Have you ever looked at aerial drone footage for a potential house purchase?

[Thethingswedoforlove]

We are putting our house on the market. Dh trying to persuade me it is worth paying £££ to have an aerial drone film mAde. The Agent did a good sales pitch on him. Also do we need an agent or can we go with an online one which gets property onto rightmove zoopla etc. Our property is reasonably rural, large and non-commoditised if that helps. What would you do?

Thanks sunny. We have done that and the one Agent that seems to have been locally successful is the one we are considering going with.

My brother is in the US and commissioned a drone picture of the top of a property he wanted to buy this month. It disclosed roof condition and construction that proved the seller had lied about work / maintenance done and was serious enough that he withdrew. So only do it if your roof is in good nick!

If your property is large and rural would the drone be helpful to show the extent of your land or any unusual features which wouldn't be obvious from an external photo or google earth? As for whether or not you need an agent, are you confident you could negotiate your own sale and see it through to completion? You would obviously need to be in direct contact with the buyers and not everyone likes this. Is your property in the sort of price bracket where bog standard photos and description from an online agent would sell it or do you think it might need a bit more? And finally, how is the market in your area - if it's fast moving and you're happy with all of the above then it might be worth trying an online agent but it's all to be considered first.

Yes I think it is katy but good advice!!

A young relative put up a drone, and the overhead picture of our house and surrounds is so good, will defo be using it when selling.

But, I have to say, ours is near a picturesque landscape feature and neighbours have large and lovely gardens around us, so it makes a good picture. If on a housing estate, probably not so much.

I know some EAs charge ££ for this- but a simple lad+ drone + sunny day would work just as well.

Daisygirl. Thanks. I definitely feel confident that we can meet buyers and see a deal all the way through. I feel that we will do a much better job than any agent. We have sold many properties already and always it has been us rather than the agent that has clinched the deal. The market in our area is not moving too fast and def not in the price bracket we are looking at. I am not sure whether there are any features that would come out in a big standard blurb. Probably there are. But don't people just look at photos and floor plan then go and make their own decisions? I think I wonder whether using an agent might help us reach more people in the kind of Kirsty and Phil 'have you considered this other option' way which we just won't get if we don't use a proper agent. Mmmm. Just can't get a feel for what we shd do. Dh has good judgement and wants to use the agent. But I didn't meet them so haven't been 'sold' to...

Ours is also rural so that is all good dancing. There is one feature a drone wd show which might put some people off but that wd kind of be the point ifswim so people who would be put off don't bother time wasting etc...

Disclaimer - I am an estate agent and it sounds like I sell similar properties to yours however I'm absolutely in agreement that not everyone needs an agent. It shouldn't be a standard blurb so you might find a good, local, experienced agent can write your property up in a way to sell the best features. You're right that an agent should suggest your property to potential buyers and it's certainly something I would do, however I know there are many shite agents in the world! You could give it two months with an online agent then swap if it's not working?

If the market isn't very fast moving you might need to prepare for the long haul to get your price. The only other thing I would caution is to get a bloody good solicitor because a shit one won't cope with chivvying buyers along and if you've no agent to do that task it can be hard work.

Sorry, missed a point - people do look at photos and floor plan but you would be surprised at how many people need a nudge to actually go and view!

Mmm thanks daisy. I suspect we shd just cough up and pay for this agent. They did seem v v good apparently and they are snapping up loads of business in our area at the moment. But the drone is definitely off the table ! How do we find a good solicitor? Our last one ceased trading!

I'm not so sure, if it is a large, rural property, I think sometimes you have to go above and beyond just photos and blurb.

The external EA photos of our house (also large, rural) were awful and it was on the market for 2 years before we bought it. Our surveyor took a photo of it with a drone and I know if the EAs had used that it would have sold in a heartbeat. It looked stunning from the angle of being above.

I'm not sure about a film, however.

Google earth works for me, unless we are talking huge estate ?

Not a huge estate badger. Is so difficult! I reckon we can always add one in later if it isn't selling. But ideally we wd have it with all we need from the get go. Don't want the property to become stale. We plan tonprice keenly for that reason.....

Thanks sunny. I think google map should really shd be enough for people. Now to persuade dh! I think these responses will help. ThNk you