BiggerPockets

Love the concept. Implementation is a bit weak. I want to be able to turn and move freely, and have the view move smoothly. Like in a video game.

The data is gathered from public space. I see no privacy issues. Yeah, someone could be snapped coming out of someplace they shouldn't be. But then, they could be seen doing that anyway.

Yes, I have used it to try to look at places. The data is limited enough that its not that useful. The few times I've found what I was trying to see it was very cool.

I've started using it over zillow. I use it to see not just the property, but the local environment.
I had mls info about one house with "one neighbor, and next to a school." I decided against that one, because of that and it's a major fixer-upper.
A few listings along was the house next to it. The blurb for that one sounded very interesting, and it was not next to the school.
I used google earth to look at a the second one, and decided to go look. As I looked at the surrounding area, I liked it even better.
House A is probably not the one for me, but I liked B--except I really need to check on the criminal activity in the area.
I went with a friend to see both, and liked the area even better.
I don't know that I would have gone to look at the house without seeing it via google.
I use basic free Google earth, and find it very useful.
ofgift

I use to to check out a properity before I drive there. It has saved me a lot of time and gas money. I have found it is not very accurate when it comes to the street address. But it gets you close enough to either find the house or see what the neighborhood looks like.

Featuring it alongside our IDX feed, buyers have given us great feedback on the ability to pre-shop the neighborhood AND get their bearings for their drive in.

I personally was hesitant regarding privacy invasion but have actually found it to be a useful tool not just in real estate but in personal life. For example, last night, the Tech Crunch party was at a new swanky bar in downtown Austin that I couldn't get my bearings where it was... Google Maps gave me visual pointers and we zipped right into valet with no confusion! Hooray for less confusion.

OOH, also, I like Google's new walk mapping. I'm pro-anything innovative in mapping, especially a free service that manually blurs people's faces in every image (talk about a lot of work, yo!).

Sounds like you and I are likely on the same page, Becky.

No need to edit, Daniel. If you piss of homeland, they're coming for you, not me! lol.

google earth is a nice program as well

I think it is awesome. Breathe Google :roll: