Fix property assessor geocode fallback

docs/property-assessor.md

@@ -119,6 +119,8 @@ scripts/property-assessor locate-public-records --address "<street-address>"
 Current behavior:
 
 - uses the official Census geocoder
+- when Census address matching misses, falls back to an external address geocoder and then resolves official Census geographies from coordinates
+- retries fallback geocoding without the unit suffix when a condo/unit-qualified address is too specific for the fallback provider
 - returns matched address, county/state/FIPS, and block GEOID context
 - for Texas, returns:
   - Texas Comptroller county directory page

skills/property-assessor/SKILL.md

@@ -140,6 +140,8 @@ When `--assessment-purpose` is present, it should also:
 
 This command currently:
 - resolves the address through the official Census geocoder
+- when Census address matching misses, falls back to an external address geocoder and then resolves official Census geographies from coordinates
+- retries the fallback geocoder without the unit suffix when a condo/unit-qualified address is too specific for the fallback provider
 - returns county/state/FIPS/GEOID context
 - for Texas, resolves the official Texas Comptroller county directory page
 - returns the county appraisal district and tax assessor/collector links when available

skills/property-assessor/src/assessment.ts

@@ -127,16 +127,16 @@ function normalizePurpose(value: string): string {
 function getPurposeGuidance(purpose: string): PurposeGuidance {
   const normalized = purpose.toLowerCase();
 
-  if (/(invest|rental|cash[\s-]?flow|income|flip|str|airbnb)/i.test(normalized)) {
+  if (/(daughter|son|college|student|school|campus)/i.test(normalized)) {
     return {
       label: purpose,
-      snapshot: `Purpose fit: evaluate this as an income property first, not a generic owner-occupant home.`,
+      snapshot: "Purpose fit: evaluate this as practical housing for a student, with safety, commute, durability, and oversight burden in mind.",
-      like: "Purpose-aligned upside will depend on durable rent support, manageable make-ready, and exit liquidity.",
+      like: "This purpose is best served by simple logistics, durable finishes, and a layout that is easy to live in and maintain.",
-      caution: "An investment property is not attractive just because the address clears basic public-record checks; rent support and margin still decide the deal.",
+      caution: "Student-use housing can become a bad fit when commute friction, fragile finishes, or management burden are underestimated.",
-      comp: "Comp work should focus on resale liquidity and true rent support for an income property, not only nearby asking prices.",
+      comp: "Comp work should emphasize campus proximity, day-to-day practicality, and whether comparable student-friendly options exist at lower all-in cost.",
-      carry: "Carry view should underwrite this as an income property with taxes, insurance, HOA, maintenance, vacancy, and management friction.",
+      carry: "Carry view should account for parent-risk factors, furnishing/setup costs, upkeep burden, and whether renting may still be the lower-risk option.",
-      diligence: "Confirm realistic rent, reserve for turns and repairs, and whether the building/submarket has enough liquidity for an investment property exit.",
+      diligence: "Confirm commute, safety, parking, roommate practicality if relevant, and whether the property is easy to maintain from a distance.",
-      verdict: `Assessment purpose: ${purpose}. Do not issue a buy/pass conclusion until the property clears rent support, carry, and make-ready standards for an investment property.`
+      verdict: `Assessment purpose: ${purpose}. The final recommendation should prioritize practicality, safety, and management burden over generic resale talking points.`
     };
   }
 
@@ -153,16 +153,16 @@ function getPurposeGuidance(purpose: string): PurposeGuidance {
     };
   }
 
-  if (/(daughter|son|college|student|school|campus)/i.test(normalized)) {
+  if (/(invest|rental|cash[\s-]?flow|income|flip|str|airbnb)/i.test(normalized)) {
     return {
       label: purpose,
-      snapshot: "Purpose fit: evaluate this as practical housing for a student, with safety, commute, durability, and oversight burden in mind.",
+      snapshot: `Purpose fit: evaluate this as an income property first, not a generic owner-occupant home.`,
-      like: "This purpose is best served by simple logistics, durable finishes, and a layout that is easy to live in and maintain.",
+      like: "Purpose-aligned upside will depend on durable rent support, manageable make-ready, and exit liquidity.",
-      caution: "Student-use housing can become a bad fit when commute friction, fragile finishes, or management burden are underestimated.",
+      caution: "An investment property is not attractive just because the address clears basic public-record checks; rent support and margin still decide the deal.",
-      comp: "Comp work should emphasize campus proximity, day-to-day practicality, and whether comparable student-friendly options exist at lower all-in cost.",
+      comp: "Comp work should focus on resale liquidity and true rent support for an income property, not only nearby asking prices.",
-      carry: "Carry view should account for parent-risk factors, furnishing/setup costs, upkeep burden, and whether renting may still be the lower-risk option.",
+      carry: "Carry view should underwrite this as an income property with taxes, insurance, HOA, maintenance, vacancy, and management friction.",
-      diligence: "Confirm commute, safety, parking, roommate practicality if relevant, and whether the property is easy to maintain from a distance.",
+      diligence: "Confirm realistic rent, reserve for turns and repairs, and whether the building/submarket has enough liquidity for an investment property exit.",
-      verdict: `Assessment purpose: ${purpose}. The final recommendation should prioritize practicality, safety, and management burden over generic resale talking points.`
+      verdict: `Assessment purpose: ${purpose}. Do not issue a buy/pass conclusion until the property clears rent support, carry, and make-ready standards for an investment property.`
     };
   }
 

skills/property-assessor/src/public-records.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 export const CENSUS_GEOCODER_URL =
   "https://geocoding.geo.census.gov/geocoder/geographies/onelineaddress";
+export const CENSUS_COORDINATES_URL =
+  "https://geocoding.geo.census.gov/geocoder/geographies/coordinates";
+export const NOMINATIM_SEARCH_URL = "https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search";
 export const TEXAS_COUNTY_DIRECTORY_URL =
   "https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/county-directory/";
 export const TEXAS_PROPERTY_TAX_PORTAL = "https://texas.gov/PropertyTaxes";
@@ -76,6 +79,28 @@ function stripHtml(value: string): string {
   return output.replace(/^,\s*|\s*,\s*$/g, "");
 }
 
+function buildFallbackAddressCandidates(address: string): string[] {
+  const normalized = collapseWhitespace(address);
+  if (!normalized) return [];
+
+  const candidates = [normalized];
+  const [streetPartRaw, ...restParts] = normalized.split(",");
+  const streetPart = collapseWhitespace(streetPartRaw);
+  const locality = restParts.map((part) => collapseWhitespace(part)).filter(Boolean).join(", ");
+  const strippedStreet = collapseWhitespace(
+    streetPart.replace(
+      /\s+(?:apt|apartment|unit|suite|ste)\s*[a-z0-9-]+$/i,
+      ""
+    ).replace(/\s+#\s*[a-z0-9-]+$/i, "")
+  );
+
+  if (strippedStreet && strippedStreet !== streetPart) {
+    candidates.push(locality ? `${strippedStreet}, ${locality}` : strippedStreet);
+  }
+
+  return candidates;
+}
+
 function extractAnchorHref(fragment: string): string | null {
   const match = fragment.match(/<a[^>]+href="([^"]+)"/i);
   if (!match) return null;
@@ -87,6 +112,7 @@ function extractAnchorHref(fragment: string): string | null {
 async function geocodeAddress(address: string, fetchText: FetchLike): Promise<{
   match: any;
   censusGeocoderUrl: string;
+  usedFallbackGeocoder: boolean;
 }> {
   const query = new URLSearchParams({
     address,
@@ -97,10 +123,70 @@ async function geocodeAddress(address: string, fetchText: FetchLike): Promise<{
   const url = `${CENSUS_GEOCODER_URL}?${query.toString()}`;
   const payload = JSON.parse(await fetchText(url));
   const matches = payload?.result?.addressMatches || [];
-  if (!matches.length) {
+  if (matches.length) {
+    return {
+      match: matches[0],
+      censusGeocoderUrl: url,
+      usedFallbackGeocoder: false
+    };
+  }
+
+  let fallbackMatch: any = null;
+  for (const candidateAddress of buildFallbackAddressCandidates(address)) {
+    const fallbackQuery = new URLSearchParams({
+      q: candidateAddress,
+      format: "jsonv2",
+      limit: "1",
+      countrycodes: "us",
+      addressdetails: "1"
+    });
+    const fallbackUrl = `${NOMINATIM_SEARCH_URL}?${fallbackQuery.toString()}`;
+    const fallbackPayload = JSON.parse(await fetchText(fallbackUrl));
+    fallbackMatch = Array.isArray(fallbackPayload) ? fallbackPayload[0] : null;
+    if (fallbackMatch) {
+      break;
+    }
+  }
+  if (!fallbackMatch) {
     throw new PublicRecordsLookupError(`No Census geocoder match found for address: ${address}`);
   }
-  return { match: matches[0], censusGeocoderUrl: url };
+
+  const latitude = Number(fallbackMatch.lat);
+  const longitude = Number(fallbackMatch.lon);
+  if (!Number.isFinite(latitude) || !Number.isFinite(longitude)) {
+    throw new PublicRecordsLookupError(
+      `Fallback geocoder returned invalid coordinates for address: ${address}`
+    );
+  }
+
+  const coordinateQuery = new URLSearchParams({
+    x: String(longitude),
+    y: String(latitude),
+    benchmark: "Public_AR_Current",
+    vintage: "Current_Current",
+    format: "json"
+  });
+  const coordinateUrl = `${CENSUS_COORDINATES_URL}?${coordinateQuery.toString()}`;
+  const coordinatePayload = JSON.parse(await fetchText(coordinateUrl));
+  const geographies = coordinatePayload?.result?.geographies;
+  if (!geographies) {
+    throw new PublicRecordsLookupError(
+      `Census coordinate geographies lookup failed for address: ${address}`
+    );
+  }
+
+  return {
+    match: {
+      matchedAddress: collapseWhitespace(fallbackMatch.display_name || address),
+      coordinates: {
+        x: longitude,
+        y: latitude
+      },
+      geographies
+    },
+    censusGeocoderUrl: coordinateUrl,
+    usedFallbackGeocoder: true
+  };
 }
 
 async function findTexasCountyHref(countyName: string, fetchText: FetchLike): Promise<string> {
@@ -221,7 +307,10 @@ export async function resolvePublicRecords(
   } = {}
 ): Promise<PublicRecordsResolution> {
   const fetchText = options.fetchText || defaultFetchText;
-  const { match, censusGeocoderUrl } = await geocodeAddress(address, fetchText);
+  const { match, censusGeocoderUrl, usedFallbackGeocoder } = await geocodeAddress(
+    address,
+    fetchText
+  );
   const geographies = match.geographies || {};
   const state = (geographies.States || [{}])[0];
   const county = (geographies.Counties || [{}])[0];
@@ -238,6 +327,11 @@ export async function resolvePublicRecords(
     "Try official address search first on the appraisal district site.",
     "If the listing exposes parcel/APN/account identifiers, use them as stronger search keys than ZPID or listing geo IDs."
   ];
+  if (usedFallbackGeocoder) {
+    lookupRecommendations.push(
+      "The Census address lookup missed this address, so a fallback geocoder was used to obtain coordinates before resolving official Census geographies."
+    );
+  }
 
   if (state.STUSAB === "TX" && county.NAME) {
     const offices = await fetchTexasCountyOffices(county.NAME, fetchText);

skills/property-assessor/tests/assessment.test.ts

@@ -224,3 +224,45 @@ test("assessProperty renders a PDF when recipient email is present", async () =>
   const stat = await fs.promises.stat(outputPath);
   assert.ok(stat.size > 1000);
 });
+
+test("assessProperty prioritizes student housing guidance over investment fallback keywords", async () => {
+  const result = await assessProperty(
+    {
+      address: "1011 Ennis Joslin Rd APT 235, Corpus Christi, TX 78412",
+      assessmentPurpose:
+        "college housing for daughter attending TAMU-CC; prioritize proximity, safety/livability, and resale/rental fallback"
+    },
+    {
+      resolvePublicRecordsFn: async () => samplePublicRecords,
+      discoverListingSourcesFn: async () => ({
+        attempts: ["Zillow discovery located a property page from the address."],
+        zillowUrl:
+          "https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1011-Ennis-Joslin-Rd-APT-235-Corpus-Christi-TX-78412/28848927_zpid/",
+        harUrl: null
+      }),
+      extractPhotoDataFn: async (source, url) => ({
+        source,
+        requestedUrl: url,
+        finalUrl: url,
+        expectedPhotoCount: 20,
+        complete: true,
+        photoCount: 20,
+        imageUrls: ["https://photos.example/1.jpg"],
+        notes: [`${source} extractor succeeded.`]
+      })
+    }
+  );
+
+  assert.match(
+    String(result.reportPayload?.verdict?.offerGuidance),
+    /daughter|student|practicality|safety/i
+  );
+  assert.doesNotMatch(
+    String(result.reportPayload?.verdict?.offerGuidance),
+    /income property|investment property/i
+  );
+  assert.match(
+    String(result.reportPayload?.carryView?.[0]),
+    /parent-risk|upkeep burden|renting/i
+  );
+});

skills/property-assessor/tests/public-records.test.ts

@@ -80,3 +80,119 @@ test("resolvePublicRecords uses Census and Texas county directory", async () =>
   assert.equal(payload.sourceIdentifierHints.parcelId, "14069438");
   assert.match(payload.lookupRecommendations.join(" "), /listing geo IDs as regional hints only/i);
 });
+
+test("resolvePublicRecords falls back to coordinate geocoding when Census address lookup misses", async () => {
+  const coordinatePayload = {
+    result: {
+      geographies: {
+        States: [{ NAME: "Texas", STUSAB: "TX", STATE: "48" }],
+        Counties: [{ NAME: "Nueces County", COUNTY: "355", GEOID: "48355" }],
+        "2020 Census Blocks": [{ GEOID: "483550031013005" }]
+      }
+    }
+  };
+
+  const fallbackFetchText = async (url: string): Promise<string> => {
+    if (url.includes("geocoding.geo.census.gov") && url.includes("onelineaddress")) {
+      return JSON.stringify({ result: { addressMatches: [] } });
+    }
+    if (url.includes("nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search")) {
+      return JSON.stringify([
+        {
+          lat: "27.708000",
+          lon: "-97.360000",
+          display_name: "1011 Ennis Joslin Rd Apt 235, Corpus Christi, TX 78412"
+        }
+      ]);
+    }
+    if (url.includes("geocoding.geo.census.gov") && url.includes("geographies/coordinates")) {
+      return JSON.stringify(coordinatePayload);
+    }
+    if (url.endsWith("/county-directory/")) {
+      return countyIndexHtml;
+    }
+    if (url.endsWith("/county-directory/nueces.php")) {
+      return countyPageHtml;
+    }
+    throw new Error(`Unexpected URL: ${url}`);
+  };
+
+  const payload = await resolvePublicRecords(
+    "1011 Ennis Joslin Rd APT 235, Corpus Christi, TX 78412",
+    {
+      fetchText: fallbackFetchText
+    }
+  );
+
+  assert.equal(
+    payload.matchedAddress,
+    "1011 Ennis Joslin Rd Apt 235, Corpus Christi, TX 78412"
+  );
+  assert.equal(payload.county.name, "Nueces County");
+  assert.equal(payload.state.code, "TX");
+  assert.equal(payload.latitude, 27.708);
+  assert.equal(payload.longitude, -97.36);
+  assert.match(
+    payload.lookupRecommendations.join(" "),
+    /fallback geocoder/i
+  );
+});
+
+test("resolvePublicRecords retries fallback geocoding without the unit suffix", async () => {
+  const seenFallbackQueries: string[] = [];
+  const coordinatePayload = {
+    result: {
+      geographies: {
+        States: [{ NAME: "Texas", STUSAB: "TX", STATE: "48" }],
+        Counties: [{ NAME: "Nueces County", COUNTY: "355", GEOID: "48355" }],
+        "2020 Census Blocks": [{ GEOID: "483550031013005" }]
+      }
+    }
+  };
+
+  const retryingFetchText = async (url: string): Promise<string> => {
+    if (url.includes("geocoding.geo.census.gov") && url.includes("onelineaddress")) {
+      return JSON.stringify({ result: { addressMatches: [] } });
+    }
+    if (url.includes("nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search")) {
+      const query = new URL(url).searchParams.get("q") || "";
+      seenFallbackQueries.push(query);
+      if (query.includes("APT 235")) {
+        return "[]";
+      }
+      if (query === "1011 Ennis Joslin Rd, Corpus Christi, TX 78412") {
+        return JSON.stringify([
+          {
+            lat: "27.6999080",
+            lon: "-97.3338107",
+            display_name: "Ennis Joslin Road, Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Texas, 78412, United States"
+          }
+        ]);
+      }
+    }
+    if (url.includes("geocoding.geo.census.gov") && url.includes("geographies/coordinates")) {
+      return JSON.stringify(coordinatePayload);
+    }
+    if (url.endsWith("/county-directory/")) {
+      return countyIndexHtml;
+    }
+    if (url.endsWith("/county-directory/nueces.php")) {
+      return countyPageHtml;
+    }
+    throw new Error(`Unexpected URL: ${url}`);
+  };
+
+  const payload = await resolvePublicRecords(
+    "1011 Ennis Joslin Rd APT 235, Corpus Christi, TX 78412",
+    {
+      fetchText: retryingFetchText
+    }
+  );
+
+  assert.deepEqual(seenFallbackQueries, [
+    "1011 Ennis Joslin Rd APT 235, Corpus Christi, TX 78412",
+    "1011 Ennis Joslin Rd, Corpus Christi, TX 78412"
+  ]);
+  assert.equal(payload.county.name, "Nueces County");
+  assert.equal(payload.state.code, "TX");
+});