Frequently asked questions
Everything, explained.
What the machine hunts, how the math works, what a memo contains, and what it costs. If it's not answered here, write to hello@rentogram.com.
The platform
What is Rentogram Intelligence?
An always-on underwriting desk for US residential real estate. Three agents continuously scan two million properties across all 50 states, hunting the gap between what an asset costs and what it can actually earn. Every deal that survives the math arrives as a scored, four-page investment memorandum.
THE HUNTER
finds the spread
THE UNDERWRITER
runs the math
THE VALIDATOR
scores + writes memo
You don't browse listings. The deal — already underwritten, stress-tested and scored — comes to you.
Who does the financial math — and can I audit it?
All money math (NOI, cap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCR, equity waterfalls) runs in a deterministic financial engine with unit-tested formulas — the same calculation, every time, for every property. Judgment and narrative (ranking candidates, writing the thesis, flagging risks) are applied only on top of the computed numbers, and every memo lists its inputs so you can retrace each figure. Nothing is ever "estimated" where it can be calculated.
Which markets do you cover?
All 50 states plus DC — the Hunter accepts any state, city or ZIP. In practice, spreads cluster: voucher arbitrage lives in Midwest and Southern metros (Cleveland, Birmingham, Memphis, Kansas City), short-stay premiums in Sun Belt tourism cities (Phoenix, San Antonio), mid-stay premiums around major hospital systems (Houston), zoning upside in coastal California, and distress everywhere there's a courthouse.
The six opportunity types
Voucher spread (Section 8) — the government pays above market
HUD publishes a Fair Market Rent for every ZIP and bedroom count. Where the FMR sits above private-market rent, a voucher tenant pays you more than the open market would — guaranteed by the federal government, with multi-year waiting lists keeping vacancy near zero.
Example from the platform: an $82,000 Cleveland three-bedroom earning $278/mo above market — an 11.2% cap rate at the voucher rent.
Short-stay premium (STR) — priced on the lease, earning nightly
Thousands of homes are priced off their long-term rental income while the short-stay market around them pays 2× or more. The Hunter cross-references every listing against nightly rates and occupancy in its ZIP.
Mid-stay premium (MTR) — travel nurses and 13-week lets
Around major hospital systems, furnished 3-month rentals to traveling medical staff clear far above the unfurnished lease — with corporate-grade tenants who rebook before checkout.
Furnished $2,850/mo vs $1,700 lease · +$1,150/mo
Zoning upside (ADU) — the second dwelling nobody priced
State laws like California's SB-9 entitle many lots to an additional dwelling unit. When the listing prices the house but not the entitlement, you're buying land value for free: build for less than the appraised uplift and add a second rent roll.
Distress discount — auctions, estates, foreclosures
Paper priced by urgency instead of value. Sheriff sales and estate liquidations routinely clear 20–30% under the comp set — the discount itself is the return.
Flips — margin between basis and after-repair value
Classic value-add: buy, renovate, resell. The engine only surfaces flips where the all-in basis (price + rehab) sits meaningfully under verified after-repair comps.
Syndication basis — whole buildings under their submarket
Multifamily assets trading below their submarket's per-door value, structured for passive investors: an 8% cumulative preferred return paid first from operating cash flow, a 70/30 split above the hurdle, and your capital returned at the sale or refinance.
Operating cash: pref first, arrears carried, 70/30 above the hurdle. Capital back at exit.
Scoring & memos
How does the Rentogram Score work?
Every deal gets a 1–100 score from a transparent, weighted rubric — deterministic math, not vibes. 90+ is rare (double ring). 75+ is conviction territory. Below 50, the machine wouldn't show it to you.
What's inside an investment memo?
Eight sections, four pages: executive summary, market context, the spread visualized, underwriting table, year-one cash-flow waterfall, five-year cash accumulation chart, risks with mitigants, and the score composition — closed by a verdict stamp: ACQUIRE, WATCH or PASS. Read the Cleveland specimen →
What data do the agents use?
Live property records, listings and rent estimates (RentCast), HUD Fair Market Rent tables (updated annually), county auction dockets, and nightly-rate market data. Every external response is cached and timestamped; each memo lists what was sourced vs estimated — that's the "data confidence" pillar of the score.
Investing
Who can invest?
Anyone. There's no accreditation requirement, no minimum net worth, no geography restriction — the platform serves a first-time buyer hunting a $58,000 Pittsburgh auction just as well as a family office writing six-figure syndication tickets. Direct property purchases are open to any buyer, foreign or domestic; syndication offerings may carry their own sponsor requirements, always stated on the deal.
Do I buy through Rentogram?
No — we're the underwriting desk, not the broker. The memo gives you the address, numbers and thesis; you close through your own agent, attorney or the auction process. For syndications, the memo links to the sponsor's offering. We never touch your capital.
How much capital do I need?
The pipeline regularly carries deals from ~$58,000 (distress, cash) and ~$20,000 down (financed Section 8 in the Midwest) up to $50,000 minimum syndication tickets and seven-figure portfolios. Set your price band in the Hunter and the engine stays inside it.
Can I invest from outside the US?
Yes. Foreign buyers purchase US property routinely — typically via an LLC, with an ITIN for taxes. Financing is harder cross-border (expect larger down payments or cash), which is why the memos always show both financed and all-cash returns. Nothing here is legal or tax advice; use a US attorney and CPA.
Membership & billing
What do the three tiers actually gate?
The Lead (€9/mo) — teasers: city, score, cap-rate band; addresses withheld. Pro (€149/mo) — the full desk: exact addresses, all six engines, complete memos, real-time edge alerts. Syndicate Club (€499/mo) — everything plus off-market and bulk flow, full waterfall modeling and direct agent API access. Cancel any month; gating is enforced server-side, not just blurred.
Is this live data right now?
The platform you're browsing is a preview on illustrative data while the live RentCast + HUD integrations are switched on for the private beta. Every number is realistic but demonstrative.
Risks, honestly
What can go wrong?
Everything real estate can do: rents compress, HUD payment standards reset annually, cities re-regulate short-stays, rehabs overrun, auctions carry title surprises, syndications can lose principal. The memos are built around this — every deal ships with a stress-tested floor ("even at market rent, the Cleveland deal holds an 8.4% cap") and a Risks & Mitigants section. A score is an opinion with receipts, not a guarantee. Nothing on this platform is investment advice.