Any use cases for satellite imagery when making investment decisions?
Wondering if anyone here uses satellite imagery today when evaluating properties. If so, what kind of data are you collecting?
[{"id": "iirw8z0", "text": "Building dimensions, building condition (sometimes), historic use or condition, neighboring uses, water drainage paths.", "replies": [{"id": "iiry2tb", "text": "Could you not get dimensions and neighboring info from costar or something? I know not everyone has access which I assume is your case?", "replies": [{"id": "iirzaa7", "text": "Costars mapping really isnt great.  I have costar and still use gov gis systems typically and light box", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "iis3sfv", "text": "I don't have costar, but yes there are multiple platforms to get at all of that information, including visually from satellite info. Personally, not a broker, I'm not going to pay them for info I get from local GIS, Google Earth, etc.\n\nIf OP had asked \"Do you need another platform or service to provide this\", I'd reply in the negative.", "replies": [{"id": "iisb543", "text": "Do you ever count objects in an area or vicinity to a property? For example, number of cars in a parking lot on a given day?  Or solar exposure in the area?\n\nCostar data is stale and everyone has access to it in my space, so I am looking for unique insights that might give me and my team and edge", "replies": [{"id": "iiupozn", "text": "Solar exposure is readily available. Parking counts over time is an interesting idea for measuring building performance or occupancy.", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "iit45w4", "text": "For any water concerns use the FEMA flood map", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iirz4us", "text": "Net acrage, zoning, dimensions, conditions, access, visibility, area, flood zones, wetlands, are all common things I look at with gis systems", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iis0if6", "text": "Would drone pictures be more useful for checking property condition?", "replies": [{"id": "iis1dtj", "text": "Probably but it also requires you hire someone, pay them, then wait several days.  If you have 10 properties on your desk you are trying to research for 20 minutes each gis will tell you tons and its good enough.  Drones are frequently used in inspections but that doesnt occur until much later in the process.  At that point you have boots on the ground too", "replies": [{"id": "iis1sbs", "text": "Oh, I thought OP was referring to looking at OMs or marketing material. I didn\u2019t even think about the possibility it could be for properties that aren\u2019t necessarily listed yet.", "replies": [{"id": "iis32gr", "text": "Oh yea they are for sure used in oms and marketing.  I do that too.  Tbh just personally I consider that more a professional and clean thing than a useful thing though .  I wouldnt expect anyone to put drone pics in that highlight a bad roof section or whatever", "replies": [{"id": "iis38i2", "text": "I appreciate that. I am actually adding drone shots to one of my packages right now specifically because the roof is new. I think drone shots add to the ground pics, but never knew if they are helpful for investors or just pretty.", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iisgyyl", "text": "I use historical imagery all the time. No one ever looks at historical data, but old sales signs can get you a call into someone who might have insights on past issues or just some inside knowledge. Historical flood is pretty big after the most recent FEMA map so you know if you even have a shot at a LOMA.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iisu86y", "text": "Use all the info and data that you can", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iit0kvl", "text": "Keep in mind how recent that imagery actually is.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iiu2ufs", "text": "I collect street level-imagery from fleet telematics providers. It's good to get some very recent ground-truth images and videos of the actual roadways.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iiud6l6", "text": "Today, Google street view was invaluable for disqualifying several comps used by the appraiser.   Rolling back to prior drive-bys  was helpful to see that a billboard had been on the parcel.", "replies": [{"id": "iiugn7d", "text": "Nice catch", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iiufy79", "text": "I like to use google street view\u2019s ability to go back in time to see historic images of the property and surrounding area. Doing this is helpful to provide color on the property\u2019s past condition and the neighborhood\u2019s development.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iiugc6u", "text": "I have a friend that counts coal cars going into coal powered energy plants to determine the production and future price of energy.", "replies": [{"id": "iiwj16w", "text": "Ive heard of companies doing that with factories too to estimate production levels.  I think the context I saw it was chip labs.  Apparently its so common they get empty semis and move them around randomly to make it more difficult", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]