Homebuyer Help - How to Find Property Lines When Buyers are Ready to Buy a Home in the Nation’s Capital?

When Exclusive Buyer’s Agents of Buyer’s Edge | BuyersAgent.com are out showing real estate to homebuyers in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia, one of our favorite go-to apps we share with our clients when they ask us about the property lines is LandGlide. We don’t rely on identifying property lines by looking at who maintains the grass, the color of the grass, where a telephone pole stands, or where a fence falls between two homes to address these critical decision-making factors! MLS listings do not provide homebuyers with this valuable property line information, so our buyer agents just head on over to LandGlide and use the app’s GPS to pinpoint our location and access key parcel data anywhere. With access to over 150 million property records in 3,000+ counties, our Realtors know the app provides pertinent information when educating our homebuyers before they make an offer on a home of their choice.

What Data Does LandGlide Show?

After the LandGlide app is downloaded (both free and paid access), anyone can learn:

Property Owner

Acreage

Square Footage

Property Address with a little blue Dodge that shows you where you are standing as homebuyers walk around the property.

Sales Price

Building Description

How Easy Are Property Lines Apps to Use When Viewing Houses for Sale in the DMV?
Super Easy and Informative! Watch the Video with Stephen Carpenter-Israel

Stephen Carpenter-Israel, President and Broker of Buyer’s Edge, says, “One of my favorite tools when showing houses is an app called LandGlide. It brings in data from county databases, original subdivision plats, and local tax maps. It collects all the information about the properties and puts it into a live app that can be used on iPhones at the property location. When open, the app shows users where they are currently standing. It maps out all the properties surrounding them. It also shows the property lines from tax maps and homeowner information. With a little, blue dot (Dodge) to pinpoint your exact location, it follows you around as you walk the property lines. The app provides an accurate representation of where your neighbor’s property begins, and the homebuyers’ property line ends. Exclusive Buyer’s Agents no longer have to rely on “old-school practices and real estate folklore” used in the past to help determine potential property boundaries when representing homebuyers. LandGlide is a powerful tool in helping buyers make critical decisions about who owns and maintains what property and if renovations with potential expansions are even possible on a home that clients are narrowing in on. All these factors can now be considered more accurately with this kind of new technology before an offer is made and property survey is completed.” Watch the video about property line apps with Steve in Bethesda, MD, now.

Will Homebuyers Still Need to Have a Property Survey Done When Buying a Home?

Though this new technology is valuable while showing properties to homebuyers in the DMV, it will not replace professional surveyors any time soon. Although, the GPS parcel data marks the approximate home property lines without the expense or time required for an expert surveyor, it can not be used for legal purposes. If homeowners have a property line dispute, the data from LandGlide can not be used in court cases. This is why we still advise our homebuyers to make sure they have a detailed survey of the property, in hand, before the date of settlement.

Which Property Lines App is the Best?

At Buyer’s Edge, we recommend having a survey since the accuracy of the property line apps is based on the data they are using. There are many property line apps to choose from. (Go ahead and Google, “Best Property Line Apps for Android & iPhone.”) Some apps have old data, and some maintain the latest collection of data on property and land. Ultimately, these are useful apps for both personal and business use. We suggest you test a few for free and then find the one that best fits your needs.

Related:
What is an Exclusive Buyer’s Agent, and why should homebuyers care?
Why Use a NAEBA.org Top-Producing Exclusive Buyer’s Broker in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia?
Stephen Carpenter-Israel, Broker and President, Buyer’s Edge, represents the homebuyers in the purchase of historic Clifton Farm in Berryville, Virginia.