Real estate drones are a growing trend among tech-savvy real estate professionals and are being used to market homes with one of a kind aerial photos. However, the Federal Aviation Administration has some real concerns about this new technology.
As drones become more affordable and gain the ability to travel longer distances without recharging, they may become essential in the toolbox of the modern seller’s agent. These tiny, unmanned flying devices are generally little more than a camera, a battery, a series of propellers and a transmitting device, making them lightweight and easy to maneuver. Real estate agents have been using these drones to take high-quality photos of high-end and large properties.
“There’s a cool factor,” Bill Knapp III, co-owner of Ironwood Homes Inc., told USA Today. “There is something about being able to see things from the sky that people are really enamored with. This allows us to do that with HD-quality video.”
Despite these factors, the FAA recently attempted to slap a real estate professional with a $10,000 fine earlier this year, according to the news source. The fine was struck down by a judge, who ruled that, because the FAA has yet to even make any regulations regarding commercial drone use, the fine and its cease and desist orders are not grounded in the law.
Ruling leads to more use
This ruling has led many real estate professionals to feel safe using drones themselves, despite the possibility of a large fine.
This ruling has led many real estate professionals to feel safe using drones themselves, despite the possibility of a large fine.
“We see other people in the real estate industry using them, and my feeling is it just seems like too good of a tool not to use,” Steve Bruere, president of real estate and property management group Peoples Co., explained to USA Today. “We just figure we’ll ask for forgiveness later.”
Unfortunately for Bruere, the FAA immediately appealed the ruling and is claiming that this had the effect of staying the judge’s ruling until it completes the formal rule-making process, according to Inman. Whether this is true or not is unclear. The FAA has made it apparent that it believes it can still send cease and desist orders, and theoretically could try to impose a fine again, but it has not yet been brave enough to do so.
Hobby aircraft exception
The regulatory uncertainty around using drones as real estate tools comes from The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, which established a special rule for model aircrafts, Inman explained. This rule states that unmanned aircrafts that weigh less than 55 pounds and are flown by hobbyists within a line of sight from the operator are not subject to FAA regulation.
The regulatory uncertainty around using drones as real estate tools comes from The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, which established a special rule for model aircrafts, Inman explained. This rule states that unmanned aircrafts that weigh less than 55 pounds and are flown by hobbyists within a line of sight from the operator are not subject to FAA regulation.
The FAA has put forth a reasonable claim that drones flown for real estate purposes are not being flown “by a hobbyist,” and should therefore be subject to its regulatory influence. Why they should choose to enact a ban on their commercial use altogether while they attempt to come up with a rule, however, is less obvious.
One day, every real estate professional may have a drone. Until the FAA ruling, it is exclusively the territory of the differentiators and risk takers.
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