VALPARAISO | Realtors Jeff and Grace Safrin are taking their use of technology to new heights.
The brokers and owners of F.C. Tucker 1st Team Real Estate have added a quadcopter drone to their marketing toolbox.
“What we do technologically and social media-wise has to be cutting-edge. The drone is something that sets us apart and will have a huge added benefit to those marketing and selling homes in Northwest Indiana,” Jeff Safrin said. “It is not being used and it is going to set the standard for marketing properties.”
The team will be using the drone to capture a new perspective of properties. It has two cameras — one in front and one on the bottom — in order to snap pictures and create a video of properties and homes from as high as 480 feet in the air. The unit is controlled by their iPad and has built-in Wi-Fi that allows the Safrins to share the videos and pictures through email and social media avenues instantly.
While the drone may not be applicable for all properties, Grace Safrin sees it as an important way to convey listings to potential buyers who are not from the area as well as capture properties with land or a lakefront component.
“Last year, the whole F.C. Tucker Co. did $194 million in relocation business, many corporate clients. When someone is coming from out of state, they don’t know the area and don’t have a lot of time,” she said. “For relocating buyers, they want to know how far is the backyard before you hit the lake or how far the farmland goes before the forest starts. This will give a bird’s-eye view.”
“This can really give consumers the opportunity to see exactly how a home sits and what’s around it,” Jeff Safrin said. “You can only tell so much from photos.”
The Safrins were inspired to incorporate a drone into their marketing strategy after seeing the quadcopters with cameras featured in news stories. While they are popping up in the hobby world, Jeff said they are not yet being used in the real estate industry.
“I wondered if there was a way we could utilize a drone and how we could apply it to the marketing of properties,” he said. “I did the research and decided: Let’s go for it.”
They are in contact with four sellers who are looking to feature their homes in a new way.
“There is a saying in real estate that you only get a first impression once,” Jeff Safrin said. “From a consumer standpoint, the ultimate goal is to set their home apart to bring more buyers.”
“We are all vying for consumers’ attention. What I do as a professional is to help consumers take a second look at properties more than the one down the street,” Grace Safrin said. “I feel compelled to do the best I can with what is available and that is always changing. If you are not staying up on it, you are missing a part of the market share.”
For more information, visit www.1stteamrealestate.net or call (219) 309-9930.
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