Premier Drone Productions
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Take a Dart Drones Part 107 or similar course and study. Should be able to pass in 30-60 days.
Drones in Real Estate: Pricing and Contracts
- Thread starter Marlene Lebel
- Start date
VisualApproachPhoto
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Lalvar, I would say your price list is quite cheap for the area of South Florida, but it is hard to get higher prices due to a number of reasons in South Florida, one of them being what we always deal with...illegal operators (tons flying real estate jobs without being 107 licensed). Other issue is a lack of understanding of value and business practices...ie not charging what the service is truly worth or even a "survivable" wage. I will bet many of these drone operators will be out of business within a few years, like most businesses, but there will always be the illegal operators down here.
That being said, I charge what I want and get it because i go by BigAl's concept...under promise and overdeliver. Consistent quality product, combined with good customer service, will always win over "cheap prices" in the long haul.
I agree. Unfortunately I have nothing to share at the moment except some still shots. I'm still trying to get into the video editing. I've played around with different programs but I haven't settled on one to really try to get good at. I'd love to hear what video editing software others are using.
Pricing depends on your reputation and your relationship with the client. I started out doing real estate listings at $35 for a complete package - inside with gyro glide cam and outside ground level and aerial shots completely edited with music. Needless to say if you want those services from me now you'll pay upwards of $150. Attached is a pretty good client agreement.
ArrUnTuS
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With these terms you cover many aspects, if not all of them. It's great to protect your work by making everything clear from the start.
I looked at the service agreement. There's a lot of ground to cover legal wise. If long distance travel is involved (at least one night or more on the road) I'm not sure how to word that. Let's say you go on-site and determine the lighting would be better late day of early morning for a particular property. Then the weather doesn't cooperate. A one day shoot could turn into a two or even three day shoot. I guess you have to hope for the best and maybe absorb some extra expenses. There's a lot of gray area out there.
WNC DRONE PROS
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Love the agreement Jeff, Better safe than sorry,
Its all about the area you work, Big towns with expensive houses are willing to pay more but you also need to provide high quality results.. I do both in my area " $50,000.00 homes to $3,000,000.00 homes so you set up a base price and increase your charge to fit. Don't think I would go out for less then $100.00.. Its also comes down to how much time you want to put into each project.. I liked to be out Flying and not sitting at the computer all day and nite so I put together a quick video editing format for a basic video slide show that gets the job done and if they want more they pay for it.. Once a few Agents realized how the aerial shots and videos were catching the buyers attention they had me start shooting aerials for jobs they already had listed.. The Sky is the limit!!!
Some jobs work out with a lot of flying video involved and some like the cliff shot below were the wind and updrafts were so bad I took a risk of loosing my drone just to get the 360 view, I took over an hour to get to this house and I didn't want to go back.. I fly in a lot of windy conditions and up to now has been with a Yuneec Q500 4K... Hoping my new Typhoon H is going to help out with the wind..
Its all about the area you work, Big towns with expensive houses are willing to pay more but you also need to provide high quality results.. I do both in my area " $50,000.00 homes to $3,000,000.00 homes so you set up a base price and increase your charge to fit. Don't think I would go out for less then $100.00.. Its also comes down to how much time you want to put into each project.. I liked to be out Flying and not sitting at the computer all day and nite so I put together a quick video editing format for a basic video slide show that gets the job done and if they want more they pay for it.. Once a few Agents realized how the aerial shots and videos were catching the buyers attention they had me start shooting aerials for jobs they already had listed.. The Sky is the limit!!!
Some jobs work out with a lot of flying video involved and some like the cliff shot below were the wind and updrafts were so bad I took a risk of loosing my drone just to get the 360 view, I took over an hour to get to this house and I didn't want to go back.. I fly in a lot of windy conditions and up to now has been with a Yuneec Q500 4K... Hoping my new Typhoon H is going to help out with the wind..
WNC DRONE PROS
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Flight service is very accurate and I think that will answer the question I keep hearing WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW HOW TO READ CHARTS AND WEATHER REPORTS .. with flight service you can plan ahead to a certain accuracy so put that in your agreement so the client will know there could be some added expenses..
" WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW HOW TO READ CHARTS AND WEATHER REPORTS" Funny you should mention that. I've asked myself that and similar questions. I was talking to a friend and telling him about the FAA license procedure and I told him you would think I was going to be flying a 747 full of passenger.
WNC DRONE PROS
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Getting your part 107 certification is just like getting your Private Pilots Lisence your just flying different aircraft so knowledge of reading the charts is so you will be able to fly your aircraft safely amongst all the other aircraft using the National Air Space... You can put people's lives at stake by not following the rules.. I not only live near airports but also live inside a MOA - Military Operations Area which covers from surface to 60 thousand so we have to be more diligent in watching for full size aircraft.. Learning the material to take and pass the test will help you to be a Safe PIC and will also give you the knowledge of the tools available to help you with your Commercial Work..
I've flown quite a bit around the Destin, Florida area and it's unbelievable how many NFZ areas are down there between MOA and the local airport. The same with Birmingham, AL. I wanted to fly around a local monument called The Vulcan and be able to capture the city below it but there are just to many heliports in the area. The whole area is pretty much off limits.
Kurtay
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In my opinion, no one can tell you what you are worth. Everything has its own price. You can only decide what you and your work is worth. Price it wrong, you'll work too much, price it too high, you won't get any jobs. All depends on the blood type of your client, base your cost process according to your clients portfolio and what they need (how much work). Each job has its own estimate afterall. I never understood photographers price their work as if a shelfeved product on a superstore. This is wrong! The other wrong is to expect others to give you their trades secrets, especially when you are a competitor. Sorry, it may be harsh but this is the fact.
Very well said "neighbor".
Nailed it ! ! !
Take it from someone who "foolishly" taught a competitor..... Live and learn.
I'm' all about helping to a certain extent but you've got to understand our market is becoming (and already done in many areas) heavily saturated. You'll want to leverage any competitive edge you can get and giving away your business details on the interweeb is possibly giving your competition the ammo they need to go up against you.
In regards to video.... I don't know why anyone would charge less than $400-$500 as a minimum base no matter what, regardless the market you're in, when it comes to real estate... "IF" you are doing the editing as well.
Looking at it from a time perspective first....
- Discussing the project, going over the details and planning the execution (which could take multiple phone calls, emails and/or text messages.
- Loading your gear and driving to the destination
- Executing the filming portion
- Driving back from the destination and unloading your gear
- Loading the files
- Editing, rendering and Exporting
- Sending 1st draft for approval
- Potential of repeating 6 and 7
- Final draft(s) export with exact size(s) for purpose
- Loading final into video player and sending file(s) through file service
Then charging for the use of your gear, labor, gas, quality, add-on's, etc.....
All for less a couple hundred bucks? Why? What am I missing, because anything less than $400 isn't worth the time and just undercutting the market.
I think that some people who are new in business think that making a few hundred bucks (regardless how much time it took to compile) is what it's all about. At that price point they probably aren't making min wage.
It's a quick race to the bottom at those rates.
My friend, you are assuming no competition. This is not the case. I wish I could charge more. Agree 100% with the workflow you stated. It is a lot of skilled work.
There's always going to be competition. Just because someone else is selling/making minimum wage, you just follow suit and do the same? Isn't that type of mindset the overall problem that undercuts the market value? If you can't beat them, you might as well join them is your theory? Beating competition doesn't come down to undercutting the market value and your own value, if you're producing quality work. You're just on a downward slope, hurting yourself and putting a dent in the industry.
Do you also think US businesses should avoid producing American made products, when they can produce a lot cheaper in China?
Needless to say..... Your prices shouldn't undercut the industry. Your prices should reflect your quality, service, time, labor, etc.... Not what everyone else is charging.
I guess some people get it and some people don't.
ArrUnTuS
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I agree with you, but we must always seek a balance. Not one thing or the other. No matter how good your work is if others offer it 4 times cheaper, I doubt that you will get many jobs.
I also agree that you have to value your own work, but then inconveniences like people who come in new and want to get customers. The tendency is to lower the price to get customers, then they should go up. There are several reasons why the simplest "solution" may be to lower prices, it wouldn't be the right thing to do.
If there is a lot of competition, unfortunately, prices tend to stay low to the point where it is unprofitable. Lowering prices is not the solution, nor prices too high. Something balanced between what it really costs us to do and make a profit. How much profit? We all want to win as much as possible and in the end the market trend is the one that makes it. This is precisely what we talked about. It is simpler for everyone who already has a client portfolio. For those who start and taking into account the above, knowing what prices move the other partners is the most important step. A market study would be the right thing to do. I tried it with professionals and nobody dared because the drone industry is so new that there is no information. I don't offer this particular service, I didn't get involved in it. But I follow with attention what you are saying to have a basis for thinking and deciding what to do tomorrow.
Just one piece of advice, lowering the price is not the "solution" or the only solution because in the end you are attacking yourself and others.
How complicated it is to set prices every time
