Drones For Real Estate... Yeay or Nay?

Drones can be advantageous with Real Estate transactions, and you can use them to direct the camera in the direction you want so do not need to include the trailer park across the road.  As you said however, use with the right intentions and motive, and do not use it in a way that may be a disservice to your clients.  They are fairly low cost, and can add value to some properties.

I own a drone, a DJI Phantom 3, which is for roof inspections when the roof is unsafe or unable to be otherwise inspected.  I also have a pole camera, a special pole designed for roof inspections which is 25 feet long.  You can read about that here.  Back to the drone, they are perfect and the cost is not incredibly high.  I would recommend, if it has a beginner mode, to keep in that setting.  The DJI in beginner mode will not fly higher than 400 feet, or more than around 500 feet away from you (could be off on the numbers a bit but you get the idea).  These are good safeguards and are more than adequate for Home Inspection purposes and likely most Real Estate use.  Please do it legally, when a drone is used for Real Estate or Home Inspection, it is considered commerial use and there are rules that need to be followed.  In America check the FAA regulartions, in Canada, Transport Canada also has rules.  In Canada we need a drone pilot license and must have the drone insured.

Great post, Karen Butler and excellent points made. I did appreciate the comment you already received from Robin Wells !

I have paid photographers that have drones enough that I finally bought my own DJI Phantom 4 since I knew what they were capable of and yet the people that I paid didn't appear to.

They are not for everything, but even if the house isn't worthy, maybe the nearby park or river or golf course is.  The cool thing about a drone is that you can pick the perfect angle without cropping out the high tension power lines, the cemetary across the street, etc.

I am going on a listing appointment tomorrow and I will be shooting some of the Payette River, a new home community, maybe a bunch of deer and elk, etc.  These will be used for lifestyle tours for that home and future homes in that area.

Ahh, come on Karen are you telling us we can't use a drone for everything?? That would make a good spoof - doing the whole drone tour, the fly thru the house video  on say an 800 sq ft house. Am still laughing about reaching out the window to borrow a cup of sugar! Nice post.

Karen Butler I clicked LIKE.  My son has a phantom and uses it in his travel blogs.  http://wanderlustyle.com/ we have used a smaller drone and flew it through the INSIDE of a home, pretty neat.

Drone stills and video loops to edit into your real estate production are worth it. How you apply the drone is a case by case basis. Get Part 107 FAA licensed to fly even if you don't hire out and only produce your own footage Karen Butler ! For farms, woodlots, waterfront properties the drone is priceless.