The house-hunting spreadsheet, done properly
Everyone starts with a spreadsheet. Then the formulas break, the two of you keep separate copies, and nobody updates it at the inspection. Groundwork is the purpose-built version: it scores, ranks and syncs for you — and it lives on your phone.
Why the spreadsheet always falls apart
A grid of properties and ticks sounds simple until you're standing in a hallway trying to remember which column was "natural light" and whether a 7 there beats a 6 somewhere else. Weighting is fiddly, two people drift out of sync, and value-for-money never quite gets calculated. The tool fights you exactly when you need it.
What Groundwork does that a spreadsheet can't
- Scores every property automatically from your categories, points and deal-breakers
- Ranks the whole shortlist by score — or by value-for-money — with one tap
- Stays in sync for everyone on the hunt, live, with no "final_v3" copies
- Works as a phone app at the inspection, not a pinch-to-zoom mess
- Adds location ratings, gut-feel scores, photos, notes and comments in one place
Keep the discipline, lose the friction
The reason a spreadsheet helps at all is that it forces you to compare like for like. Groundwork keeps that discipline — explicit criteria, a real score — and removes everything that makes a spreadsheet a chore. Same rigour, none of the broken formulas.
Ready to start your shortlist?
Add your first place and score it in under a minute — no signup. Bring your people in whenever you're ready.
Common questions
How is this better than a spreadsheet?
A spreadsheet can't score, rank or stay in sync for two people at once. Groundwork does the maths, ranks by score or value-for-money automatically, and updates live for everyone on the hunt — on the phone you're holding at the inspection.
Is Groundwork free?
Yes — Groundwork is free for buyers and renters, with no per-property or per-hunt charges. You can start scoring straight away without even creating an account.
How is each property scored?
You decide. Set your own categories, points and deal-breakers, add a location rating and a gut-feel score, and Groundwork rolls it into one comparable number for every place.
Can my partner or housemates use it with me?
That's the whole idea. Invite anyone you're searching with by email and you all score the same shared shortlist — no more scattered group chats and half-remembered favourites.