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I would be clearly pissed off about this! This realtor would see me on his door step throwing his glossy flyer in his face. Just like the time I went down to the real estate office to throw the yard sign they placed on my property back at them. They had the balls to place a for sale sign in my front yard that was for a house down the street. Oh and David......keep shootin down those drones buddy!
We, as a people are still trying to figure out how to feel about drones.
I think the fear of them is an over-reaction, but I can also predict a future that is more congested with them, and rules will probably need to be developed.
It is NOT illegal, in all jurisdictions, to fly over someone else's property. It is illegal to fly over uninvolved people. Rules may vary locally. We probably will settle on consistent rules eventually. I hope so.
FWIW, it would not be able to sneak over anyone sunbathing in a back yard and take a picture from close enough to show anything. Cameras on drones are typically wide angle lenses, to capture wide panaramas. They're not zoom lenses, so they're not going to be able to photograph anyone close up without that person knowing it is there. You can hear them, if they're that close.
Out here in the country, for years, helicopters would go overhead and take aerial photos of properties, and come up the driveway later, offering prints, framed, for sale. Lots of people bought them. I see them all the time when I visit farms. I don't remember anyone saying they were bothered by it, from a privacy standpoint, though a low flying helicopter sounds scarier to me, and my animals, than a drone. It's all about what we're accustomed to.
Not picking you out really, but your post contained a lot of things that I hear from other people when discussing privacy, etc.
To understand the importance of privacy, (or to at least see it in a different light) this is a very good talk by Glenn Greenwald.
It trickles down to many areas of our lives, from government surveillance, to yes even your neighbor who happens to have a drone.
I am in a low signal area in our pasture so I can't watch the video but the important context in what I was trying to say there is that it's not going to take close-up pictures without you knowing it is there. With the quality of lenses currently available on drones if it is close enough to get detail, it will not be a secret. That's not an excuse for anyone taking unwanted pictures... it's just a reality check on what they're capable of.
They should just use one of their brochures from a property they listed as an example.
I was thinking the same thing. Not only would this be easier for a realtor to do, IMO he would get more business this way. He would have to make hundreds of postcards to find listings the other way. It would make me wonder if this guy has too much time on his hands or if he doesn't know much about efficient marketing. I personally wouldn't hire this realtor, but everyone's different. Who am I to say? Maybe using a drone in this way would impress some people. But I suspect it would create more bad will than good will.
Quote:
Originally Posted by David A Stone
I would also write a letter to the editor.
In a similar way, when we had a problem with a realtor going overboard on posting signs, a complaint on the neighborhood watch forum (along with about 50-60 comments adamantly agreeing) got the problem solved.
It is illegal to shoot down a drone spying on you, trespassing and violating your privacy. Great direction we are going in.
I agree - I really do think it's great that I don't have to worry about some idiot discharging a weapon in a residential area in an overblown response to something that is so high up that it's not even close to 'spying' on you.
We have an investment property in a very hot area. Over the weekend my tenant showed us a flyer that a local realtor had made as a mock ad to get us to sell the house. It included some exterior pics and some drone shots that showed the back yard and roof, all very glossy and professionally done.
Now, is this me or is it too much? Our tenant is a young woman who lives alone and she said she feels creeped out that a local realtor is flying a drone around while she could be sunbathing in the (privacy fenced for a reason) yard. We have no intention of selling right now.
Is this common? Should I do anything?
Depending on your state's laws, your tenant may have an action for invasion of privacy. If they flew over the property line, you may have an action for trespass. There's not much else there, though.
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I was thinking the same thing. Not only would this be easier for a realtor to do, IMO he would get more business this way. He would have to make hundreds of postcards to find listings the other way. It would make me wonder if this guy has too much time on his hands or if he doesn't know much about efficient marketing. I personally wouldn't hire this realtor, but everyone's different. Who am I to say? Maybe using a drone in this way would impress some people. But I suspect it would create more bad will than good will. 
Good to know!
