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Distress Criteria

Updated this week

Understanding Distress Criteria

PropertyRadar 5.0 reorganizes distress‑related criteria in Discover so you can more easily find, combine, and prioritize properties experiencing financial or life‑event stress. This includes new Distress Criteria and Distress Score, as well as updated placement for signals like Divorce under the Distress folders.

This article explains:

  • How the Distress / Other Distress folders are structured in 5.

  • The difference between In Distress (checkbox) criteria and stand‑alone distress criteria (including Divorce), and how OR vs AND logic works in real searches

What Changed in the Discover Criteria Structure

New Distress‑focused folders

In PropertyRadar 5.0, distress‑related criteria have been grouped and elevated so they’re easier to discover and use as a system:

  • In Other Distress in the criteria panel that includes:

    • In Distress (checkbox criteria)

    • Other distress‑related fields (depending on your plan)

  • An Other Distress folder that holds:

    • Distress Score (0–100)

The goal is to give you one place to work with:

  • The signals themselves (In Distress checkboxes), and

  • The prioritization layer (Distress Score) that rolls 30+ of those signals into a single 0–100 value.

Withing the In Distress category, you will see the below. (See Definitions)

Show In Distress criteria

  • In Foreclosure

    • Preforeclosure

    • Auction

    • Bank Owned (REO)

  • Underwater

  • Tax Delinquent

  • Expired Listing

  • Bankruptcy

  • Divorce

  • Pre-Probate

  • Probate

  • Death of Joint Tenant

  • Eviction

  • Code Enforcement

  • Property Vacant

  • Mailing Address Vacant

  • Out of State Owner

  • Property Liens

    • HOA Lien

    • Mechanics Lien

    • County/City Lien

    • State Property Lien

    • Federal Property Lien

    • Utility Lien

    • Hazardous Waste Lien

    • Abatement Lien

  • Personal Liens

    • Judgment

    • Support Judgment

    • Deficiency Judgment

    • Federal Tax Lien

    • State Tax Lien

In Distress vs Stand‑Alone Distress Criteria

The most important 5.0 behavior change is how In Distress (checkbox) criteria behave compared to distress criteria outside the checkbox control.

At a high level:

  • In Distress (checkbox group) → OR logic inside the group, AND with the rest of your criteria.

  • Stand‑alone distress criteria (like Owner Details → Divorce, foreclosure fields, liens, etc.) → behave like normal criteria and participate in AND logic with the rest of your search.

1. In Distress checkbox criteria (OR logic within the group)

What it is

In Distress is a multi‑select checkbox that unifies 30+ distress signals into a single criteria control. Common options include:

  • Foreclosure pipeline: Preforeclosure, Auction, Bank Owned (REO)

  • Financial stress: Underwater, Tax Delinquent, Property Tax Lien, Federal/State Tax Lien

  • Life events: Divorce, Probate, Death of Joint Tenant, Deceased Owner

  • Tenancy/condition: Eviction, Code Enforcement / Abatement Lien, Property Vacant, Mailing Address Vacant

  • Liens & judgments: HOA Lien, Mechanics Lien, County/City Lien, Hazardous Waste Lien, Judgments, Support Judgment, Deficiency Judgment, etc.

How the logic works

When you check multiple boxes inside In Distress:

  • The checkbox selections use OR logic within the group:

    • “In Distress = Foreclosure OR Tax Delinquent OR Probate …”

  • Then the entire In Distress group is AND‑ed with your other criteria:

    • Location, property type, equity, value, etc.

Example

In Distress: Foreclosure, Tax Delinquent, Divorce
Location: County = Maricopa
Property Type: SFR

Results = “All SFRs in Maricopa County that are in foreclosure OR tax delinquent OR divorce, or any combination of those.”

This is the fastest way to say “show me anything in distress” without manually juggling separate criteria.

2. Stand‑alone distress criteria (AND logic with the rest of your search)

Stand‑alone distress criteria sit outside the In Distress checkbox group. Examples:

  • Owner Details → Divorce (Property Owner Has Divorce?, Divorce Filing Date, etc.)

  • A specific lien criteria in a non‑Distress folder

  • Other flags you may layer into your buy box

These always behave like normal criteria in Discover:

  • They participate in AND logic with the rest of your filter set:

    • “Location AND Property Type AND Owner Details → Divorce AND Equity %, etc.”

  • If you add multiple stand‑alone distress fields, they also combine with AND logic unless otherwise noted in that criteria’s design.

Example

Owner Details → Divorce: Property Owner Has Divorce? = Yes
Divorce Filing Date = Last 30 Days
Equity % ≥ 30%

Results = “Properties where a current owner has a qualifying divorce filing AND that filing is in the last 30 days AND equity is at least 30%.”

This is the pattern you use when you want very specific, high‑intent segments, not just “any distress.”

How In Distress and Stand‑Alone Criteria Work Together

You can absolutely mix In Distress with stand‑alone distress criteria. The key is to understand how the OR and AND pieces interlock.

Example 1: “Any distress, but focus on recent divorces”

Say you want:

  • Anything in distress (foreclosure, tax delinquent, probate, etc.) OR divorce,

  • But you also want to ensure recent divorce filings for extra motivation.

You might set:

  • In Distress (checkbox): Foreclosure, Tax Delinquent, Probate, Divorce

  • Owner Details → Divorce: Property Owner Has Divorce? = Yes

  • Divorce Filing Date: Last 90 Days

Conceptually, the query behaves like:

(Foreclosure OR Tax Delinquent OR Probate OR Divorce)
​AND (Owner Has Divorce? = Yes AND Divorce Filing Date in last 90 days)
​AND (your usual location/property filters)

Only properties that both appear in the OR‑based distress pool and meet your Divorce criteria make it through—so this is a tight, high‑intent list.

Example 2: “Any distress, but only SFRs with a divorce signal”

You might use:

  • In Distress → Divorce (checked)

  • Property Type: SFR

  • Location: County or city

That yields:

Properties where Divorce is present as a distress signal
AND the property is SFR
AND in your target area.

You skip the date logic and still leverage Divorce as one of several distress signals, but keep the search broad and fast.

Tip: When to Use Each Approach

A quick way to decide between In Distress vs. stand‑alone distress criteria:

Use In Distress when you want:

  • A broad funnel of properties experiencing any of several distress types.

  • Fast exploratory lists like:

    • “Show me foreclosure OR tax delinquent OR probate OR divorce in this county.”

  • To feed Distress Score and Plays with a wide but relevant audience before you prioritize or run campaigns.

Use stand‑alone distress criteria (like Owner Details → Divorce) when you need:

  • Precision around a particular distress type:

    • Date ranges (e.g., Divorce Filing Date = Last 30 Days)

    • Flags tied to owners vs properties

  • To combine that signal with other filters in a more surgical AND‑style search:

    • “Current owner has a divorce in the last 6 months AND equity ≥ 40% AND SFR AND not listed.”

  • To build distress‑specific Plays or campaigns (e.g., a Divorce‑only play or Probate‑only play) where messaging is tightly aligned to the event.

Combine both when:

  • You want the breadth of OR logic across many signals, but also want to tighten the list using an AND‑style Divorce or lien condition for your exact play.

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