been locked in arcane government databases for decades. We make it accessible to every home buyer and developer.
Honest Assessment
We do not sugarcoat risk. Our models show you the real numbers -- expected insurance costs, disaster probabilities, and 30-year financial impact.
Developer-First
Every feature available to consumers is also available through our REST API and MCP server. Build what you need with the data you need.
Part of Smart Technology Investments
RiskBeforeBuy is a product of Smart Technology Investments LLC, a research-driven company building decision intelligence tools that help consumers make better financial decisions using data that was always available but never accessible.
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