What PISO knows, where the information comes from, and what the numbers mean.
Where does PISO's information come from?
For U.S. locations, PISO combines public data from the U.S. Census Bureau, HUD, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, CMS, NCES, USDA, FCC, and BEA. Open anything under Explore Local Details to see its specific source and the area that number describes.
How current is the data?
There is no single update date because each source publishes on its own schedule. Census, school, price-level, and HUD releases are generally annual or fiscal-year data, while energy and retailer sources have their own schedules. PISO shows the relevant year, period, or data date and uses dated source snapshots rather than presenting every number as real-time.
Why do some locations show more information than others?
If Google identifies a specific property, PISO can show the full property view. If Google can identify the street together with its local area, PISO can still show nearby essentials and an editable mortgage estimate, but distances are from the mapped point on the street rather than a particular house. If Google returns only a broad highway, ZIP code, or locality, PISO labels the result Location approximation and suppresses distance-based or property-specific features that could be misleading. Some regions also have less coverage from particular public datasets, and PISO leaves those categories out rather than inventing values.
How are school, grocery, and hospital distances measured?
They are straight-line distances from the selected location, not driving distance or travel time. For a mapped street without a house number, the starting point is Google's mapped point on that street.
Does the local information change when I walk around in Street View?
No. PISO anchors its local information to the place you searched. Street View is there so you can visually explore the surrounding neighborhood; walking around inside Street View does not move the data anchor. Search a new place when you want PISO to describe a different area.
Does a nearby school mean a child can attend it?
No. PISO shows nearby public schools from NCES location data. Proximity does not establish attendance boundaries, enrollment eligibility, school quality, or whether a particular address is assigned to that school.
Are the grocery results every store in the area?
No. PISO currently uses USDA SNAP-authorized locations classified as Grocery Store, Supermarket, or Super Store. That is a useful national source, but it is not an exhaustive directory of every food shop.
Does PISO know whether a house is for sale or what the asking price is?
Not by itself. A property-site integration can supply an asking price, and you can always type a price into the mortgage calculator. Without that information, PISO does not claim that a property is for sale, not for sale, or listed at a particular price.
What does the mortgage estimate include?
The calculator starts with a supplied listing price when available, otherwise with the local median home value. You can change the price, down payment, APR, and term. The starting APR is only an illustrative planning assumption, not a current-rate quote; PISO links to the CFPB so you can check current mortgage rates and enter the rate you are actually considering. The estimate includes principal and interest plus a rough area property-tax benchmark, but not insurance, HOA fees, maintenance, or utilities.
What happens to the location I search?
PISO uses Google Maps services to locate the place you enter and display Street View. The current PISO app does not have a customer account system or send your searches to a separate PISO analytics service. Google Maps requests are handled by Google. Use of Google Maps features and content is subject to the Google Maps/Google Earth Additional Terms and the Google Privacy Policy.
How current is the Street View image?
Street View imagery comes from Google, and the capture date varies by location. PISO does not control when Google photographed a road. The local cost information and the Street View image can therefore have different dates.