Google Street View for Real-estate Investors

A real-estate agent who I trust a lot happens to be in North Carolina a lot this year, and is on the look out for investment properties for me. She found a great single family home in Hillsborough that came on the market that morning, and it sounded like it was priced right. I went to Google maps, hoping the satellite view would give me some sense of the neighborhood, since I'd be making an offer site unseen. Not only did I find the satellite view, but also a Google Street View of the front on the house. This is a very residential area, so I was quite surprised. Within a few clicks I had checked out a dozen houses on the street and felt very comfortable with what I saw. We made an offer and it was accepted.

Google Street View will certainly become such a useful tool for us we will take it for granted. Until then, it'll be amazing to see how it changes the way we live and do business.