In a 2018 blog post by Joelle Coughlin/AIA, it was confirmed by the FAA in an email response to a licensed Part 107 drone pilot that unlicensed drone pilots can face fines starting at $1,100 per occurrence and those who knowingly hire unlicensed pilots (like Realtors or even real estate developers) can face fines starting at $11,000 per occurrence. For more information, please see Joelle Coughlin's blog post here.

Although it may be tempting to go hire the neighbor kid down the street that just bought a shiny new drone that has been showing you all of the cool footage he can get in the neighborhood, and pay him a nominal fee to collect some aerial photos of one of your listing, resist the temptation! In this competitive real estate market, it just takes one call to the FAA from a disgruntled real estate agent to start the investigation process and fines can be levied not only against the unlicensed drone pilot (yes, even a kid and/or his or her guardian), but also you as the one who hired the pilot.

Do the right thing. Hire an FAA certified Part 107 drone pilot to take your aerial photos and you'll have the peace of mind that you're not breaking the law and being subjected to steep fines. Additionally, your Part 107 certified pilot should carry at least $1M in drone liability insurance (something that most realtors likely don't have coverage for).