Certain industries can restrict one’s opportunities due to geographic parameters. We can’t go underwater with drones unless we’re near large bodies of water. Also, it’s tough exploring greenery acreage if we’re far from a big park or forest. Luckily, though homes are everywhere.
Before this “will it happen or not” recession approaches, real estate activity is trending. Buyers are still hungry for real estate, with offers that include property inspections.
Property Inspection: a limited, non-invasive check of a home's condition (e.g. structure, status, grade), often requested as a contingency in the purchase agreement of a real estate asset
Certified home inspectors naturally report on everything from flooring and HVAC to windows and the roof. The steepest roofs however limit full traversing capabilities for human legs. In many cases, a home inspection might use the eye test for parts of a roof (i.e. situations where a ladder isn’t feasible).
Drones can access these areas without slip & fall risk. With decent daylight, they can also peek down chimneys. Property inspectors add these aerial photos to their reports, which supplements the writing. Just like HVAC or those creaky attics, extra photos reassure buyers of a good inspection.
Not every property inspector has his/her own drones. Many of them work with drone pilots on some jobs, where the pilot can get a fee for a ½ hour of work. $25 - $50 for 30 minutes of drone flying is nice in most markets.
Taking it further, of course drones can hover across 5, 10, and 50 acres to view tree density, slopes, and other factors affecting deals. But as a start, typical buyers don’t focus on land of that magnitude.
Conduct some local research. There are likely property inspectors willing to keep a drone pilot’s business card handy for these situations. Also, home flippers and real estate agents might have a future need.
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