Google Earth is not only one of today's most powerful free pieces of software but it is quickly becoming a vital and useful tool for real estate investors.

Google describes it as "a globe that sits inside your computer."

Now you can type in any address and in most instances, get a view that's so good it's almost alarming. So instead of driving to the property you can look at it from the safety and convenience of your computer without the hassle, expense and time waste.

You can also look up road maps, crime statistics and get historic maps.

Talk about detail- a recent scan my own home revealed one of our cars parked in the driveway. I would even see my front door quite clearly.

This is a tool which has the potential to turn due diligence upside down. In fact, average users are reporting that although Google Earth does require quite a bit of RAM, it doesn't have the learning curve you'd expect. Most people are able to use it quickly, within five minutes or so. That's good news for investors who are not computer geeks.

All you have to do to gleam a fantastic close-up image of a property is to click on Fly To. Type in the address and hit the small magnifying glass on the right. Instantly you are carried from orbit all the way to the property's roof.

In fact, if you play with it a little you can adjust the views not only from the top but also from the sides as you pan out and in.

You will be able to see a property from the left and right while looking at as much of the surrounding terrain as you want. To call it addictive is putting it mild.

You may find yourself wandering the globe looking for interesting maps, places and people who happen to show up on the Google camera.

If that wasn't enough, Google has just acquired Image America which is already well known for selling low cost imagery to county appraisers and assessors. What this means for real estate investors is that the images will be even clearer.

That's because they use aerial imagery which is superior to satellite imaging since it can be done in near- real time acquisition. That means it's faster than the satellites which are located 17,000 miles above the earth. And it's more efficient that google's photographs taken from airplanes.

That should solve one of Google Earth's biggest past problems; some blurry images.

Nothing is more irritating than to type in an address and get an image back that's so fuzzy your eyes strain. In the past, this failure has been explained away as perhaps cloudiness in the atmosphere.

Bad images don't come up often, but if it's that one property you really want to see, it can get maddening. Generally, however, most of the larger cities and towns have very good close-ups.

Google Earth definitely solves one of the biggest problems real estate investors have had in the past. Seeing properties up close. When you are located in another state or country this important tool helps make your due diligence a breeze.

To download Google Earth go to

http://google.earth-free.org

Recommended Google Earth Resources:

http://www.gearthblog.com

http://www.gearthhacks.com/

http://googleearthuser.blogspot.com/

For a quick start manual on how to use it go to

http://www.gearthblog.com/basics.html