Analytics and Automation

[Richie Choy]

Hi BP! I'm a newbie investor with a strong background in computer science and machine learning. I feel like this is my (and other people's) "unfair advantage"; however, I don't know exactly how to apply my talents.

So, this post is really meant to get some feedback and ideas. I understand BP has a few automation tools (e.g. quick property analysis) and there are more out there. My question is: what would be some impactful pieces of automation or analytics in the investment space?

[Jon Crosby]

Hi @Richie Choy! Good questions! I think AI and AML is definitely going to have it's place in REI space in the future. Zillow, House Canary and several others are already experimenting with it to get a more accurate valuations of properties. However, the possibilities are limitless in my opinion since it can be applied to anything in the space really. Risk Management, market analysis, vacancy loss prediction, etc. etc.

In the end, if AI and AML can remove 'all doubt' from an investor to engage on a property, because it has performed all the analysis to some 'certain' level of accuracy...and that accuracy has a proven track record, then I think that is where the target should be.  Within that are many layers of underwriting with several channels that can all be improved upon with AI or AML. Figuring out which channel has the 'best' data to learn from is probably the tricky part right now. 

Best of luck! 

Cheers!