Methodology

Every WiseAddress report cites these pages. We publish methodology before we ship the underlying signal so the reasoning is auditable even when the answer is partial.

• Environmental Grade (v1)

  How the top-level Environmental Grade letter is derived. Architecture pin: one grade plus three subscores (Ongoing Costs, Schools & Childcare, Neighborhood Amenities).

  [src:our-environmental-grade-v1]

• Environmental Feature Inventory (v1)

  The 13-category inventory that feeds the Environmental Grade. Per-category radii, tier-firing rules (SEVERE / MODERATE / MINOR), edge case + cluster + dominant-override behavior, and v1 coverage gaps.

  [src:our-environmental-feature-inventory-v1]

• Ongoing Costs subscore (v1)

  How HOA + modeled insurance bands combine into the Ongoing Costs tier (one of three subscores). Includes the verification disclaimer that travels with every report.

  [src:our-ongoing-costs-subscore-v1]

• Flood Insurance estimate (v1)

  How the FEMA flood zone becomes a rough annual flood-insurance dollar range in Ongoing Costs (flat ranges by zone, required vs optional, coastal V/VE can escalate to $$$). An estimate, not a quote; NFIP $250k cap + Risk Rating 2.0 caveats.

  [src:our-flood-insurance-v1]

• Schools (v1)

  How the school-zone-quality Question surfaces FL DOE 2024-25 school grades at the district level. Descriptive tier labels (D-OR-F-ZONED, C-OR-MIXED, ALL-B-OR-ABOVE, VOUCHER-ADJUSTED), age-weighted aggregation, voucher suppression. No GreatSchools. v1 district-level fallback explained; v1.1+ parcel-level zoning.

  [src:our-schools-methodology-v1]

• Water Quality (v1)

  How the water_quality category resolves PWS (EPA SDWIS waterfall with confidence flag), classifies violations into SEVERE/MODERATE/MINOR/none tiers, surfaces PFAS as a metadata flag (not tier modifier), and handles well-water addresses. Sources: EPA SDWIS, FDEP ACMR, EPA UCMR 5, EPA LSL inventories.

  [src:our-water-quality-v1]

• Flood Risk (v1)

  How the flood category reads the FEMA NFHL zone the parcel sits IN (property-level, via a live FEMA point query) and maps it to a tier: V/VE/VO SEVERE, A/AE/SFHA MODERATE, shaded-X (0.2%) MINOR. Excluded from the dominant-override parcel cap (attached at distance 0 by construction). Source: FEMA NFHL.

  [src:our-flood-risk-v1]

• Radon (v1)

  How the radon category resolves the EPA Map of Radon Zones at county granularity (no free property-level data) and maps it to a tier: Zone 2 MINOR (FL has no Zone 1), Zone 3 none. Gentle by design (testable + mitigable) and excluded from the dominant-override parcel cap. Sources: EPA Map of Radon Zones, fl_counties.

  [src:our-radon-v1]

• Sinkhole Risk (v1)

  How the sinkhole category measures proximity (1.0 mi) to FGS reported subsidence incidents via the live FL DEP ArcGIS service: under 0.25 mi or 10+ reports/mi MODERATE, 1-9 reports MINOR. Reports are mostly UNVERIFIED, so it is excluded from the dominant-override parcel cap. Source: FL DEP / FGS subsidence reports.

  [src:our-sinkhole-risk-v1]

• Neighborhood Amenities (v1)

  How the neighborhood-amenities Question scores POI density via kernel density estimation with per-category half-lives (grocery 1.2 mi, pharmacy 0.6 mi, park 0.8 mi, library 1.8 mi, restaurant 0.3 mi), weighted into a 0-100 composite + tier label (high/medium/low). Sources: OSM Overpass, USGS GAP.

  [src:our-neighborhood-amenities-v1]