Are Drones in the Future for Real Estate Appraising?



The National Association of Realtors recently published a blog encouraging real estate appraisers to use drones as a part of the appraisal inspection.  Is this in the future for appraising?  My son is considering starting a drone business so I thought I would ask this question on a few appraiser forums to see the interest for appraisers.   Here are some items of consideration regarding drones and appraising that many appraisers shared:

Reasons why appraisers would not use a drone:

  • Privacy Issues:  If an appraiser is using a drone in  high-density subdivisions where homes are located very close to one another, the neighbor may take issue with a drone flying in or around their yard.   Many believe that although  it is a crime to shoot a drone, there would be those that wouldn't think twice about it if they felt violated or threatened.  
  •  Feasibility:  The cost of a drone or drone service would outweigh most of the benefit.  A drone would allow a better visual of perhaps a roof or interior of an attic but there are problems with flying around trees and power lines which can make it difficult. 
  • Liability:  Real estate appraisers are not roof inspectors so many do not see the need for an additional roof inspection  rather than visual observation from the ground. Including drone imagery might imply a larger scope of inspection beyond a natural observation increasing the liability for an appraiser.   There may also be added liability if the drone crashes or causes any damages to a property. 
  • Unnecessary:  Many appraisers believe that with all of the aerial imagery available to them a drone would not be necessary.  


Reasons why appraisers might consider using a drone:


  • Commercial Appraisal Use:  Many appraisers could see how a drone would provide a better inspection of larger commercial properties that might be difficult to view from the ground. 
  • Large Acreage Tracts:  Some appraisers believe that a drone could assist them in viewing large tracts of land such as 100 acres or more.  The ability to fly over and get a closer view of the land would be valuable. 
  • Rural Properties: Some appraisers could see using a drone on  rural properties that may be on large acreage with many other buildings or structures such as barns, workshops, guest houses, stables, ponds, etc.  If you are appraising a farm with Brahma Bulls on the acreage a drone would be a great way to safely inspect the land (remember we appraise in Texas). 
  • Comparable Sale Inspections:  Some appraisers thought that drone use might be useful for viewing comparable sales.  Many appraisers have stories of difficulties of driving by a comparable and taking a picture.  Some think that using a drone would be safer.  At the same time, others believe that a drone would draw more suspicion and could cause privacy issues from homeowners.   
  • Hard to Access Places: Some appraisers could see how a drone might be useful to view hard to access spaces such as attics.  FHA requires a head and shoulder inspection of attics and some spaces are hard to access
I also created a survey for appraisers for some statistical data.  There were 80 appraisers to respond to this survey. Based on  the survey,  62.50% of appraisers do not see the need for drone use in appraising.  There  were  21.25% of responders that did see a use for a drone in appraising and 16.25% felt that it is not needed now but perhaps in the future. 



Of those that completed the survey, on 5.0% currently use drones for their appraisal business and 95.0% are not currently using a drone for appraising. 



Conclusions: 


The current use of drones for appraising is very small. The use of a drone for commercial properties or large land tract may assist in providing a quality appraisal. The use for typical residential properties is not as accepted.  Key issues hindering drone use are privacy and liability.   

As far as my son who is considering a drone business,  he has determined that he has potential clients with marketing services for real estate agents or businesses, event aerial photography, surveyors, inspectors and perhaps a few appraisers.  We currently do not use a drone for our appraisal business. We are always looking for ways to improve our appraisal quality and might consider using a drone for appraising commercial properties,  larger land tracts or rural properties with large land tracts.

What did I leave out?  Do you have other ideas regarding the use of drones for appraising?  Feel free to comment below.  We would love for you to subscribe to this blog at the top right of this page  or like us on Facebook.  If you have additional questions regarding appraising or a need for appraisal services contact us at www.dwslaterco.com.

Additional Resources: 

National Association of Realtors-  Drones- The Appraiser's Next Great Tool 





Comments

  1. Great post. It's going to be interesting to see if drone technology makes its way into the field. I hope I have a use for it someday (but that's mostly because it would be an excuse to buy a drone and write it off). :)

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    1. Thank you, Ryan. Yes, it will be interesting to see what happens in the future. They do seem like they might be fun. If my son does start his business maybe I will get to find out :)

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  2. Great post Shannon. I think I am of the opinion that we do not need them at this time but if I got one it would be more as a toy than anything else. I think with all of the Google imagery we have that is sufficient. If I saw that there was value added that could be recouped in higher fees that would also influence my opinion.

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  3. Thanks Tom. I am in agreement that there does not seem to be much use for our residential appraisals, although we could see a benefit for some of the large land, rural properties, and commercial properties. As you can see from the survey, the majority of appraisers do not see a use at this time. Thanks for the feedback!

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  4. As a residential appraiser I don't see a use for it at this time. It would require more time at the property when fees are being squeezed by AMCs and there is little incentive to provide appraisals that provide unnecessary details. While it would be great to have drone photos of comps, I can't see getting out of my car at every property, setting it up and flying it. It would take just took much time.

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    1. Thank you Stephi, for your input. Many residential appraisers agree with you in regards to not having a use for drones at this time. The use for drones for comparable photos at this time does not seem practical. I have not heard from any appraisers that are currently using a drone for comparable photos.

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  5. I had considered using drone footage and imbedding the footage in my electronic reports, but is does no good for a hard copy. once hard copies are outdated and no longer used at all, and as long as the appraisal boards do not require a hard copy (all data in the report should have proof of verification), videos will work and I would use them for descriptive purposes. Land brokers are already using footage for acreage. Personally, I think it looks good.

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  6. Thanks for your comments. I do believe that drones could improve the quality of the images provided in our reports.

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  7. We are successfully using drones to carry out infrared thermal imaging surveys of tall buildings and flat roofs. Matters of privacy do not apply as it is infrared. http://www.irtsurveys.co.uk/blog/drone-technology/

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  8. We successfully use drones to carry out infrared thermal imaging surveys of tall buildings and flat roofs. Matters of privacy do not apply as it is infrared. See our blog http://www.irtsurveys.co.uk/blog/drone-technology/

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    1. Very interesting use for drones. My son ended up starting his drone business. Here is his website: www.atmosvideo.com I shared your post with him. Thanks!

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  9. I think peaople dont use all potential of drones. Thay just watch on drones like toys. And thats reason we have 62.50 % NO like answer. BUt in future that will be change for sure. BTW nice text :)

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    1. Thanks, Jeronimo. I do think many will continue to find more and more uses for drones.

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