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RiskBeforeBuy
Documentation

Quickstart

Get your API key and make your first property risk request in under 5 minutes.

1Get Your API Key

Create a free account to get your API key. The free tier includes 100 requests per day with county-level data.

curl -X POST https://riskbeforebuy.smarttechinvest.com/v1/signup \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"Your Name","email":"you@example.com","password":"your_password"}'

The response includes your API key. Save it -- you will not see it again.

2Make Your First Request

Query risk scores for any U.S. ZIP code:

curl https://riskbeforebuy.smarttechinvest.com/v1/risk/90210 \
  -H "X-API-Key: rbb_your_api_key_here"

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "composite": 62,
    "flood": 28,
    "earthquake": 78,
    "wildfire": 42,
    "crime": 55,
    "county": "Los Angeles",
    "state": "CA",
    "fips": "06037"
  }
}

3Compare Locations

Compare risk and 30-year NPV costs for multiple ZIP codes:

curl -X POST https://riskbeforebuy.smarttechinvest.com/v1/risk/compare \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-Key: rbb_your_api_key_here" \
  -d '{"zips":["90210","94102"],"years":30}'

MCP Server (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

Install the RiskBeforeBuy MCP server so AI assistants can use property risk tools natively:

npx @smarttechnologyinvestments/riskbeforebuy-mcp

Add to your Claude Desktop config (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "riskbeforebuy": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@smarttechnologyinvestments/riskbeforebuy-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "RISKBEFOREBUY_API_KEY": "rbb_your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Available tools: get_risk, compare_locations, get_report, list_hazard_types

SDK Examples

JavaScript / TypeScript

const response = await fetch(
  'https://riskbeforebuy.smarttechinvest.com/v1/risk/90210',
  { headers: { 'X-API-Key': process.env.RISKBEFOREBUY_API_KEY } }
);
const { data } = await response.json();
console.log(`Composite risk: ${data.composite}/100`);

Python

import requests

resp = requests.get(
    "https://riskbeforebuy.smarttechinvest.com/v1/risk/90210",
    headers={"X-API-Key": "rbb_your_api_key_here"}
)
data = resp.json()["data"]
print(f"Composite risk: {data['composite']}/100")

Next Steps