Real estate drone footage

Real estate drone footage shows what a ground camera cannot: the shape and size of a lot, how far a house sits from the lake or the beach, the roof, pool and garden from above, and the vineyards, sierras or coastline around a development. Interiors are photographed at ground level by real estate photography, a separate booking; many listings in Argentina use both, shot on the same day.

In the Open category of RAAC Part 101 a pilot licence, registration in the Registro Nacional de Aeronaves and insurance are all voluntary, while the pilot, the operator and the drone’s owner stay liable for any damage to people or property on the ground. Real estate drone footage booked here is flown under third-party liability insurance regardless, and the drone is declared to the Registro Nacional de Aeronaves.

RAAC Part 100 treats a rotary-wing drone of any weight that flies only in a rural zone as Open category, and Part 101 lifts its adverse-weather restriction there, which makes real estate drone footage of an estancia or a farm simpler than of a city block. Airspace still applies: a property inside an aerodrome control zone, or close to an airstrip, is checked with the pilot before the date.

A drone may not fly over people who are not part of the shoot without their consent, and Ley 25.326 on personal data applies to every camera drone, so real estate drone footage keeps the frame off neighbouring gardens, pools and windows. In a barrio cerrado or a country club the administration usually has its own rules on drones, so ask it to approve the flight in writing before the date.

Real estate drone footage usually starts in the morning, when the air is calmer and the light on the facade is soft, because wind tends to build through the afternoon, strongly so in Patagonia and on the Atlantic coast. A west-facing terrace or a lit pool suits the last hour before sunset; the 120 minutes on site are timed around which way the house faces.