Best Drone For Estate Agents
Homes With Aerial Images Sold 68% Quicker Than Homes With Standard Images
How Easy Is It To Fly A Drone As An Estate Agent?
Flying a drone as an estate agent is helping push the growth in the drone and property industry. Drones are increasingly being used by estate agents as a cheaper alternative to cherry pickers and helicopters etc. Gaining a bird's eye view of a property is a game changer and can help the customer get an incredible view of the house.
A few test flights learning basic controls to ensure that you have complete control will be more than enough experience to feel confident taking great aerial shots of properties. Drone flying is like anything, the more practise you get the easier it becomes.
Simply put, flying a drone as an estate agent is quite simple. You get a job and turn up at the property with your drone. Then, you take off when it is safe to do so and get a good angle, take a few stills and you are done. Taking pictures of a property is very efficient and can be done on a single battery if done so correctly.
Furthermore, to get the amazing shot you have just taken even better, you can edit the photos in post production. This will allow you to get the right colours, shadows and exposure settings to bring out the life of the picture.
What Drone Do I Need For House Marketing?
Hands down, the drone to be using is the DJI Mini 2. This drone benefits from being able to fly almost anywhere you want as it is less than 250g. You can fly closer to people than 50 metres however you have to deem it as safe and you cannot overfly them.
As well as this, No Fly Zones (NFZ) need to be checked before operating a job. If you have the right permission you can fly in No Fly Zones. No Fly Zones can be found Here
The DJI Mini 2 can also shoot in JPEG+RAW, this is the best format to save still photos as it stores photos with the highest quality.
It is also so portable. The DJI Mini 2 can fit in the palm of your hand making it easy to transport it to your job because it is smaller than most cameras! Speaking of cameras, the DJI Mini has a 4K/30fps video-capable camera, it also has 12MP to capture great detail.
If you would like to further enhance your DJI Mini 2 viewing experience, the DJI Smart Controller has an ultra-bright 5.5-inch screen, which is 4x brighter than the average smartphone. It also has a battery life of up to 2.5 hours so you do not have to worry about your phone dying.
Of course, there are going to be more expensive drones that can take even better shots than a DJI Mini 2. However, they will be in a different category as the DJI Mini 2 is the only drone of its kind in its weight category. This gives you the freedom to do almost what you want. More information about flying categories can be found here
Shop DJI Mini 2 Here
What Certifications Do I Need For This?
Because you will be flying commercially you will first need a Flyer ID which is a free online test. You must also register for an Operator ID which is £9 a year, once registered the ID lasts for 12 months and a sticker of your ID must be labelled on your drone. These can both be found on the CAA’s website.
After you have the Flyer ID and Operator ID you can book yourself in for an A2CofC (A2 Certificate of Competency).
What Does An A2CofC Allow You To Do?
A holder of an A2 can act as a remote pilot:
Within the A2 subcategory, while flying a Class C2 aircraft. (Or fly with an aircraft with less than 2kg until 31 December 2022)
Within the A1 subcategory while flying an aircraft with a mass less than 500g, Until 31 December 2022.
In the Specific category, the associated Operational Authorisation explicitly states that the A2 CofC is the level of competence required.
Please be aware that the CAA can revoke, amend or suspend your A2CofC at any time.
This will allow you to fly heavier drones commercially.
More information about flying in different categories can be found, here