More Great Tools

Many of the listings will include a plat or some pictures of the property. These are really great and give you a rough idea of what the land looks like. Many times you can use the bits of information such as city, township or actual coordinates to locate the property and view it via satellite using one of the mapping tools online. Some of my favorites are…

Live Search Maps

Google Maps

TerraServer – The Leader In Online Imagery – Aerial Photos & Satellite Images

Google Earth

Even though some of the images may be a bit dated, most are only a couple of years old and are a great way to get an idea of what the whole area looks like. Tools like Google Earth can be very powerful. With a little work you can do things like overlay a plat or contour lines, or actually get a 3D view of the land. Even more powerful are tools like Google SketchUp. This tool allows you to take the map you have set up in Google Earth, import it and add things like buildings, landscapes, whatever… all in 3D! You can actually layout your entire farm using this tool. Get it here…

Google SketchUp

When trying to determine what types of crops might be suitable for your land a soil survey is indispensable. It can also be handy in determining an area suitable for a septic system!

Web Soil Survey