BetterDeal - Property Investment Analyzer

BetterDeal helps you find better real estate deals. It's an MCP server and web app that analyzes property investments from Zillow and Realtor.com links, powered by the RentCast API for property data, valuations, and market statistics.

Features

MCP Server

• Claude Desktop integration via Model Context Protocol (MCP)
• Property data, valuations, and market statistics from the RentCast API

Web App

• Web-based property analysis tool
• Paste Zillow or Realtor.com URLs to analyze properties
• Multiple investment strategies: Rental, Flip, BRRRR, House Hack, Long-term Appreciation
• Support for different loan types: Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA
• Comprehensive financial analysis including:
  • Cash flow calculations
  • Cash-on-cash return
  • Cap rate
  • Rental yield
  • Debt service coverage ratio (DSCR)
  • Investment scores and recommendations

Requirements

• Python 3.12 or higher
• Model Context Protocol (MCP) Python SDK
• httpx
• python-dotenv
• fastapi (for web app)
• uvicorn (for web app)
• pydantic (for web app)

Setup

1. Install uv (recommended)

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

2. Clone this repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/betterdeal.git
cd betterdeal

3. Create and activate a virtual environment

# Create virtual environment
uv venv

# Activate virtual environment
# On macOS/Linux:
source .venv/bin/activate
# On Windows:
.venv\Scripts\activate

4. Install dependencies

# Option 1: Using uv (recommended)
uv sync

# Option 2: Using pip with requirements.txt
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Option 3: Install as editable package
uv pip install -e .

5. Set up environment variables

Create a .env file in the project root with your RentCast API key:

RENTCAST_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Usage

1. Configure Claude Desktop

First, install the MCP CLI globally:

uv tool install "mcp[cli]"

Then add this server to your Claude Desktop configuration file (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "BetterDeal": {
      "command": "/Users/<USERNAME>/.local/share/uv/tools/mcp/bin/mcp",
      "args": ["run", "/full/path/to/betterdeal/src/betterdeal/server.py"]
    }
  }
}

Important: Replace /full/path/to/ with the actual absolute path to your betterdeal directory.

Restart Claude Desktop after saving the configuration.

2. Use the MCP server with Claude

Once configured, Claude Desktop will have access to these tools:

• get_property_data: Get detailed property data for a specific property ID
• get_property_valuation: Get property value estimates
• get_rent_estimate: Get rent estimates for a property
• get_market_statistics: Get market statistics for a ZIP code area
• get_property_listings: Get active property listings in a ZIP code area

Example queries to try with Claude:

• "Get market statistics for ZIP code 90210"
• "Show property listings in ZIP code 10001"
• "What are the market trends in ZIP code 02101?"

Development and testing

Install development dependencies and run the test suite with:

uv sync --all-extras
pytest -v tests

Running the server locally

To start the server manually (useful when developing or testing), run:

betterdeal

Alternatively, you can run it directly with:

uv run python src/betterdeal/server.py

Installing MCP CLI globally

If you want to use mcp run commands, install the MCP CLI globally:

uv tool install "mcp[cli]"

Then you can run:

mcp run src/betterdeal/server.py

Property Investment Analyzer Web App

Quick Start

Run the web application:

# Option 1: Using the run script
python run_analyzer.py

# Option 2: Using uvicorn directly
uvicorn src.betterdeal.web_app:app --reload --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000

# Option 3: Using the installed command
betterdeal-analyzer

Then open your browser to http://localhost:8000

How to Use

1. Paste a Property URL: Enter a Zillow or Realtor.com property listing URL
2. Select Investment Strategy: Choose from:
   • Rental: Buy and hold for rental income
   • Flip: Buy, renovate, and sell quickly
   • BRRRR: Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat
   • House Hack: Live in one unit, rent others
   • Long-term Appreciation: Focus on property appreciation
3. Configure Loan Details:
   • Select loan type (Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA)
   • Set interest rate, loan term, down payment
   • Adjust optional parameters (HOA, maintenance, vacancy rate, etc.)
4. Analyze: Click "Analyze Property" to get comprehensive investment analysis

What You'll Get

The analysis includes:

• Property Information: Address and source
• Loan Details: Down payment, monthly payment (PITI), loan terms
• Investment Metrics:
  • Monthly and annual cash flow
  • Cash-on-cash return
  • Cap rate
  • Rental yield
  • Debt service coverage ratio
• Investment Scores: Overall score based on your strategy
• Recommendations: Actionable insights and warnings

Example URLs

• Zillow: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/123-Main-St-City-ST-12345/12345678_zpid/
• Realtor.com: https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/123-Main-St_City_ST_12345_M12345_12345

API Endpoint

You can also use the API directly:

curl -X POST "http://localhost:8000/api/analyze" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "property_url": "https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/...",
    "strategy": "rental",
    "loan_type": "conventional",
    "interest_rate": 0.065,
    "loan_term_years": 30
  }'

License

MIT