~ Nationwide, UK and Ireland Coverage for all aerial drone photography, video and thermal imagery ~

While some industries are only just finding out how drone technology can offer them benefit, the property industry has been taking advantage of UAV-power for some time.

An industry such as commercial property development and management has always had a need for high quality imagery, for both marketing and inspection purposes.  Drone photography and videography can offer an affordable way to provide digital imagery of a building asset or estate portfolio in such a way as to really make it stand out from the rest – a vital tool in today’s competitive commercial property market.

The costs of using manned flights to gather aerial images made this prohibitive in the past.  However, the advent of the commercial drone operator has meant that a bird’s eye view of a property is within easy reach of property organisations. Equipping a drone with a thermal sensor can allow for additional data to be gathered regarding heating and insulation efficiency and solar panel operation and safety

Building Inspections

A simple series of drone flights above and around a building can offer a fast and efficient way to gather the necessary data to assess a property maintenance requirement.  As well as avoiding the need for expensive scaffolding and elevated platforms, using drones to carry out routine inspections removes much of the health and safety risk associated with employees working at height. All of these can be achieved out of standard business hours or with minimal disruption to operations even with working within opening hours.

In addition, the use of thermal infrared technology is now readily available and accessible to drone use which makes it easier to determine roofing issues such as insulation failure and water ingress. Many properties have solar panels installed on the roof, which should also be inspected thermally for defects that can result in loss of output and potentially become a fire risk.

Photographs captured by UAV can offer incredible levels of detail. In fact, our Z30 camera offers an unbelievable 180X zoom allowing for very detailed images to be presented to our clients. Or where access is difficult for drone flight, we can fly further away and still zoom in for detail analysis.

Regular, repeatable drone flights can allow comparison of a matching data set over time, making it easy to spot developing problems or areas of degradation and target those for maintenance and repair.

Drones can also offer a speedy method of damage assessment after a storm or other event. Many insurance companies and loss adjusters are now turning to drone technology and commercial drone pilots such as Drone Media Imaging to gain image and video access to insurance claims. We can also offer them real time transmission via Facebook and YouTube feeds.

The Big Picture

Drones aren’t just good at looking at the details you need to make sure your property is well maintained.  Working with wide angle lenses, UAVs can do an overview of a building or estate to attract potential clients.

Aerial video footage and images can create very engaging marketing material as well as fulfilling the very practical function of setting a building within its environment.  Potential renters and purchasers can quickly assess a building as meeting their infrastructure and facility needs.  This kind of information can be obtained and assessed by the client before they visit the property and so save valuable time and money showing buildings where they don’t meet all the clients’ needs.

Given the slow-moving nature of the commercial lease and purchase process, it’s likely that your clients will really value anything that simplifies this and offers them a time saving.

Hiring a Drone Pilot

The good news is that selecting and hiring a drone pilot from Drone Media Imaging to take care of your property portfolio imagery is likely to be easier and cheaper than you think. Any pilot that operates commercially needs to have certified permission from the CAA.  It’s not legal to fly in a business environment without this, so you can’t DIY, even if you have a skilled amateur flyer on your staff.

Drone Media Imaging offer a full imagery service including photography and video with the added bonus that we are also qualified thermographers, so it is simple to add a thermal survey to the process.

Nationwide Account Management and Commercial Contracts

We work across the UK and Ireland to provide both property inspections and marketing images to the highest standards. 

In addition to our drone fleet, we also own and operate a 15-metre mast, bigger ones exist in our network, so aerial imagery is still possible even if a drone is not the right solution for your location.

Combine this with our expertise in ground level property photography and video, you can receive a complete set of property images form a single visit and for an all-inclusive price, where ever your portfolio resides in the country.

Apart from traditional DSLR camera equipment, our masts can hold drones too, which gives us access to the same high tech imaging payloads as we fly with e.g. Z30 180x zoom and Thermal Infrared.