How to rate a house (so you can actually compare them)
"It felt nice" doesn't survive a fourth inspection. A light scoring system — the same one every time — turns a feeling into something you can rank, defend and agree on with the person you're moving in with.
1. Pick a handful of categories
Group what matters into a few buckets — light, layout, location, outdoor space, condition — and give each a weight. Highly desirable things are worth more points than nice-to-haves. Keep it to a dozen or so items total; precision you'll never use is just friction.
2. Score the must-haves and the deal-breakers
For each place, tick what it genuinely has and subtract for the deal-breakers — a busy road, a maintenance pit, powerlines. Deal-breakers carry negative points so a single big problem can sink an otherwise strong score, which is exactly what you want.
3. Add location and gut feel
Not everything is a checkbox. A location rating and a single gut-feel score let the intangibles count without taking over — they nudge the ranking, they don't decide it.
4. Rank by score — and by value
Now sort. Highest score shows the best homes outright; value-for-money (score per dollar) shows where your money goes furthest. Looking at both stops you overpaying for a marginal upgrade — and rescues the underpriced place that quietly ticks every box.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.