Property Tracker Guide

1. Quick Reference: Which Columns Do I Touch?

2. The Three Automations

Three scripts run in the background that do work for you. Here's what each one does and when it kicks in:

Automation 1: Zillow Auto-Fill

Automatically grabs property details from the listing:

• Address (C), ZIP (B), Year Built (E)
• List Price (H), Bed/Bath (I), SQFT (J)
• List $/SQFT (K) — calculated
• Property Image (AD)

Automation 2: Geocoding (Map Coordinates)

Looks up the address on Google Maps and fills in:

• Latitude (AE) and Longitude (AF) — for the map
• Neighborhood (D) — if Google recognizes the area
• Multiplier (AG) — based on the neighborhood tier

If the neighborhood isn't on this list, it defaults to Standard (1.00x). You can manually type a neighborhood name from the table above in Column D and the multiplier will update.

Automation 3: Rent Estimation

Calculates two rent estimates:

• Market Est (Column W) — Realistic target rent based on sqft, ZIP, neighborhood, and condition. Capped by bedroom count.
• META Est (Column X) — Maximum ceiling using room-by-room strategy. Not capped.

Market Est Caps by Bedroom Count:

3. How to Add a New Property

Option A: Start with a Zillow URL (Fastest)

Option B: Manual Entry (No Zillow URL)

4. Property Images — Required for Every Property

How auto-fetch works

When you paste a Zillow URL in Column AC, the script tries to extract the main listing photo and put it in Column AD. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't — Zillow blocks it occasionally.

How to manually grab an image (do this if AD is blank)

5. Moving a Property Through the Pipeline

When you make an offer:

• Fill in Offer (L) with your offer amount
• Fill in Offer Terms (N) — example: "3% Buyer, 3% Conc"
• Offer $/SQFT (M) auto-calculates

When it goes under contract:

• Change Status (O) to Escrow
• Fill in COE Date (P)
• Fill in Investor (Q)
• Fill in Financing (S)

When the deal closes:

• Change Status (O) to CLOSED
• Property now appears on the rentals page with a green "Available Now" badge

When a tenant signs a lease:

• Fill in Rented Rate (AH) with the actual monthly rent
• Fill in Rented Date (AI) with the lease start date
• Property shows as "Just Rented" on the rentals page for 30 days
• After 30 days, it automatically drops off the rentals page

If a deal falls through:

• Change Status (O) to Dead
• Property stays on the deals page for reference but won't show on rentals

6. How the Rentals Page Works

The public rentals page (/rentals) is the contractor/tenant-facing page. Only certain properties show up here.

The rentals page shows three pricing tiers for each property:

7. Property Condition — Why It Matters

The Condition field (Column F) directly affects the Market Est rent calculation:

Example: A 1,700 sqft property in West Monroe (71291):

• Dated: ~$1,900/mo
• Updated: ~$2,200/mo
• Rebuilt: ~$2,500/mo

Set this based on the property's current condition. As rehab progresses, update it and the rent estimates will recalculate.

8. Status Values — What Each One Means

9. Columns You Should Never Edit

These columns are managed by automations. If you type in them, your values may get overwritten or cause incorrect calculations.

10. Troubleshooting

"I pasted a Zillow URL but nothing happened"

• Make sure you pasted in Column AC (not another column)
• Make sure you're on the "Property Tracker" tab
• Make sure you're in row 7 or below (not the header rows)
• The URL must be from Zillow, Realtor.com, or Redfin
• If triggers aren't set up yet, see First-Time Setup

"Market Est and META Est are blank"

• SQFT (Column J) must be filled in — required for the calculation
• Bed/Bath (Column I) must be in the 3/2 format
• Try editing one of the trigger columns (like Condition) to re-trigger the calculation

"The property isn't showing on the rentals page"

• Status (O) must be exactly CLOSED (all caps)
• If it has a Rented Rate (AH), there must also be a Rented Date (AI) within the last 30 days
• If it's been more than 30 days since renting, it drops off automatically

"The rent estimate seems too high or too low"

• Check Condition (F) — updated adds 15%, rebuilt adds 30%
• Check Neighborhood (D) — Rayville gets 1.20x, some areas get 0.85x
• Check SQFT (J) — larger homes get diminishing returns above 1,500 sqft
• Market Est is capped by bedroom count (3BR max $2,500, 4BR max $3,100)

"The image isn't showing on the website"

• Check that Column AD has a URL in it
• If blank, grab the image manually: right-click the Zillow photo → "Copy image address" → paste in AD
• Make sure the URL starts with https://

"I need to re-geocode a property"

• Clear both Latitude (AE) and Longitude (AF)
• Then edit the Address (C) cell — even adding and removing a space triggers it
• Geocoding will re-run and refill the coordinates

11. First-Time Setup

If the automations aren't running yet (nothing happens when you paste a URL or enter an address), you need to enable the triggers:

Manual tools in the menu bar:

• Geocoding menu → "Geocode All Missing" (batch geocodes every property without coordinates)
• Geocoding menu → "Geocode Selected Rows" (geocodes just the rows you've highlighted)
• Rent Estimation menu → "Calculate All Estimates" (recalculates Market Est and META Est for everything)
• Rent Estimation menu → "Show Neighborhood Tiers" (shows the full tier list)
• Rent Estimation menu → "Show Bedroom Caps" (shows the Market Est caps)