Check out a neighborhood without leaving your office.

[William Baumann]

So I got an email from a new investor looking for advice, lets call her Alice.  Alice and her husband only have one car that he uses for work.  She found a possible deal and wanted to look at the house and the neighborhood but due to her husbands job it makes it very hard, and wanted to know if I had any ideas.

My recomendation, Google Earth.  Google Earth is a great mapping tool and also has the advantage of "Street View".  You can literally "drive" the area virtually and get an idea of the area, type of neighborhood, daytime activity, and get a look at the outside of the house.  While it is obviously best to physically go to a place in person, google earth can be an option for the times you can't be there. 

[Lee S.]

what do you guys think of contacting someone on BP or even running an add on craigslist and paying say $50 for example to do a video drive by?

I'm looking to invest out of state and thought this might work to check up on properties independent of PM every couple of months.