GIS Mapping "side hustle"

[Max Householder]

Hi, I am curious about the needs of Real Estate Agents and Investors when it comes to mapping using GIS (geographic information systems). I create maps using GIS at my day job and thought it might be an interesting "side hustle" to sell my expertise to folks in real estate. I know that between Google Earth Pro and county-maintained GIS platforms it is possible to get a lot of property information for free, but I imagine that for folks without day-to-day experience, it can be time-consuming and often frustrating.

On top of that, often times data is unavailable in less urban areas or available only in paper or PDF format which means scanning photo-copied images that are barely readable. There are ways around this, but they take expertise and the right software. I can't tell you how many times I have looked at a property ad for (usually vacant) land, or even some residential properties, and I spend as much time trying to figure out on my own exactly what the property lines are and where it's located as I do reading the ad because the description is vague or the uploaded plat map is an unreadable photo copy.

The true power of GIS comes from layering different datasets on top of one another to create a full picture. I imagine this would be useful for developers or folks working on more complex transactions. Heck, even an agent selling retail could use some presentation-quality maps to provide for open houses or to provide a concise picture of the neighborhood.

My question is: would folks in the industry pay for services like this to a "desktop GIS handyman" of sorts? $50-100 spent on a few hours of GIS-based due dilligence or marketing materials could go a long way toward getting that big commission or pushing a deal over the finish line. True blue GIS consulting firms generally cost $100s per hour for even the most basic services. Anyways, thoughts on an approach like this would be appreciated. I would think Craiglist and referrals would be the best way to gather side work like this, but how could it be marketed? Is this just a pipedream that REI pros would pay for this vs. spending extra time doing it themselves for free or hiring an intern/VA/assistant/bird-dog to run this stuff down? Thanks in advance for any responses!

[Natalya Murphy]

For vacant land, I'd want to know how far current power, water and sewer lines come to the property.   Also, if there's one entity that owns a lot of the land around there, show their holdings.

For occupied properties, a "heat map" of crime reports in the area might be interesting.   Registered sex offenders would be another good thing to show right on an overlay.   Scores for surrounding schools.    Floodplains.

Just a few off-the-top-of-my-head thoughts.