Mavic makes me reconsider residential real estate clients...

[Starfighter]

Too much time spent acquiring an MTV attention span and not enough time in spelling class?

Well said. It was long but was long on informative too. A really great post. It's not like it's required reading in Jr. High or something. If you're not interested enough to read it, don't. We just had a nasty hurricane down here in FL. In the trailer park I live in, it occured to me too late that almost everyone would want an aerial view of their roof, if the price was low. With everything packed together, with a mavic a quick downward shot would take about 5 minutes, including set up. Oh well. A missed opportunity, and I would have been illegal. Plus. flying a Mavic without liability coverage could be risky. If it fell out of the sky and demolished a mobile home, it could have been disastrous. LOL

 

[PT_Mavic]

Well said. It was long but was long on informative too. A really great post. It's not like it's required reading in Jr. High or something. If you're not interested enough to read it, don't. We just had a nasty hurricane down here in FL. In the trailer park I live in, it occured to me too late that almost everyone would want an aerial view of their roof, if the price was low. With everything packed together, with a mavic a quick downward shot would take about 5 minutes, including set up. Oh well. A missed opportunity, and I would have been illegal. Plus. flying a Mavic without liability coverage could be risky. If it fell out of the sky and demolished a mobile home, it could have been disastrous. LOL

Why not offer to just do it for free, as a favor to your neighbors? You can gauge the interest and response upon receipt and decide if you want to bother taking it to the next level and doing it for money. If you do, you could use your neighbors for references, reminding them that the no-charge survey was just for them and a one-time-only deal.

If weather damage occurs, you could reshoot at a nominal charge if you get set up commercially.

 

[sparkitekt]

Out of curiosity, what sort of license would you need to perform this kind of work? What about insurance?

 

[BigAl07]

I am currently obtaining my commercial liscense. You scared me at first cause i was getting alot of feedback from realtors about work when my liscense is complete. I love my mavic and have logged over 150 hrs in the maui rain forest of Hana and have come back to make a bussiness. Any tips you can through me would be super helpful. Thanks and happy flying.

I'm new to the MP forum but far from new to UAS (originally called R/C aircraft) and the business of UAS Photography. I would not start a new business based solely on Real Estate Photography. That's a very competitive business and if you're not able to set yourself above your competition you'll be in a bidding war and the only person that wins is your client.

Our base rate starts at $250/shoot plus we have 1/2 and full day rates and we do fairly well. I was very early in the market and built a strong customer base before most people had heard of a "Drone" let alone thought about getting aerial pictures from them.

@Donnie Frank once again excellent write-up my man.

 

[BigAl07]

Out of curiosity, what sort of license would you need to perform this kind of work? What about insurance?

Nationally in the US you need an FAA Remote Pilot Certificate also know as Part 107 License.

Some states (My state of NC being one) also have a state issued test and permit/license.

 

[360iViews]

Having lived in NM (Santa Fe - Eldorado community), I feel your pain regarding making money in that state. Fortunately, I now live in a state (NC) with a population base in the Triangle that is a bit larger than all of NM. That being said, we have our fair share of cheap a$$ realtors. One thing I found that may help (residential real estate photography is my primary source of income during the week) is to raise your prices. It worked for me when I went from a $100-150 range to $250 (only images) and $350 (images and video). At the old price I had a handful over several months, and I now shoot an average of 5-10 per month. What do I use to shoot? A Mavic Pro.

 

[Starfighter]

Why not offer to just do it for free, as a favor to your neighbors? You can gauge the interest and response upon receipt and decide if you want to bother taking it to the next level and doing it for money. If you do, you could use your neighbors for references, reminding them that the no-charge survey was just for them and a one-time-only deal.

If weather damage occurs, you could reshoot at a nominal charge if you get set up commercially.

Ah, yeah, I'm forgetting that a disaster had just taken place. Charging them wouldn't have felt right. Especially those whose roofs were in the worst shape. Good comment. That's what would have ended up happening. I'm a chronic nice guy.

 

[Jedipro23]

I'm new to the MP forum but far from new to UAS (originally called R/C aircraft) and the business of UAS Photography. I would not start a new business based solely on Real Estate Photography. That's a very competitive business and if you're not able to set yourself above your competition you'll be in a bidding war and the only person that wins is your client.

Our base rate starts at $250/shoot plus we have 1/2 and full day rates and we do fairly well. I was very early in the market and built a strong customer base before most people had heard of a "Drone" let alone thought about getting aerial pictures from them.

@Donnie Frank once again excellent write-up my man.

Thanks for the heads up. Im currently learning mapping software and staying in touch with a possible surfing sponser to travel as a Chef which i am and also as a spotter until i learn the bussiness for a while. If this job pays off that will be my start. Im am an incredible pilot somehow and havnt the clue how. My post production skills are on point so i think i will make a decent retirement job to sun and have fun in Maui. Thanks again. I wont mess with realestate for sure.