By Kathy Canavan
Senior Staff Writer
Will Webber of Keller Williams of Keller Williams Realty is certain his $2,000 custom-built drone helped him sell his first million-dollar home.
Webber, who bills himself as “the most interesting realtor in Delaware” and has business cards the size of steno pads to prove it, has always been an early adopter. He had a fax machine in his home in the “˜80s, and one of his early laptops cost more than the car he was driving at the time.
He said he’s sold upwards of 600 homes in his 26 years in the business, but it was his drone-shot video of an elegant home and its expansive grounds that caught the eye of his $1 million buyer. “He said he loved my video,” Webber said.
At least four Delaware agents use drones to showcase larger properties or proximity to the beach, but they are careful to emphasize that the drones are used only for wow factor, not for commercial purposes. Their concern is blowback from the Federal Aviation Administration, which currently bars the commercial use of drones. With drone prices ranging from $500 to $2,500 and possible $10,000 FAA fines looming for those who step over the line, nobody in Delaware is minting himself as the drone realtor.
While agents across the country await regulation, the National Association of Realtors is planning classes in safe drone operation. And, tucked away amid Delaware Technical and Community College’s fall offering in real estate is a three-hour seminar dubbed “Enhance Your Real Estate Practice: Drone Flight School.”
The wow factor is undeniable when you watch a video of Webber’s drone circling a mansion’s grounds or TJ Redefer’s hovering above Rehoboth’s Funland at night.
Redefer, a Dewey Beach broker, is a self-described gadget guy who has loved photography since he was a child. He said he knew viewing a property from 30 feet off the grounds would deliver a whole new perspective to the homebuyer.
“What I love about it is people who love our area go there and see the pictures and people who are not from our area go there and fall in love with our area,” said Redefer, who said he now has web-page visitors all over the U.S. and from Europe.
“The FAA has said we cannot use these for commercial purposes. I’m not selling myself as the drone realtor,” he said. “I’m just using it to take pictures. I think I’m ok, but it’s a sticky wicket we have to deal with.”
Rederfer said he uses the same camera and gimbal on a picture-taking kite. “The FAA can’t regulate the kite, but they can regulate the drone,” he said.
Denise Tatman of the Delaware Association of Realtors said the state group will not petition the FAA, but representatives of the National Association of Realtors have been invited to sit in on a group focused on integrating drones into the airspace. Les Dorr of the FAA said the real estate group has been invited to give input regarding the use of drones at distances outside the line-of-sight.
