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Properties are address-based objects that represent physical locations like homes, buildings, and real estate parcels. They have structured address fields and can link to tax parcel data, elevation certificates, and flood zone information. Properties provide a standardized way to:
  • Track residential and commercial buildings with consistent address information
  • Store elevation data including elevation certificates and lowest floor elevations
  • Link to tax parcel data for property values and ownership information
  • Monitor flood zones with FIRM zone tracking and overrides
  • Document property history through attached records, files, and activity logs

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Key Features

Properties include built-in fields specifically designed for property management:
  • Structured address fields: Street address, city, state, and ZIP code
  • Geocoded coordinates: Automatically generated location coordinates
  • Tax parcel integration: Link to parcel data including property values
  • Elevation data: Base Flood Elevation (BFE), Lowest Floor Elevation (LFE), and datum conversions
  • FIRM zones: Track current flood zones and overrides
  • Property values: Market value, land value, and improvement value
  • Cover images: Upload a primary photo for each property
  • Street view: Enable Google Street View integration
Properties are always displayed as point markers on the map, representing a specific address location. If you need to track areas, lines, or other geometry types, use Custom Objects instead.

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How Properties Work

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Creating Properties

You can create properties in several ways:
  1. Manual entry: Click “Add Property” and enter the address information
  2. Map click: Click a location on the map to create a property at that point
  3. Bulk import: Import multiple properties via CSV or API
When you create a property, Forerunner:
  • Geocodes the address to determine coordinates
  • Searches for matching tax parcel data
  • Creates a point marker on the map
  • Makes the property available in the Properties table

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Property Information Panel

Click any property on the map or in a table to open the Property Information Panel (PIP), which includes:
View property details including:
  • Full address and coordinates
  • Tax parcel information
  • Property values
  • Elevation data and flood zones
  • Custom additional fields

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Common Use Cases

Floodplain Management

Track properties in flood zones, manage elevation certificates, and monitor substantial improvements

Emergency Response

Document damage assessments, coordinate inspections, and track recovery progress

Code Enforcement

Log violations, schedule inspections, and track compliance over time

Grant Management

Maintain property contact information, document mailings, and track engagement

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Property-Specific Features

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Elevation Certificates

Properties support special handling for elevation certificates (ECs):
  • Dedicated upload flow for ECs
  • Automatic field extraction from EC PDFs
  • Base Flood Elevation (BFE) tracking
  • Lowest Floor Elevation (LFE) tracking
  • Datum conversion offsets (NAVD88 vs NGVD29)
Learn more about Elevation Certificates

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Parcel data integration

Properties can link to tax parcel data from external geocoding services:
  • Property values (market, land, improvement)
  • Parcel identifiers
  • Ownership information (depending on data source)
  • Parcel boundaries (shown on map if available)
If parcel data is incorrect or outdated, you can enable the “Ignore parcel” option to prevent automatic parcel linking for specific properties.

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FIRM Zones and Overrides

Track flood zones from FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps:
  • Current FIRM zone designation
  • FIRM panel number
  • Zone overrides for map amendments or revisions
  • Historical zone tracking

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Property Warnings and Flags

Mark properties with important indicators:
  • Repetitive loss properties
  • Severe repetitive loss properties
  • Properties under substantial improvement review
  • Custom warning flags

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Permissions and Visibility

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User Permissions

Property access is controlled by user roles:
  • Admins: Full create, edit, and delete access
  • Editors: Can create and edit properties
  • Viewers: Can view properties but not modify them
  • Guests: Can view non-hidden properties only

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Hidden from Public

Properties can be marked as “Hidden from public” to:
  • Exclude them from public website views
  • Hide them from guest users
  • Prevent display on shared/embedded maps
  • Maintain privacy for sensitive locations

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Hiding or showing a property

Members, managers, and admins can change a property’s public visibility when the Allow manually hiding or showing properties setting is on under Settings › Public website.
  • One property - Open the property and select Hide property from public or Display property to public from its options menu.
  • Several properties - Select them in the Properties table, open the visibility action in the action bar, and choose Hide from public or Show to public. A confirmation describes what the change carries to.
Hiding a property also hides every record and file attached to it. Showing the property again does not show them; they stay hidden until you change their visibility individually.

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Next Steps

Create Properties

Learn how to add new properties to your account

Manage Properties

Update and organize your properties

Upload Elevation Certificates

Add ECs and elevation data to properties

Custom Objects

Learn about the other type of object in Forerunner