Editorial independence and conflict-of-interest charter

User-pays, not issuer-pays

Ridge is funded by subscriptions and data licences. It does not accept payment from developers, master developers, brokers, agents, or any party it rates, ranks, or indexes. No party can buy, sponsor, or influence its own grade.

No property-market conflicts

Ridge does not operate property listings, take sales commissions, broker transactions, provide mortgage advice, or hold direct property positions. It has no financial interest in whether any community, project, or developer rises or falls in its indices.

Rate the whole registry

Ratings and indices are produced from the full available transaction registry within the stated scope and filters. Ridge does not cherry-pick communities, omit inconvenient months, or selectively exclude transactions to flatter outcomes. Every exclusion rule is documented in advance, and anything too thin to grade is marked Not Rated rather than hidden.

Methodology governance

The methodology is versioned, published, and changed only through a documented review process. Material methodology changes are announced ahead of implementation, except where required by law or to fix a material error. Past index values affected by a change are recalculated and published with a clear revision history. The published methodology always matches the live engine; the current version is v1.5 and the log is at /methodology#versions.

Data provenance and reproducibility

Every published index value and rating can be traced to its source transaction records, processing date, stratum definitions, and the code version used. Ridge retains raw inputs and intermediate outputs so that an independent auditor can reproduce its results. Every rating is stamped with its methodology version and data window. Sources are listed at /data-sources.

Corrections and revisions

When a material error is discovered, Ridge publishes a correction promptly, identifies the affected series, and explains the cause. Routine late data are incorporated in the next scheduled release. Material back-revisions are labelled with a revision code and changelog. The stratified indices (RDRI and ROPI) are published as preliminary: values may revise as late registrations land and are final on the next scheduled build; point-in-time values remain available via /api/ridge_index?as_of=YYYY-MM.

No investment advice

Ridge indices and ratings are statements of observed market conditions, not recommendations to buy, sell, finance, or hold any property or security. They are independent analytical opinions derived from public registry data. Subscribers make their own decisions and should seek their own professional advice.

Structural enforcement

Independence is protected structurally, not merely promised:

Appeals, corrections and complaints

A rated party, subscriber or member of the public may raise a factual correction, an appeal against a rating action, or a complaint about conduct under this charter. The mechanism is the record itself:

• The rating ledger is append-only. Every initiation, upgrade, downgrade and withdrawal is written to the ledger with its date, score and methodology version, and nothing is ever deleted or rewritten. A correction is recorded as a new entry that supersedes the earlier one; the history of what was published, and when, remains visible.
• The Ridge Wire records every action. Each rating action reaches The Ridge Wire and its RSS feed, so a correction or reversal is announced through the same channel as the original action.
• Appeals are decided on the registry, not on argument. A grade changes only when the registered transactions and the published method change it. Ridge will re-derive the figure, state the inputs used, and publish the outcome either way.

Raise a correction, appeal or complaint through the desk: /contact?plan=Enterprise. Corrections are acknowledged within one business day and the outcome is recorded in the ledger.