Simple answers
before you spend
serious money.

We help people understand land before they buy it, build on it, improve it, or make decisions about it. That can include property maps, environmental record checks, drainage review, soil observations, well water testing, agricultural soil sampling, drone imagery, and satellite-based land analysis.

Yes. You do not need to know the technical term. You can simply explain the property, what you are worried about, and what decision you are trying to make. We can help you choose a reasonable starting point.

Send the property address, parcel number if you have it, approximate acreage, the state it is in, and what you are trying to decide. A short sentence like “I am buying this land and want to know if there are drainage, flood, wetland, environmental, soil, or water concerns” is enough to start.

For field services, our main service area is Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. For GIS mapping, desktop environmental screening, remote sensing, and other desk-based work, remote projects may be available outside that area.

Start with the issues that can affect value, use, and future cost: access, floodplain, wetlands, drainage, old land use, nearby environmental records, soil conditions, and well water if the property has a private well.

Yes. A pre-purchase review can help you decide whether to keep moving forward, ask more questions, renegotiate, or bring in another professional before closing.

We can identify concerns and explain what they may mean, but we do not make the final buying decision for you. Our role is to give you clear information so you can make a better decision with your realtor, attorney, lender, engineer, or other advisors.

Yes. A desktop review or basic map package can often help you decide whether a property deserves deeper due diligence before you commit to larger costs.

GIS mapping takes property data, aerial imagery, flood maps, wetland maps, roads, elevation, parcels, and other location-based information and turns it into a clear map or report.

No. A GIS map is useful for planning, context, constraints, drainage, exhibits, and early decisions. A legal boundary survey must be completed by a licensed surveyor.

We can review FEMA floodplain maps, elevation data, drainage paths, and nearby low areas to help identify flood or drainage concerns. This is useful for early planning, but it is not the same as an engineered flood study.

We can review public wetland mapping and show where mapped features may affect a property. That does not replace a formal wetland delineation. If a project depends on the exact wetland boundary, field review by the appropriate qualified professional may be needed.

Yes. We can use elevation data, aerial imagery, and map layers to help show likely runoff direction, low areas, ditches, drainage corridors, and places where water may collect.

Environmental screening is a public-records review that looks for possible concerns tied to a property or nearby sites. That can include tanks, spills, permits, violations, old industrial use, floodplain, wetlands, and historical aerial imagery.

No. Our environmental screening is for planning and informational purposes. It is not a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, legal opinion, or certification that a property is clean.

A screening can be a lower-cost first look. It can help you decide whether the property seems low-risk, whether you should ask more questions, or whether a full Phase I ESA is worth paying for. If a lender, attorney, or transaction requires a formal Phase I, a screening is not a substitute.

We can look for signs of potential concern in public records, maps, and historical imagery. We cannot certify that a property is clean based only on a desktop screen. If risk is serious, the next step may be a Phase I ESA, file review, site visit, sampling, or another qualified professional.

UST means underground storage tank. In plain language, it usually refers to a buried tank that may have held fuel or another regulated material. Former gas stations, shops, farms, or commercial sites may have tank history worth checking.

Yes, it is usually a good idea if the property uses a private well. Well water testing can help identify bacteria, nitrates, hardness, iron, manganese, pH issues, and other concerns depending on the selected lab panel.

Soil profiling means looking below the surface and describing the soil layers, texture, color, drainage indicators, depth to seasonal water, and possible restrictive layers or bedrock. In plain language, it helps answer what the ground is actually like below the grass.

Soil can affect drainage, wetness, excavation, access, crop use, site planning, and whether additional review is needed before construction or development decisions.

Yes. Agricultural soil sampling can help evaluate pH, organic matter, phosphorus, potassium, nutrient trends, and field differences. The goal is to turn lab numbers into a clearer field-level summary.

It means the sample is documented from collection to lab submission so there is a clear record of where it came from, who handled it, and how it was submitted.

Drone mapping can show the whole property from above. It can help document drainage features, land disturbance, construction progress, crop stress, stockpiles, ponds, access roads, and site conditions that are hard to understand from the ground.

An orthomosaic is a detailed top-down map made from many overlapping drone photos stitched together. Think of it as a high-detail aerial map that can be used for planning, measurements, and GIS work.

Volumetric calculations estimate how much material is in a stockpile, excavation, or earthwork area. This can help contractors, property owners, and project managers verify quantities instead of guessing.

No. Some questions can be answered with public data, GIS, satellite imagery, or existing records. A drone flight is most useful when current, site-specific aerial detail matters.

Commercial drone work must be performed by an FAA Part 107 remote pilot. Brooks Geoconsulting conducts commercial drone operations under FAA Part 107 requirements.

Depending on the service, you may receive a map, written report, lab interpretation letter, sample-location map, boring log, aerial imagery product, drainage review, or integrated findings report.

Yes. The Pricing & Samples page includes downloadable sample deliverables so you can see the general format and level of detail before committing.

Yes. A client may need more than one layer of information. For example, a land buyer may want a property map, environmental screening, drainage review, and well water testing.

Some services may require outside laboratory costs. Those costs depend on the sample type and lab panel selected. Any lab or third-party cost should be identified before work begins.

No. Brooks Geoconsulting is not a licensed engineering firm, land surveying firm, or law firm. Our work is for planning, screening, mapping, and informational support unless reviewed or verified by the appropriate licensed professional.