FAQ's
Make sure your company is abiding by the FAA Laws for commercial drone use.
The commercial real estate business itself has enough rules, regulations, stipulations, etc. It's hard enough to keep up with and to make sure you are following it all, it can be a real stress.
If you are wanting to keep up with the industry, you will end up using unmanned aerial systems better known as "drones" in your commercial real estate marketing. You simply won't be able to compete. It is inevitable as the use of the internet was in the 90's. A lot of people resisted for a while, but eventually, to keep up with the market, they had to make use and implement the technology.
Well unmanned aerial systems / Drones are the new technology when it comes to marketing for your commercial real estate. It simply goes hand and hand. There is no better way to show case a property whether it is bare land, or an existing booming business, than with the use of aerial unmanned systems / "drones."
But just like with everything else, there are rules, regulations, laws, myths, facts, privacy issues and safety. Can you or someone you know go buy a drone, and do this work yourself? Sure, if you become certified, become educated in Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premier. Have experience in photography, videography, camera settings, video editing, real estate, familiar with airspace, familiar with privacy laws (per state), knowledgable in RC radio signals and interference's that can cause disconnects between you and the aircraft. Familiar with safety and emergency procedures in case you lose connection between you and the unmanned aircraft.
Point being, you are in commercial real estate, you have enough on you without having to study and educate yourself on an entire other industry. We here at 360 Drone Services, are familiar and very knowledgable on the FAA laws, rules, regulations, and restrictions. We are FAA Certified, hold a NC Permit, insured with State Farm and Verifly.
The only thing that comes before getting you the best aerial media on the market, is safety and legalities. We have you covered in that department. But if you want to read through our FAQ page, maybe some of your questions will be answered. But if it is not, feel free to email any questions you have to Michael@360vdrone.com
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FA
Q: How can drones REALLY benefit my real estate business?
Potential ROI: Landing and Marketing Listings
Since there is so much buzz (no pun intended) around drones these days and the FAA just relaxed their strict rules, your clients WILL probably at least ask about using a drone for your listing. We’ll go over which types of listings benefit most from real estate drone photography and which don’t next, but for now, we’re going to focus on the potential value add for marketing.
Here’s what drone photography can add to your marketing efforts:
1. Novelty (For Now)
Like most real estate journalists I would bet my life savings that this is about to change dramatically, but for now, drones are hot. There are going to be articles in newspapers, fluff pieces on the evening news, and a ton of coverage on blogs. This intends that drone photos and videos are a novelty. There is still a “wow” factor to drone videos, and I don’t think that’s going away anytime soon. Since home buying is a primarily emotional decision, novelty sells.
Brian Dougherty ($23 million sales volume in 2015), co-owner of Boston and Cambridge-based real estate firm Robert Paul Properties leveraged the novelty factor of drone video to sell a property sight-unseen:
“Recently, a cash buyer from overseas purchased one of my properties sight unseen after watching a video shot partially with drones. Drone video footage adds an exciting dimension and a unique perspective that standard marketing photos can’t convey.
Drone photos and videos also help us secure listings and prospective sellers realize that we are offering a tool and resource that not all of our competitors do.”
You Can Show the Entire Property
If there is one universal truth about home buyers, it’s that they are terrible at visualizing space. Most listing photography does little to help. For example, say your listing has a huge 3 acre backyard, but 75% of it is obscured by trees. The photo on your listing makes it look tiny. With a drone shot, you could capture the entire yard in one picture to show them just how big a space it really is.
Potentially Viral (People WILL Share Drone Videos)
Home hunters share listing photos with friends and family all the time. They may tell you they’re asking for a second opinion, but a lot of the time they’re just sharing something pretty. My cousin, a successful attorney from Atlanta, posted dozens of listing pictures on her facebook feed when she was hunting for a house. If any of those listings had well-shot drone videos I guarantee she would have posted every single one of them.
Use It As a Prospecting Tool
Most people only see real estate drone photography as a way to market their listings, but you can use them for a lot more. Can you imagine pitching a FSBO or Expired listing by offering to show them the gorgeous aerial footage of their house and neighborhood you shot last weekend? Can you imagine showing up to your pitch with a picture like this?
You Can Capture the Entire Neighborhood
Instead of just shooting houses, you can create drone videos of the local neighborhood. These videos can make amazing “stock” footage to use on your website and general videos about your services.
6. You Can Show Distances to Amenities
Is there a beautiful little park or nice beach close to your listing? Again, most home buyers are terrible about estimating space or distances. How long does it take to walk 1000 feet? With drone photography instead of telling them, you can show them. You would need to shoot ten standard pictures to get the same effect.
Roof Access
Did your seller just spend $20,000 on a new roof? With aerial photography, you can show off that expensive work and put potential buyers at ease.
It Helps You Sell Land
While real estate drone photography is indeed perfect for marketing houses, the real benefit is in land sales. Instead of a blurry google map or illustration, you can show clients what the property looks like today.
How Much Should You Pay for Real Estate Drone Photography?
Like most creative services, pricing for drone photography can vary wildly. Your location, the skill and reputation of the photographer, the amount of editing needed, and the difficulty of what you want to shoot all effect price.
As a general rule of thumb, though, you should expect to pay around $150-$300 for 1-10 aerial still photos, and around $300-$1000 for a 1-5 minute video. Editing and revisions may or may not be included in the price so always ask before hiring someone.
With the new FAA regulations in place, you should expect to see real estate drone photography popping up in more and more real estate marketing. In order to stay ahead of the competition, you should take the time to learn how to integrate drones into your current marketing efforts.