About HouseUpside

Built by a buyer who had one week, no contingencies, and a 1950s house with a flat roof.

In fast markets like Palo Alto, a listing goes live and offers are due about a week later. Most offers waive inspection and loan contingencies. The seller provides an inspection, and the cleanest, highest offer wins.

To know if a house is worth it, you need to know what you can do with it: add a unit, add a story, rebuild. That depends on zoning, overlays, state housing laws, trees, flood maps and the permit history. Agents rarely know. Architects are expensive before you own the house. The city has the answers, but newcomers cannot find them in time.

HouseUpside reads the public record for you, explains it in plain language, and tells you what to verify, so you can decide in days instead of guessing.

Principles

• ✓Cite the source for every finding.
• ✓Say how sure we are, and what we could not verify.
• ✓Plain language in English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
• ✓Your saved homes are private to you.

Contact

Questions, corrections or partnership ideas: hello@houseupside.com