How Drones Can Improve Property Management

Dowrey said drones are quicker, safer and most cost-effective than traditional site-assessment methods.

SAN DIEGO—Reduced risk, lower costs and better data are a few of the perks property managers are gaining when they use drones to examine property, Osprey Assessments‘ Gordon Dowrey told IREM Fall Conference attendees here Friday. Dowrey led one of the many iTalk sessions (his was titled “What’s Up With Drones?”) during the conference that introduced attendees to a variety of subjects and succinctly boiled them down to 18-minute presentations.

Dowrey said drone technology is catching on, with 300,000 drones registered with the FAA as of January and an expected 90 billion by 2025. He said property managers who use drone technology to inspect roofs and facades reduce the risks associated with going over the side of buildings, which impacts insurance rates and accidents. The costs of scaffolding a building in order to inspect it the traditional way are high, but using drones can reduce these costs by up to 50%. In addition, the videos obtained by using drone technology can serve double duty if they’re used for business-marketing purposes.

But perhaps the most compelling reason for property managers to use drone technology is that they can obtain better data, Dowrey said. One can obtain 100% coverage of a building using this technology, which offers infrared images and overall more information than traditional processes. “Drones are quicker, safer and more cost effective than traditional methods.”