Creating a Manual Property Card

Overview

Sometimes you need to create a loan scenario for a property that Deal Details cannot locate through its standard property search. This happens with new construction homes, recently completed builds that have not yet been registered with postal services, or rural properties that exist off the grid. The manual property card feature lets you enter property details yourself so you can continue building accurate loan scenarios for your clients.

Before You Start

Requirement	Details
Property address	Street address, city, state, and zip code for the property
Property value	Purchase price or estimated value
Location details	County name for the property
Property type	Single family residence, condo, townhome, etc.
Tax and insurance estimates	Approximate annual amounts if known

Step-by-Step: Building a Manual Property Card

1. Search for the Property First

Enter the property address into the standard property search
Allow Deal Details to search its four national databases
Wait for the search to complete

⚠️ Important: Always attempt a standard property search first. Manual entry should only be used when the automatic search fails to locate the property.

2. Initiate Manual Build

When the search returns no results, click Build Manually
The system will retain any address information you already entered

3. Enter Property Details

Field	What to Enter
Property Value	Purchase price or estimated market value
State	Select the state from the dropdown
County	Select the correct county for the property
City	Enter or select the city name
Zip Code	Enter the standard zip code
Property Type	Select single family residence or appropriate type

4. Configure Tax and Insurance Estimates

Since manual properties cannot pull data from external sources, you need to enter estimates manually:

Insurance: Enter a flat dollar amount for annual homeowners insurance
County Taxes: Enter a flat dollar amount for annual property taxes
HOA Dues: Enter monthly HOA amount if applicable, or leave blank

💡 Tip: Contact local insurance agents or check county tax assessor websites to get accurate estimates for your manual property entries.

What Manual Properties Cannot Include

When building manually, certain automatic features will not be available:

Feature	Availability
Property photo	Not available
Listing information	Not available
Flood zone determination	Not available
Automated tax estimates	Not available
Automated insurance estimates	Not available

You will need to manually enter or estimate any values that would normally be pulled from external databases.

Finishing Up

1. Review Your Entries

Verify all location details are accurate
Confirm tax and insurance estimates are reasonable

2. Save the Property Card

Click Finalize and Save to create the property card
The property will now appear in your scenario without a photo or listing data

3. Continue Building Your Scenario

Proceed with loan scenario creation as normal
All standard loan options and calculations will be available

Quick Reference

Search Property → No Results Found → Click Build Manually → Enter Value/Location/Taxes → Finalize and Save → Continue to Scenario

Tips for Success

Gather details before you start—have the county name, estimated taxes, and insurance costs ready before beginning manual entry
Use local knowledge—as a local loan officer, you likely have access to property information that national databases do not yet have
Estimate conservatively—when unsure about taxes or insurance, estimate slightly higher to give clients a more accurate worst-case scenario
Document your sources—note where you obtained tax and insurance estimates in case clients have questions