Our company accountants needed to be convinced that a recent acquisition to buy a DJI Phantom 2 Quadcopter Drone was a legitimate and justifiable business expense and not simply a leisure pursuit.
For many years as property professionals we have often had to think outside the box when we are gathering information, particularly about properties we get to know about that are not yet on the open-market.
Driving around country roads, peering into people’s entrance ways and even ‘accidently’ steering up a drive to take a sneaky peaky at a property has occurred more than on one occasion over the years.
Akin to private investigation, taking the odd photograph of a property with a camera wedged on the dash board of the car or on a selfie-stick with remote shutter control has had to be employed on a number of occasions; thank goodness for smaller hand held telephones with decent built-in cameras and the ability to video rather than having to use the telescopic monster lenses as we did in the past.
Our clients expect us to be one step ahead of the residential property market and successfully competing with other buyers.
More recently, in the slow and lacklustre market we have been experiencing, this initiative of flying a Quadcopter Drone close to, or even at times over, the tree tops of a country house estate has enabled us to check out whether it meets the property brief for a valued client.
We have an enviable record of acquiring houses ‘off market’, which is sometimes referred to as ‘privately’, which means, properties and estates that have not been openly advertised.
Over half of all the properties we have helped buy for clients are houses that we have seen before they are actually marketed or advertised. Our reputation has been built on this fact which is why clients come to us and we get so many referred clients and business.
On one occasion, when using the drone, we were able to see over the boundary of the house in question into the neighbouring property, inside which there was a dirt track and a couple of old dented cars which were clearly driven around the track causing a nuisance. This was invaluable information for our client when making decisions about whether or not to purchase the property.
Other than this particular instance, there is a lot of useful information that can be gained by using a Quadcopter Drone:
- What the actual property looks like: its size, style and age.
- How the property sits within its plot and what is immediately around the property.
- How close the neighbours’ properties are to the boundary.
- First impressions of the condition and state of repair of the property.
- The presence of an Orangery or conservatory?
- The presence of a tennis court, swimming pool or space for one?
For more information about how we can help you acquire ‘off market’ properties please get in touch with Premier Property Search email enquiries@premier-propertysearch.co.uk or call 01962 793100
