Buying a house — the 12-dimension data checklist before you sign

Why 12 dimensions

Real-estate listings show price, square footage, bed/bath count, and a few photos. They never show drinking-water violations, neighborhood deed-turnover rates, lead-pipe replacement obligations, or whether the parcel sits in a FEMA AE zone.

Each of the 12 dimensions zipradar federates is sourced from a different regulatory body. Together they answer the question 'what's actually true about this place?' instead of 'what does the listing say?'

The 12 questions every buyer should answer

1. Drinking water — does the utility have recent EPA SDWIS violations or LCRR lead-service-line obligations?

2. Flood zone — what's the FEMA NFHL zone (X / AE / VE / etc.) at this address, and what's the Risk Rating 2.0 premium?

3. Wildfire — what's the USFS Wildfire Hazard Potential, and does the address sit in the WUI?

4. Air quality — what's the multi-year AQI history from EPA AirNow, and does the area face annual smoke seasons?

5. Crime — what's the FBI UCR/NIBRS pattern at the agency-jurisdiction level (treat as orientation, not gospel)?

6. Schools — which NCES district, which feeder schools, what's the student-teacher ratio?

7. Radon — what's the EPA Radon Zone (1, 2, or 3), and is testing required at sale in this state?

8. Lead pipes — does the utility have an LCRR-flagged service-line replacement obligation that affects this address?

9. Property tax — what's the millage rate, current assessment, and does the prior owner's homestead transfer (it doesn't)?

10. Deed activity — what's the ZIP-level turnover trend? Spike in trustee deeds = early distress signal.

11. Zoning — what's the parcel's zoning code, and are there special overlays (historic, flood, environmental)?

12. Sex-offender registry — deep-link only to NSOPW; check before you commit, fresh + jurisdictional.

What the listing won't tell you

Sellers + listing agents disclose what state law requires, nothing more. State requirements vary widely. Florida + California have strong disclosure laws; many states have weak ones.

Even strong disclosure laws cap at 'what the seller knew' — they don't capture data the seller never looked at. zipradar's role is to federate the public-records data the seller may not even know exists.

What zipradar shows

Per address (or ZIP, when address-resolution isn't yet available): all 12 dimensions on one page, each with its source citation, refresh cadence, and limitations.

Where the data is too thin or jurisdictional, we say so explicitly — buyers shouldn't conflate 'no flag' with 'no risk'.

Last-verified timestamp on every page tells you exactly when the data was last refreshed.