Floor Plans on Google Earth

Recently, an out of town customer was was interested in City Side Lofts, a condominium project in downtown Boise. One challenge was that it was difficult to communicate how the units are laid out, which way the windows face, and what the different views might be. Our solution was to superimpose the floor plans onto Google Earth.

Click here to download the result. Once opened in Google Earth, click and unclick the various folders to see the floor plan for each level.

Combine this with the web cam, and you have a good idea of how the building is put together.

If you have a similar request, I am happy to help!

Touring Homes with Earth Point

When working with clients, I use MS Word or NotePad to keep lists of the MLS numbers we have looked at or are interested in.

To organize the lists, I put a short description at the beginning of each line. The MLS numbers follow, separated by commas. Like this:

Jan 12 looked at: 98280903, 98277414, 98281328
Jan 22 preparation: 98283878, 98280321, 98284890, 98259765

From there it is a simple matter to display the listings on Google Earth. I "copy" a row of MLS Numbers into the clipboard and "paste" it into the MLS Number(s) field on the Earth Point home page.

Download to Google Earth, and there are the listings. I can even take my laptop on tour and use Google Earth to navigate from house to house. Of course, someone else has to drive!

"Year Built" added to search critera

"Year Built" was added at the request of one of our users. Thanks for the input!

Updated Mapping Files

The county mapping files have been updated, which means that the newest addresses and subdivisions can be mapped onto Google Earth. Earth Point gets new mapping data every few months. For the current set, Ada County data was published December 28, 2006. Canyon County data was published January 11, 2007.

Two web cams added

City Side Lofts and Royal Plaza are condominiums under construction in downtown Boise. You can download Boise and Caldwell area web cams from the Around Town page.

Season's Greetings

It has been a real pleasure meeting some of you and helping you with Google Earth and your real estate questions. Thank you everyone for your support and words of encouragement. Based on your feedback, there have been several improvements made since Earth Point went live in March, 2006.

• Listings can be displayed on Google Earth or on Google Maps.
• Improved matching algorithms mean that several hundred more listings are mapped than were previously.
• County assessor data can be mapped for any property, whether or not it is for sale, using the Property Search and County GIS pages.
• Ada County traffic cameras, a guide to Idaho airports, an historical byway, and assorted web cams are featured on the Around Town page.
• Google released version 4 of Google Earth. Version 4 has an improved user interface and handles large amounts of data much better than version 3.
• Google updated the satellite imagery for the Boise area and fixed a large misalignment just west of town.

Remember Your Parents' Interest Rates

This picture helps put things into perspective. It appeared in the Idaho Business Review and was mailed to me by the author.