Michael Poczynek with his DJI Innovations QuadCopter Phantom II.(Photos by Wayne Crouse)
By Dennis McCloskey
Prince Edward Island sales rep Michael Poczynek does not believe in advertising his listings by just “putting a sign on the lawn until it rots”. The agent with Century 21 Northumberland Realty in Summerside, P.E.I. has taken to the skies to spotlight his property listings.
The self-described “technology addict” calls himself a high definition real estate agent who markets property “socially and globally.” He occasionally uses some of the tried, true and tested methods of traditional marketing but he prefers to avoid what he calls the Four P’s: “Put up a sign. Post it on MLS. Pester for price reduction. Pray it sells.”
This year he has been using an unmanned, remote control aerial drone QuadCopter to fly over large properties to film and photograph them. He shoots not only the acreage that’s for sale but also the surrounding area to give prospective buyers a bird’s eye view, including woodland, farmland, wetlands and sea.
“It has become my new best friend,” says Poczynek as he demonstrates the tiny craft over oceanfront properties in Sunbury Cove, 18 km west of Summerside. “It’s a unique form of marketing and since I want to get my properties ‘above the noise’, this sets me apart from the rest of the crowd.”
Poczynek has lived in P.E.I. for 16 years.
To get a leg up on the province’s approximately 230 other Realtors (he estimates two to three per cent of Realtors in North America are using drones) Poczynek uses a DJI Innovations QuadCopter Phantom II that he purchased online from Canadadrones.com in Mississauga, Ont. for about $1,500. It includes a GoPro mounted video camera.
As he manipulates the joystick on a hand-held device, he manoeuvres the light-weight drone with great agility off the ground at a rapid rate of speed until it disappears out of sight in the clear sky. He says the drone helicopter can go as high as 300 metres and as far as three to five km on one charge of the battery. It lasts about six minutes before he has to land it to recharge. He prefers to navigate his little air-borne machine at around 30 metres above the ground.
This is Poczynek’s second drone helicopter – he lost the first one “somewhere over Miscouche”. He made sure the next one came equipped with a built-in GPS tracking device. “If I wanted to take a client up in a Cessna to view a property, it would cost $200 an hour and it’s $2,000 an hour in a helicopter,” he says. “I like this method because it’s cost-effective and it keeps me safe on the ground.”
When the drone lands, Poczynek removes the Sony camcorder and takes it back to his office, where he downloads the video and edits it for informational purposes and also, admittedly, for its entertainment value. Within hours he can provide a personal viewing of the edited product for a prospective client. He also posts the videos on YouTube as well as on his website, www.michaelshomesHD.com. To date, there have been more than 326,000 views of his P.E.I. real estate videos, which begin with the soothing sound of ocean waves lapping onto a beach.
“A drone is the latest tool for selling real estate and it’s just a matter of time before more companies will provide this niche service for Realtors,” says Poczynek. Some sales reps have called him to ask if he would provide the service for their clients but his schedule does not allow for that. He says that the post-production editing could prove daunting for some, and some Realtors might find it difficult flying the drone. He says it’s a bit tricky landing the craft – one time he flew it into a telephone pole – but the durability and stability of the drone is very good and no harm was done.
Poczynek has lived in P.E.I. for 16 years, having moved from Burlington, Ont., in 1997 when he met someone from the island. His business background in Ontario started in the early days of the Internet and he spent a number of years with a technology company working in corporate electronic setup, followed by 13 years in software development. When asked what he likes about life on “God’s Million Acre Farm” he says the laid-back lifestyle of islanders provides for a relatively stress-free environment where it’s virtually crime-free. And he finds the weather is better than in Central Ontario.
He became a videographer in 1997 and he is constantly educating and updating himself in the fast-changing world of Internet and video technology. When speaking of search engine optimization of his videos, he says the up-and-coming thing is hyper-syndication, whereby videos can be published to hundreds of websites.
Asked to name the biggest advantage of using a drone, Poczynek says his clients love seeing the aerial videos but also he likes that his marketing videos of P.E.I. real estate are international in scope. “Islanders are very accepting of this technology,” he says. “And my clients are very excited about it but the videos are also seen around the world.”
He says his drone has generated interest and publicity from a number of local and international media outlets. His point is illustrated when, during the interview with REM, he takes a call on his cell phone from a CBC reporter asking for an interview.
Onward and upward!
