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Land tells a story. Sell it with Land id: Tech Review

The web and mobile app offers in-depth information on a global resource that can no longer be produced — land
Map iD
Land tells a story

The web and mobile application offers users exceptionally in-depth information on the one global resource that can no longer be produced — land.

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Land id is a land research and presentation solution.

Platforms: Browser; companion app

Ideal for: Homebuyers, investors, developers, agents

Top selling points:

• Engaging UI/UX
• Depth of data/insights
• Site plan overlay/insertion
• Embeddable presentations
• Measurement tools

Top concern(s):

A great-to-have resource when you need it. I fear that it would be too under-valued and that users would neglect what it’s capable of adding to their business, or not understand how it can be applied.

What you should know

Land id couldn’t be more aptly named. (As much as I also love TopHap, in comparison, you should see people’s faces when I recommend it.) The web and mobile application offers users exceptionally in-depth information on the one global resource that can no longer be produced — land.

High-level views offer plot lines and ownership labels. Zoom in and access some of the layering options and onboard features, and you’ll find an addicting, informative way to know more about what’s around you than your competition.

Any agent who has ever sold land or aspires to, or who works with homebuilders, could benefit from this application. It renders quickly, offers a low learning curve and provides a number of useful marketing presentation features.

A standout feature is the geo-referenced site plan integration. Builders working on a new project, for example, can upload and overlay an image of their site plan drawing on the map and it will snap directly into its correct orientation.

This provides a terrific overview of how a building will interact with what’s around it, enabling stakeholders to adjust ingress or egress if needed, or alter setbacks, for example. It’s also a fantastic way to present publicly a proposed development to a skeptical municipal board, not that they ever have an issue with new developments. Ahem.

Most of us have seen how Matterport (and that’s what this is: Matterport for land.) and iGuide allow you to measure a room from its digital twin. Land id does the same, but for sprawling wooded plots, timber stands or whatever the potential investment.

That’s not data easily verified by hand, in case you’re wondering. You don’t need to hire an aerial photographer, but I imagine a surveyor will still be needed, because “that’s how we always do it.”

Overlays allow the user to click on and off layers of information, such as contour lines for elevation insights, conservation easements (more common in the West), soil reports, city limits, flood zones, school zones, water districts and even grazing allotments, oil wells and game management areas. Maps will default to parcel views, which show who owns what.

For example, I learned that the Hualapai Indian Tribe, a remote native people concentrated in rural northern Arizona along old Route 66, a place I used to spend some time, owns a bunch of acres less than a mile from me outside Lake Tahoe, California. Why? I have no idea, but it’s cool to know.

I also learned what parts of the Truckee River waterline are controlled by the San Francisco Fly Casters Association, the use of which has become problematic for locals. For an agent helping a second homeowner who wants to wet a line, this is valuable stuff to know.

Oh, something else cool? If you’re selling a home by a golf course, Land id can label each hole so a person can select accordingly. Nice touch.

Maps can be viewed in 3D or flat modes or toggled into infrared, vintage topo, modern topo, NAIP (National Agriculture Imagery Program) or hexagonal aerial modes. Users can create and save maps in their accounts, too.

Punching in an address highlights the home or parcel and surfaces a breakdown of pertinent data points, such as lat/long coordinates, land value, acreage, deed type, land use, parcel ID, and sale history with mortgage amounts and tax payment. I did notice that the total value was not accurate, or at least not synced with the market.

Land id has a mobile app with what I was told is 90 percent of the functionality, which is impressive for this kind of presentation power.

Look, this is an awesome tool. Is it an everyday login for the majority of agents out there? Not really. But for anyone who works with developers or in a fast-growing market, it can be exceptionally valuable.

New agents wanting to understand their community, teams going after developers or agents breaking into new builds would all be wise to get an account. It can only make you better at your job, and that’s what software is supposed to do.

For some existing use cases, check out Wild Flower Ranch and Burgher-Ray Ranch Group.

Have a technology product you would like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe

Craig C. Rowe started in commercial real estate at the dawn of the dot-com boom, helping an array of commercial real estate companies fortify their online presence and analyze internal software decisions. He now helps agents with technology decisions and marketing through reviewing software and tech for Inman.

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