Google MAPS!!

I just ran across something and I HAD to share. Me and my boyfriend [don't get any crazy ideas we are also getting married] are currently looking for a house. And every one knows about this current house market, ecomony, etc so we just want to get it right. Anyways.. There is this website called www.goscoutshomes.com. On there you simply type in your preferences [num of bedrooms/bathrooms, fireplace, approx sq ft, etc] and then they show you a long list of all the houses that fit your criteria in the house market within your specified search limit. Well, like on all sites, they show you a 'few' pictures of the houses. Some only show you the inside, some shows just the back yard or front yard, and some have this tiny picture of the front of the house.

Because of the fair supply of pics, a semi-interested home buyer will have to hop in their cars, spend $25 on gas [just to go most likely around the block], arrive to the house, then ride home filled with mixed emotions cause the house or even the neighborhood was way under par and the drive and gas it took to get there was a complete waste. Or to some house buyers worst nightmare, they see a picture of a house online that they loved and rush to their cars as if to be united with the home of their dreams. BUT instead they are placed face-to-housefront with something that looks nothing like their picture and again is forced to go home with mixed emotions..

WELL, TO ALL HOME BUYERS:: I have a solution..... GOOGLE MAPS.. With the addition of the street view feature, you can now see the actual house WITHOUT LEAVING YOUR HOUSE. You are not dreaming so please stop pinching yourself and you can also stop trying to adjust your computer screen cause you read it correctly. With Google Maps, you can actually see the front of the house and as an added bonus you can even check out a few neighbors [I can't speak for everyone, but neighbors will make or break my buy]..

All you have to do is type in the address you got from your home search engine. And then VIOLA!!! a dialog box will open showing you a current picture of the house. Then if you click on that picture, you can scroll down the street to check out the side of the house and the other neighbors.

But the trip part is, Google Maps street view pictures are updated constantly. You have no worries of seeing a picture from the 1990s cause from my research, Google Maps was updated sometime in April 2008.

So consider your prayers answered. Now you can save on gas and the potential embarassment of arriving to a house in which the picture was way off base.

Try out Google Maps [ http://maps.google.com ].. I guarantee you will love it. After you try it out, let me know how you like it..

Peace..