Legality of someone photographing our propertry.

[rjrupp]

Hey guys!
My name is Rj, I live in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is my first post on the forum and im super excited to be on here because I personally just bought a DJI Mavic Pro 2 for my first drone. \
Unfortunately, That's not what brings me here today. My family is selling a rather large plot of land in a place called Calico Basin, In Las Vegas.
We've been going back and forth with a potential buyer and today my mom just received this message.

Quote


From the buyer last night: "My concern is this. I had a soil company fly a drone with Sonar-red read on the land mass. It was flown from the public street over the property, it shoots sonar thru the earth and works like a ultra sound. There is lots of newer fill on the property but there corrosion/ drainage issues on west side of property that runs all the way down to the street. They are 100 percent sure that construction material was buried along the property. Lots of it. It will need to be dug out and sifted and hauled off. Non of this is a deal breaker but I'm trying to determine a best guest estimate for this task. I'm waiting on estimates."

This came as a huge shocker to us, and it sounds like hes trying to get us to lower the price.
My first question, DOES THIS TECHNOLOGY EVEN EXIST!? I have a buddy who flies for the United States Air Force and hes never even heard of such things.
My second question, Is this even legal? I understand that the airspace above our property does not belong to us. But taking readings/pictures without our knowledge or consent? that just sounds wrong.\

If someone has posted about this topic already, Im sorry. I searched and couldnt find anything similar.

Thank you so much for your time!

 

[dirkclod]

All I know is I watched a show last nite where they had somekind of camera looking for anomalies in the ground
and did. Was old German bunkers. So I would say yes
the Technology is there but Whether or not they are shooting you aline I don’t know.
Some here will know about that type of camera but that’s
all I got. Welcome to the forum.

 

[rjrupp]

Understood, thank you!

 

[dirkclod]

Understood, thank you!

@BigAl07 might can give you the info your looking for if
no one else chimes in.

 

[xspwhite]

Hey guys!
My name is Rj, I live in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is my first post on the forum and im super excited to be on here because I personally just bought a DJI Mavic Pro 2 for my first drone. \
Unfortunately, That's not what brings me here today. My family is selling a rather large plot of land in a place called Calico Basin, In Las Vegas.
We've been going back and forth with a potential buyer and today my mom just received this message.

This came as a huge shocker to us, and it sounds like hes trying to get us to lower the price.
My first question, DOES THIS TECHNOLOGY EVEN EXIST!? I have a buddy who flies for the United States Air Force and hes never even heard of such things.
My second question, Is this even legal? I understand that the airspace above our property does not belong to us. But taking readings/pictures without our knowledge or consent? that just sounds wrong.\

If someone has posted about this topic already, Im sorry. I searched and couldnt find anything similar.

Thank you so much for your time!

Heleicoptors have been using and exsperimenting with t-ray technology since the late 80s. Basically, they can see certain anomalies right inside your house and for big companies with MONEY, it is perfectly legal. Infact the police and utility companies have been doing it for years and no one has ever complained. Down in the city police helicopters fly around at night just looking for people that have marijuana grow operations inside their attics.

Welcome to the forum my friend.

 

[Gkinghrn]

Ask for all the data they have on the flight and results so you can verify if it is true or not . Your lawyer should be able to respond in the legalities of someone surveying your house from the air without your permission ..pretty sure your local laws prohibit such a survey without your permission although they can fly over your property it is the invasive Part that would , I think , put them in breach ..but I am surmising ..consult a lawyer

 

[BigAl07]

I've not heard of that technology but that doesn't mean it's not REAL! It would take a Heavy Lift aircraft and some very expensive sensors and I'm just not sure I'm going to buy into that line.

I'd suggest getting them to give you a copy of the DATA and have a certified professional review the data.

Is it legal? I'd say yes. No different than flying a manned helo over your property and scanning but that doesn't mean it's ethical. We are in some seriously New Territory here in terms of legal implications etc so until things like this actually get tested in the court system it's anyone's guess.

I would request all the data and get it verified before I made any changes to price or contracts.

Good luck and WELCOME to the forum

 

[xspwhite]

Ask for all the data they have on the flight and results so you can verify if it is true or not . Your lawyer should be able to respond in the legalities of someone surveying your house from the air without your permission ..pretty sure your local laws prohibit such a survey without your permission although they can fly over your property it is the invasive Part that would , I think , put them in breach ..but I am surmising ..consult a lawyer

There is absolutely nothing illegal about photographing someones property.

 

[Simmo]

Here's a strart for ya!

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Plan LiDAR surveys with automatic IMU calibrations, Built-in photogrammetry, corridor and vertical scan tools, Flight planning in full 3D with terrain following, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and map overlay import, Installs locally, works offline, Supports most popular drones

www.ugcs.com

 

[Mossiback]

To see if the technology is used by soil companies, call a few and see if they offer it. If they do offer this service they should be able to fill you in on the legalities involved. As others have mentioned, ask for the data (free copy). It would be foolish to act on information that you cannot verify.

If the information is accurate it is good for you that the fill was discovered. It may reduce the price now but better than a developer hitting you with a lawsuit about undisclosed illegal dumping later (not insinuating that you illegally dumped anything, but that is what the lawsuit will claim).

 

[Gkinghrn]

There is absolutely nothing illegal about photographing someones property.

I was pretty sure , in UK at least , the drone regs specifically say this kind of invasive ness is a no-no due to privacy laws here ... but I am not a US lawyer so who knows

 

[bumper]

The law in Nevada is "protective" of drone flight in some ways. I think this was, in part, to encourage the commercial side of UAV business development. Basically, a drone can fly over private property so long as they remain above 250 feet, ceiling is 400 feet unless further restricted by FAA etc. Flying below 250' "requires" the permission of the property owner, as otherwise it would be a trespass - but there's a catch. Upon such flight over private property, the owner cannot claim trespass until and unless the property owner notifies the owner/pilot of the drone and advises him in writing that he cannot fly over such property at an altitude below 250'. If the drone operator again flies over the property below 250', it is a chargeable trespass.

Pretty screwed up, isn't it?!

 

[bumper]

To see if the technology is used by soil companies, call a few and see if they offer it. If they do offer this service they should be able to fill you in on the legalities involved. As others have mentioned, ask for the data (free copy). It would be foolish to act on information that you cannot verify.

If the information is accurate it is good for you that the fill was discovered. It may reduce the price now but better than a developer hitting you with a lawsuit about undisclosed illegal dumping later (not insinuating that you illegally dumped anything, but that is what the lawsuit will claim).

Typical real estate contract disclosure forms ask if that sort of thing is known to the seller. The "negative" box to check is "unknown". If the buyer accepts that, and does not do due diligence in checking things for himself, no liability goes back to the seller unless the buyer can prove he was mislead by the seller and the seller could or should have known about such condition.

Disclaimer, I"m not an attorney. I've done a few real estate contracts, including vacant land.

 

[Thomas B]

Welcome to the forum from the deserts of Arizona! Enjoy.

I have to concur with several post above. You should review the results of the drone survey and perhaps hire your own expert to interpret it.

 

[RayOZ]

The potential buyer should’ve asked permission first. I don’t think it’s illegal. It’s like doing a pest and building inspection prior to putting in an offer. I definitely would ask to see the report and determine if it was really necessary to dig out and remove.
I wonder if he’ll tell you if he found buried treasure instead. ?

 

[sar104]

UAV-mounted radar has been used for this kind of thing as mentioned above, but I can't see sonar being very effective when deployed in the air - the impedance mismatch at the ground is going to be a problem.

 

[dirkclod]

Well that might have been staged what I watched last nite
but from them showing the screen results of the data that
drone had captured it was spot on. Think it was on the Discovery channel. Course it was TV ?

 

[Thomas B]

Is it possible that the area was once a landfill?

 

[AMann]

There’s a huge difference between passively photographing property with a camera that captures reflected light versus actively surveying the ground by using radar such as what GPR would have had to have done to penetrate the soil on your property. The same system can penetrate into your house as well as the ground. The Supreme Court has ruled that police cannot use radar to survey peoples homes in property without a search warrant, and I seriously doubt any legitimate company would’ve done such a survey without your permission.

 

[OurAngryBadger]

I believe this may be what he is talking about:

Services

Data Collection Services for Farms and Agriculture in the United States and Canada . Order Soil Sampling, Imagery Flights, Plant Tissue Sampling, Sensor and Equipment Installation.

deveronuas.com

Is it legal for someone to photograph your property? Yes, there is no expectation of privacy outdoors, and of course the air is property of the FAA not you, so they can fly over you.

Is this buyer feeding you bad info to get you to lower your price? Maybe. But this is why you have a real estate lawyer...