A PEN Report is a property report for most U.S. addresses. It helps buyers move from “love it” to “it’s the right one” by putting permits, liens, flood and climate risk, schools and market context in one cited report.
A single, easy-to-read report that organizes the essentials into three pillars: Property, Economic, Neighborhood.
Everyday homebuyers (useful to agents/investors too), looking for a fast, objective view of risk, fit, and context.
Listings and AVMs focus on price. A PEN Report property report focuses on decision readiness: does this home have permits, what are the climate risks, how are the schools, what hazards are nearby, what is the economic market context, and what is nearby.
Yes. Your first look should be the MLS, the brokerage listing, or a major platform for the freshest listing facts (status, price, photos). The PEN Report steps in to help you decide. It’s independent of MLS status and still shows what matters: permits, taxes/liens, lifestyle and climate risks, schools, and nearby amenities. If reliable public data exists, we’ll surface it even when a home is off market or delisted.
No. It guides what to ask and where to dig deeper before committing time and money.
Permits & Age of Roof; Climate Risk; environmental facilities; market trends; schools; crime indices; amenities; broadband/transport noise; neighborhood context.
Yes. Our ethos has been Low Tech / High IQ. But to help buyers assess a home we’ve implemented an AI summary that gives you factual highlights of the report. We’ve also incorporated a simple PEN Scorecard that grades each of the sections you might be researching further.
A high level snapshot of the three pillars with short notes so you see why something looks strong or weak. It’s a guide, not a verdict.
An AI Summary (4 to 6 factual highlights), a PEN Scorecard for Property/Economic/Neighborhood with a grading system from A to F on sections many homebuyers care most. In many cases many of these call outs arm you to have further conversations and may require a closer look.
Share the PDF, start with the Summary’s call outs, and agree on 3 to 5 follow up questions (for example permits, hazards, taxes). Use the Scorecard to compare options; it’s input for your decision, not a final answer. For step by step help, see our home buying research guides.
Yes. View a sample property report on the homepage to see what your PEN Report may show.
No predictions. Recent trends and context are shown to inform questions, not as investment advice or guarantees.
Public records, government datasets, environmental registries, permits, mapping and geospatial data, and vetted third party providers. We list all sources in the appendix of every property report.
Update timing varies by source. When possible, each indicator shows its most recent known update window.
Category indicators are combined into normalized letter scores. Method notes are included for each indicator.
U.S. nationwide, with occasional gaps. We suggest not running New York City addresses. Not because we don’t have the information, but because NYC is so dense that neighborhood information may be skewed, inaccurate or irrelevant. Manhattan alone packs about 1.7 million people into roughly 23 square miles.
Yes, where data is available.
No. Reports are generated once. Some data may be missing, limited, or outdated. Always verify locally before deciding.
If a report comes back mostly empty because records aren’t available for that address, email support@recodata.co and we’ll refund it.
The address for the home you want to view and follow the check out prompt.
Instant download, usually 30 seconds or less and stored in your dashboard.
Yes. A PEN Pack gives you 3 Core or 3 Pro reports at a discount, so you can compare homes side by side. For more than that, contact us about volume pricing.
Permits, liens, flood risk, neighborhoods and comps: how to see what the listing doesn’t show you, using the same public records we cite in every PEN Report.
Most home buying research happens after the offer, when backing out costs money. Our approach moves it earlier. Each risk on a U.S. address can be checked in public records: building permits, liens, flood risk and flood history, environmental sites, sales history, crime data and school ratings.
We follow one method for every check, the same one we use to build the PEN Report: name the source, show where to find it, and explain what the record does and doesn’t tell you. If a record can be checked for free, we say so and link to it. If it takes a paid data source, we say that too.
Start with the risk that worries you most about the house and run the free checks yourself. When you want every record read together for your address, with each finding cited, order a PEN Report.
Good home buying research narrows your questions; it doesn’t answer all of them. It doesn’t replace a licensed home inspection, an appraisal, a title search or legal advice.