Real Estate

[Dew024]

Hey guys...how do you guys go about getting clients to shoot real estate for? I’ve emailed around and got no responses.

 

[Robert Mitchell]

Hey guys...how do you guys go about getting clients to shoot real estate for? I’ve emailed around and got no responses.

I'm going to first assume you are very good with a camera, both video and still, and have honed your drone skills to the point where your presentation is effective and editing flawless. I'm also going to assume you have your p107 and insurance.

Even then, it's not easy to get clients.The easiest way is to know someone in the industry and convince them that your skills (photographic and video) are up to par to make it worth their money. You need to show them your 107 certificate to ease their concerns of liability. You might also need to shoot a few properties for free to have a portfolio to demonstrate your skills. You will probably never make it doing drone photography alone. Most agencies want you to provide other services also such as MLS stills. They will almost always use the person who can provide the whole package.

Despite common belief, real estate photography is a highly specialized and skilled endeavour. If you luck into a client based only on a cold call email, you probably aren't going to get far unless the above requirements are met. The competition is fierce.

 

[Mavic Mac]

IMHO, in addition to what @Robert Mitchell said, would be to go to the various real estate offices with business cards and meet face to face with prospective clients

 

[GadgetGuy]

Hey guys...how do you guys go about getting clients to shoot real estate for? I’ve emailed around and got no responses.

Finding real estate clients who will pay you to shoot real estate this late in the game, at a price you can still make a profit, is the real challenge. The bar to entry is now a $399 Mavic Mini which doesn't even require registration! Most commercial drone pilots have moved on to greener pastures!

 

[BigAl07]

Finding real estate clients who will pay you to shoot real estate this late in the game, at a price you can still make a profit, is the real challenge. The bar to entry is now a $399 Mavic Mini which doesn't even require registration! Most commercial drone pilots have moved on to greener pastures!

If you're using it for Commercial Use it does have to be registered. There is no Min Weight for Commercial Registration .

 

[Letmein]

I am a real estate agent and real estate photographer. Licensed since 1984... I've been shooting real estate photography for 6 years. Now add in the drone photography... that's been almost 2 years. Just because you have a drone doesn't make you a photographer. There are plenty of sites that promise you make money with your drone. I'm on BOTH sides. What advice I can tell you is... you better know photoshop or Lightroom and if doing video... Adobe Premier... because that's your post editing. Real estate agents are bombarded with solicitations everyday. My business 1st came from my office... then... other agents who have seen my work through the MLS system... and by other agents asking who they use. I'm not the most expensive... I'd rather have quantity... than a few jobs here and there. What I also promise them is same day service... satisfaction guaranteed. As an agent... I know what they are looking for... the angles needed. Know your competition! You have to understand that your asking an agent to put their commission at stake with your work. It's their baby. Get yourself a portfolio showing your work... so you can demonstrate up front your work. Also... as said before... it's not just drone... but interior photography as well... staging the home...ect ect.

 

[robertb]

As a real estate broker, real estate photographer, and 107 holder, I hope my thoughts are helpful.

Agents don't care about a 107 certificate and the concern of liability is far from their mind. When a new agent client calls me for photography services, there are usually three questions:

1. How much do you charge?
2. How many photos do I get?
3. How quickly do you send them to me?

I have been a real estate broker for about 15 years. Initially, I photographed my own listings and started to enjoy the photography side of things. In 2011, a few fellow agents asked me to photograph their listings and my photography business began. I am not a high volume photographer but shoot about 100 homes a year. Few of those warrant aerial imagery. (I live in the San Diego area, btw.)

When I was trying to get new photography clients, I would send an email to agents with new listings and bad photos. That did not work. Agents who don't want to spend money on pro photography are hard to convert to photography clients. Going after agents who already use a professional photographer resulted in far better results. Remember, the three questions above? Real estate photography in my area starts at about $150 for still ground based images. Photographers typically add-on drone shots for $75-$150. We have a large number of RE photogs in the area and pricing is the primary competition tool. But, quality can vary greatly among photographers and price is not indicative of the image quality.

At the start, I had a sales pitch which included a no-risk benefit. "Hello my name is Robert. I am a real estate photographer and would like to offer professional photography for your listing at 1234 Main Street with no risk to you. If you allow me to photograph the property and like the images I provide, you pay me $X. If you don't feel the images provide you $X value, simply delete the images and there is no obligation." This seemed to work quite well. I used this technique to get started and only had two out of about fifty shoots not generate revenue. Did I do some work for free? Yes. But, it paid off in the long run.

As far as contacting agents, I get plenty of email messages from title companies, home warranty providers, home inspection services, and photographers. Those messages come in such mass that I don't give them any attention. Personal contact is what works with me. I am 50 years old though so perhaps other generations react differently.

To make contact with agents, open house visits are a good idea. If the agents are holding an open house and it is not busy, I enjoy having sales calls made. As long as I am not engaging with a potential buyer or client, a little extra conversation during an open house is always welcome.

I hope this information help.

Robert

 

[Robert Mitchell]

As a real estate broker, real estate photographer, and 107 holder, I hope my thoughts are helpful.

Agents don't care about a 107 certificate and the concern of liability is far from their mind. When a new agent client calls me for photography services, there are usually three questions:

1. How much do you charge?
2. How many photos do I get?
3. How quickly do you send them to me?

I have been a real estate broker for about 15 years. Initially, I photographed my own listings and started to enjoy the photography side of things. In 2011, a few fellow agents asked me to photograph their listings and my photography business began. I am not a high volume photographer but shoot about 100 homes a year. Few of those warrant aerial imagery. (I live in the San Diego area, btw.)

When I was trying to get new photography clients, I would send an email to agents with new listings and bad photos. That did not work. Agents who don't want to spend money on pro photography are hard to convert to photography clients. Going after agents who already use a professional photographer resulted in far better results. Remember, the three questions above? Real estate photography in my area starts at about $150 for still ground based images. Photographers typically add-on drone shots for $75-$150. We have a large number of RE photogs in the area and pricing is the primary competition tool. But, quality can vary greatly among photographers and price is not indicative of the image quality.

At the start, I had a sales pitch which included a no-risk benefit. "Hello my name is Robert. I am a real estate photographer and would like to offer professional photography for your listing at 1234 Main Street with no risk to you. If you allow me to photograph the property and like the images I provide, you pay me $X. If you don't feel the images provide you $X value, simply delete the images and there is no obligation." This seemed to work quite well. I used this technique to get started and only had two out of about fifty shoots not generate revenue. Did I do some work for free? Yes. But, it paid off in the long run.

As far as contacting agents, I get plenty of email messages from title companies, home warranty providers, home inspection services, and photographers. Those messages come in such mass that I don't give them any attention. Personal contact is what works with me. I am 50 years old though so perhaps other generations react differently.

To make contact with agents, open house visits are a good idea. If the agents are holding an open house and it is not busy, I enjoy having sales calls made. As long as I am not engaging with a potential buyer or client, a little extra conversation during an open house is always welcome.

I hope this information help.

Robert

So you are telling us that agents simply don’t care about certification, and the legal/federal liability this might focus on them?

That might be true where you are at, but many agents around here are acutely aware of the potential consequences of hiring noncompliant operators, and are glad to see that you are a certified operator.

And lastly, those who don’t care to find out, or simply don’t care at all, are doing a huge disservice to those of us who chose to go the extra step. I get that that doesn’t make us any more qualified... but that’s a whole different thread.

 

[robertb]

So you are telling us that agents simply don’t care about certification, and the legal/federal liability this might focus on them?

Correct. I am also a full sized airplane pilot so I am aware of the enforcement ability of the FAA. But when it comes to drone usage in San Diego, there are almost no enforcement actions taking place. I spoke with an FAA FSDO compliance inspector about the topic a year ago. He said they have a bunch of drones which where found on the airport property at our main commercial airport Lindbergh Field. They just keep them in a box and don't even bother looking to see who owns them.

That might be true where you are at, but many agents around here are acutely aware of the potential consequences of hiring noncompliant operators, and are glad to see that you are a certified operator.

I am glad agents in your area view things differently.

And lastly, those who don’t care to find out, or simply don’t care at all, are doing a huge disservice to those of us who chose to go the extra step. I get that that doesn’t make us any more qualified... but that’s a whole different thread.

Prior to getting my 107, I had agents ask if I provide drone service. I explained that I am a pilot of full size aircraft and cannot jeopardize my pilot's certificate by flying a drone where it cannot legally be done (San Diego has a lot of small airports and two busy class B airports - very complex airspace with prior permission required in a lot of the county). When I declined to offer the service, they would easily go hire someone else to do the job without any concerns about the legality of the operation. My potential competition is happy to break the rules. I was not because I had something to loose. My competition knows the FAA is not conducting any enforcement. And, even if they get caught, the FAA can't take away their pilot certificate because they don't have one.

A RE photographer friend of mine has been flying without a 107 and constantly violates airspace restrictions. He has been making very good money for about 3 years with his drones. It adds about $25,000 a year to his regular photography income. Until there is an injury or property damage and gets caught, he will continue on his path... all the way to the bank.

 

[Stradigal]

Where I live (UK) real estate agents simply buy a drone and shoot themselves, usually without bothering to get licensed.

I have approached all the local real estate agencies and they simply don't know or care about regulations.

To them it is a flying camera which, lets face it, it is so long as they don't hurt someone.

 

[Robert Mitchell]

Correct. I am also a full sized airplane pilot so I am aware of the enforcement ability of the FAA. But when it comes to drone usage in San Diego, there are almost no enforcement actions taking place. I spoke with an FAA FSDO compliance inspector about the topic a year ago. He said they have a bunch of drones which where found on the airport property at our main commercial airport Lindbergh Field. They just keep them in a box and don't even bother looking to see who owns them.



I am glad agents in your area view things differently.



Prior to getting my 107, I had agents ask if I provide drone service. I explained that I am a pilot of full size aircraft and cannot jeopardize my pilot's certificate by flying a drone where it cannot legally be done (San Diego has a lot of small airports and two busy class B airports - very complex airspace with prior permission required in a lot of the county). When I declined to offer the service, they would easily go hire someone else to do the job without any concerns about the legality of the operation. My potential competition is happy to break the rules. I was not because I had something to loose. My competition knows the FAA is not conducting any enforcement. And, even if they get caught, the FAA can't take away their pilot certificate because they don't have one.

A RE photographer friend of mine has been flying without a 107 and constantly violates airspace restrictions. He has been making very good money for about 3 years with his drones. It adds about $25,000 a year to his regular photography income. Until there is an injury or property damage and gets caught, he will continue on his path... all the way to the bank

All well and good, until, as you say, something goes south. I still wouldn’t want to be the guy they decided to make an example out of. They could make your life miserable if they chose to do so. I’m also glad that some agencies, in at least some places, do take it seriously.

 

[BigAl07]

.....A RE photographer friend of mine has been flying without a 107 and constantly violates airspace restrictions. He has been making very good money for about 3 years with his drones. It adds about $25,000 a year to his regular photography income.

And so many of us are surprised that the FAA is pushing REMOTE ID down our throats . . . .

..... Until there is an injury or property damage and gets caught, he will continue on his path... all the way to the bank.

Or until someone submits his name and credentials to the appropriate authorities. I can tell you without a doubt I would have made that submission on his "behalf" about 2 1/2 years ago. Also it's important to note that the NAR frowns heavily on that type of illegal action. Every single Realtor who uses him is just as guilty as he is.

 

[GadgetGuy]

If you're using it for Commercial Use it does have to be registered. There is no Min Weight for Commercial Registration .

Correct, but notoriously stingy real estate agents shooting their own listings have a well known tendency to ignore the need for 107 and so logically wouldn't bother with registration either. That's the real competition, and why they won't hire anyone when they haven't made any money yet, and may not ever, if the listing doesn't sell. Definitely not a good niche market for aspiring commercial drone pilots.