Page 24
— Property Management Quarterly — July 2016
M
any real estate buyers use
the internet to look for
their next home, prop-
erty or business location.
With this reliance on web
browsing in our competitive market,
it becomes even more important to
make eye-popping videos and pho-
tos of your properties. The consumer
is becoming savvier and the web is
becoming the tool of choice to buy
almost anything, not to mention
searching for services.
With everything from the do-
it-yourself videos to step-by-step
instructions, consumers are taking
more control of what they want,
expect and can garner from the
competition online. Staying up with
technology is not simply a casual or
passing thought but rather a must
do if you want to keep up with or,
better yet, stand apart from your
competition.
Thus, enter the next revolution in
the marketing arena for real estate
– the emergence of unmanned
aerial vehicles, commonly known as
drones. I’m not talking about mili-
tary-grade or toys, but rather prac-
tical, sophisticated and well-built
UAVs. Good drones have something
that will mesmerize an audience,
and that’s a great camera.
The most important aspect of
drones for commercial real estate is
the camera and video production.
Whether you try to master flying
it yourself or hire a professional,
the video photography will set your
properties above the rest and offer
new efficiencies when it comes to
managing it.
Drone footage or
aerial photography
is stunning. The
angle, positions
and heights that
are captured from
drone photography
is a new experi-
ence for users. If
you’ve ever taken
a helicopter tour,
stood on the top of
a mountain, stared
out of the window
in an airplane and
enjoyed the view from above, you
get the picture.
Drones can get to dangerous plac-
es where you don’t want to attempt
because of the risk of bodily injury
as well as equipment breakdown.
Professionals hired by insurance
companies to fly over commercial
and residential roofs in a helicopter
often use two cameras, a 4K video
with 12-megapixel camera and
a thermal imaging cameras. One
drone can do this job in one-tenth of
the time.
Let’s focus on a practical applica-
tions within the property manage-
ment arena:
• Asset inspections.
Property man-
agers can reduce the cost of asset
inspection by removing the need for
scaffolding or cherry pickers, and
conduct quick and efficient first and
ongoing inspections.
Managers have the ability to work
alongside team members on site
and view the live video feed, with
recorded content available moments
after landing. Stills and videos are
great communication tools for cli-
ents, stakeholders and compliance
recordkeeping. You also can view
remote live streaming video from
drone operations.
Aerial video and photos are effec-
tive tools for tracking project mile-
stones, assessing contractor progress,
managing your project and commu-
nicating with your team.
• Progress shots.
With aerial imag-
ing, you have a fast way to see, view
and determine if something needs to
be addressed.
• Safety.
An unmanned aerial vehi-
cle is exactly that – unmanned. For
all those hard-to-get-to places, like
the scaffolding on the top of your
construction, drones eliminate the
risk. Managers can save time, mini-
mize required personnel, and reduce
the need for costly and dangerous
plant equipment, such as elevated
work platforms.
• Stakeholder communication.
Gone
are the days when you need to take
a busload of bankers through your
site to kick the dirt. A simple two-
minute video can take the viewer
on a journey through the site, often
allowing him to see more than he
would from the ground.
• Marketing and community consulta-
tion.
First impressions count. Manag-
ers can create a positive buzz about
a building using video or photos cap-
tured by a drone in place of a text-
filled flyer or information bulletin.
For now, start thinking about
marketing your asset from the per-
spective of your prospects. They’re
starting to see aerial photography, so,
the question is, are they seeing your
aerials?
s
Management
Tim Engstrand
CEO, SkyView
Productions,
Denver
With aerial imaging, managers have a fast way to see, view and determine if something
needs to be addressed.
