Sold Sign Blog

Let the Aerial Games Begin: The Future of UAVs and Real Estate Photography

Special thanks to Mark Teskey for contributing this blog post.

On March 6th, a Federal judge gave the real estate and real estate photography business an amazing boost.  In a landmark ruling, he ruled that the FAA’s mandate prohibiting commercial use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) was without merit.  This immediately opened the door to using UAVs for all manner of commercial purposes.

At Mark Teskey Architectural Photography, I couldn’t be more excited about this ruling.  I believe that aerial property photos and video is going to have an enormous impact on real estate marketing effective immediately.  The market has been less-than-patiently waiting for a ruling, and now that it’s out there will be an explosion of aerial property photos in MLS.  In anticipation of this victory, we started flying last year to make sure that we’d be fully ready to go when the time came.

So how am I doing it?  In other words – what’s a “UAV”?  A UAV is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.  We pilots prefer that term to “drone” – because there are a lot of unwanted negative connotations and feelings around the word drone.  It’s a 6- or 4-bladed helicopter (called a “hexacopter” or a “quadcopter”) that has a remote controlled camera mounted underneath.  Though they can fly at great heights and great distances, I’m only interested in up to about 200 feet in any direction from the house.  I’ve got a video link from the camera to the ground so I can see exactly what the aerial camera sees.  The camera is a high resolution stills & video camera – and the quality is amazing.

Safety is always a concern – for ourselves, our expensive vehicles, and the properties we are flying over.  Everything is operated with checklists, inspections, and ironclad rules.  Unfortunately, that sometimes means that flights can’t happen due to weather conditions or local hazards.

UAV-based photography is the best value on the market for aerial photos and video.  Please contact me at mark@markteskeyarchitecture.com or at (952) 373-1355(952) 373-1355 to talk about your projects and I’d be happy to get you additional information.

RE/MAX North Central Agents Give $334,000 to CMN Hospitals in 2013!

2013 was another year of inspiring generosity by our RE/MAX agents in Minnesota and Wisconsin! As we saw home sales and values continue to rise, our Children’s Miracle Network contributions continued to rise as well. Our amazing RE/MAX agents and offices contributed over $334,000 to our four CMN hospitals in 2013- a $40,000 increase over 2012! The majority of these contributions came directly from agent donations as part of the Miracle Home Program.

Last month, our four member hospitals honored the top RE/MAX contributors for 2013 at the RE/MAX North Central Awards Celebrations in Madison and Minneapolis.

>> Click here to view a list of honorees

A big congratulations, and many thanks, to all of our Children’s Miracle Network Miracle Home Associates! You truly make a difference in the lives of sick, injured and physically challenged kids.

In addition, we kicked off our 2014 giving by raising $6,500 at our Awards Celebrations through CMN table reservations, 39 agents became new members of the Miracle Home Program, and another 18 increased their giving level. Our Broker/Owners and agents never seem to pass up an opportunity to give!

Lastly, I would like to welcome the following RE/MAX agents who joined the Miracle Home Program during the Awards Celebrations:

Bob Beutler – RE/MAX Results
Nick Brashi – RE/MAX Preferred
Erika Bunke – RE/MAX Insight
Charity Chiappetta – RE/MAX Newport Realty
James DePas – RE/MAX Select Realtors
Julianne Douglas – RE/MAX Lakeside
Jessica Eldridge – RE/MAX Select Realtors
Levi Foss – RE/MAX Select Realtors
Graig Goldman – RE/MAX Lakeside
Christina Gottlieb – RE/MAX Results
Debbie Griffiths – RE/MAX Newport Realty
Michelle Hoerig – RE/MAX Realty 100
Lori Hogenson – RE/MAX Results
Liz Johnson – RE/MAX Results
Jon Jondahl – RE/MAX Results
Elizabeth Kapaun – RE/MAX Advisors
Kari Karnitz – RE/MAX Insight
Sue Klimas – RE/MAX Specialists
Jay Krickeberg – RE/MAX Realty 100
Donald Loew – RE/MAX Insight
Ami May-Ballard – RE/MAX Newport Realty
Elizabeth Merwin – RE/MAX Results
Kelly Olson – RE/MAX Results
Jaimee Radloff – RE/MAX On The Water
Angela Rose – RE/MAX Preferred
Ken Schultz – RE/MAX Insight
Mary Sloane – RE/MAX Insight
Luella Spohn – RE/MAX Results
Melissa Straka – RE/MAX Todays Realty
Robbyn Struck – RE/MAX Elite
Bob Szmurlo – RE/MAX Insight
Bradley Torgerson – RE/MAX Results
Brandon Vasquez – RE/MAX Results
Deborah Vesling – RE/MAX Preferred
Kristin Vomhof – RE/MAX Preferred
Freddi Walls – RE/MAX Results
Karissa White – RE/MAX Advantage Plus
David Widell – RE/MAX Advantage Plus
Deanna Wojcieszak – RE/MAX Insight

And… thank you to the following Miracle Home Associates who increased their contribution level:

Peggy Acker-Farber – RE/MAX Preferred
Sharon Anderson – RE/MAX Results
Julie Blaser – RE/MAX Select Realtors
Sandy Cleland – RE/MAX Results
Susan Durfee – RE/MAX Results
Marc Frisco – RE/MAX Elite
Gary Gerhardt – RE/MAX Realty 100
Carolyn Gronfield – RE/MAX Results
Cindy Hanson Welu – RE/MAX Advantage Plus
Jean Henning – RE/MAX Realty 100
Rosemary Hildebrand – RE/MAX Specialists
Charles Karpfinger – RE/MAX Realty 100
Ruth Lecy – RE/MAX Advantage Plus
Janel Morgan – RE/MAX Results
Carl Rudnitski – RE/MAX Advantage Plus
Deborah Rudnitski – RE/MAX Advantage Plus
Becky Thompson – RE/MAX Advantage Plus
Felicia Werk – RE/MAX Elite

More RE/MAX Webinars in March – Register Today

2014 Tech Trends Forum

In this Tech Forum, Tim Nichols will be looking at some of the big tech trends going on in technology in 2014 and how they will affect you. Tim will cover what new tech toys are on the horizon, what is happening in the social media spectrum, and what’s going to have to wait until 2015 and beyond.

March 13 @ 9:00am

 Intro to Google Plus

Get connected! Join Tim Nichols for an introduction to Google Plus, where he will cover the basics including:

• What is Google+ and who is using it?
• How Google+ impacts search engine rank
• How to build a Google+ profile
• Google+ Authorship: Why you need to set it up
• How to set up a Business Page
• Google + Hangouts: Free video conferencing

March 21 @ 9:00am

To register for one of these RE/MAX webinars, simply click the blue dates above.