Understanding Realist Map Tools

The Map tools allow you to customize the Map to give you a better perspective on a search area. This gives you the ability to visually scan important information about a property and its surrounding areas and also easily target properties in specific geographic areas.

Accessing the Map Tools

The Realist Map tools are available on the toolbar on the right side of the Map when you are in the Road view.

Click a tool to open the tool options. Each tool is described in the sections that follow.

TIP: You can display up to six combinations of Map boundaries and trend layers simultaneously. The number of items selected appears at the bottom of the Boundaries and Trends tool windows.

Drawing Tools

The drawing tools let you work directly on the Map to refine and enhance the area you are looking at:

The following drawing tools are available:

• Shape Tools: The shape tools allow you to draw a circle, rectangle, or polygon around an area to focus a search within the shape area, find properties within a certain radius of a school or other point of interest, and measure distances. You can draw up to five shapes covering an area up to 6.875 miles.
• Annotation Tool: You can annotate the Map so a cloud appears near an area with any notes you want to appear on the Map when you print it.

Refer to Working with Drawing Tools for more information.

Boundaries

The Boundaries tool controls boundary lines that appear on the Map, including zip codes, county lines, parcel boundaries, school district boundaries, and even neighborhood boundaries:

Property and Sales Information

Property and Sales Information lets you display property information such as Foreclosures, MLS Listings, Recent Sales, and Property Characteristics on the Map to provide a holistic view of the activity in a given area. This information is especially helpful when conducting searches using the Map or to show activity around a subject property.

Refer to Displaying Sales and Listing Data on the Realist Map for complete details.

Trends

The Trends tool gives you a quick view into the sales and market trends for a particular area – either by zip code or neighborhood:

Refer to Researching Market Trends for complete details.

Points of Interest

The Points of Interest tool helps you quickly locate points of interest in a particular area, or near a particular property, including things like banks, schools, restaurants, gas stations, and many more. You can use this tool in conjunction with drawing tools to measure distances or points within a radius.

Refer to Finding Points of Interest for details.

Driving Directions

The Driving Directions tool lets you quickly find directions to a specific address and print or email them to yourself or a client. This tool helps you go directly from your research to your car and off to the property.

Refer to Finding Driving Directions for details.