Drone-Mounted Video Camera Lets RE/MAX Broker Scott Gerami Provide Bird’s Eye View of His Listings
Chicago (PRWEB) December 17, 2013 -- RE/MAX broker Scott Gerami of Naperville, Ill., is a self-described “gadget guy.” So about a year ago, when he saw a YouTube video taken by a tiny video camera mounted on a drone, he was fascinated.
“My first thought was, ‘What could I do with that?’” said Gerami. “It occurred to me that a video camera on a drone would be an unusual way to show off the homes I list for sale. It might attract more attention to them, which is exactly what you want in this business. Plus it would give buyers a different perspective on each home and its surroundings – something they couldn’t easily get otherwise.”
That started Gerami, who is the managing broker of RE/MAX Professionals Select, 2272 95th St, Naperville, down the road toward becoming a drone builder, flier and now perhaps the first real estate broker in the nation to make use of this intriguing technology in his business. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyJZysFcSdc
His first decision was that if he was going to use a drone, he would build it himself, so Gerami began ordering parts and flew his first drone in April.
“I had to learn how to fly it and how to use it effectively for getting good video footage of a home,” he said. He soon built a second drone and then a third. And there were mishaps. One drone crashed. On another, the GPS system malfunctioned while it was in flight, and it headed straight north.
“I chased it for a while in my car, but lost sight of it and never saw it again,” Gerami recalled. A thousand dollars worth of equipment had vanished, but he wasn’t discouraged.
Gerami is now flying his fourth homemade drone, a four-engine, battery powered quadracopter that is roughly 2 feet square, and is building his fifth. His current model incorporates a gimbal system that keeps the video camera steady in flight, delivering better images.
His current challenge is mastering the art of editing the footage his drone captures to create effective 40-second videos that highlight his listings.
Gerami has also learned to capture individual images from the drone videos that he uses in the listings he posts on MLS.
“It is an attention getter at this point,” said Gerami. “The videos draw people to my listings and bring traffic to my website. I’m sure as time passes I’ll find even more ways to make good use of this exciting technology.”
RE/MAX has been the leader in the northern Illinois real estate market since 1989. The RE/MAX Northern Illinois network, with headquarters in Elgin, Ill., consists of 2,000 sales associates and 100 individually owned and operated RE/MAX offices that provide a full range of residential and commercial brokerage services. Its http://www.illinoisproperty.com and remax.com websites are leaders in consumer visits among real estate franchise brands. The global.remax.com website allows consumers to search properties around the globe; theremaxcollection.com is a specialized portal of luxury properties across the U.S., and remaxcommercial.com displays commercial properties available nationwide and abroad. The northern Illinois network is part of RE/MAX, LLC, a global real estate organization with 90,000+ sales associates in 90+ nations. The RE/MAX organization has been recognized for numerous industry honors for excellence, and its Associates continue to lead the industry in professional designations, experience and production. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX. RE/MAX is the official real estate partner of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and the national sponsor of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.
Laura Ortoleva, RE/MAX Northern Illinois, http://www.illinoisproperty.com, +1 (847) 428-4200 Ext: 224, [email protected]
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