Smart Home Upgrades for Rental

[Aaron Linden]

I have a rental that is available near a college (typically students occupy this). I am wondering what people think of the value of 'smart upgrades'. Has anyone done any testing or research on doing some smart home upgrades such as a Nest thermostat, Amazon Echo, and smart LED lighting in a rental home? Does it cause a lot of problems? Did you find you were able to increase rent on the house/apartment? What was your payback period on the invested money?

Thanks in advance BP!

Aaron

[Aleksandrs Vilumsons]

I was also thinking about implementing some smart features in future rentals. I was looking at some things such as WiFi connected thermostats and keyless door locks. You could get a normal thermostat for $20-$30 or a lower end WiFi Connected thermostat for $60. Keyless door lock for $110 instead of $15-$25 for a normal door lock. I think that the thermostat sounds like a bargain for something you can control with your phone. The keyless lock seems a little bit steeper, but I think that the smarter technology is definitely a growing long term trend. I agree, $50 per month seems a little steep, but I bet if you added three or four smart features you could at least increase rent by a minimum of $25. Plus, old tenants moves out or are evicted? If you purchase the right product, you can control the codes and active keyfobs. 

I would think that in 10-15 years, many potential renters will not even look at certain properties unless they have some sort of standard smart technology. The tenant could probably take their Echo or other device when they move and simply pair it up with their new thermostat, lights, etc. It could also result in cost savings for tenants who have to pay their own utilities. I also agree that the basic "blocking and tackling" such as good flooring, and clean and crisp looking walls are important, but now that the cost of these features plus smart phones to control the features have decreased since they all were introduced, I think it might be an interesting way to make your units more attractive, especially to the millennial generation or the next generation of kids soon to be renters (many of whom have not experienced a world without a tablet or smartphone). 

I have not committed and tried any of this yet, but I think I will experiment at least a little bit. I wouldn't mind being a guinea pig and writing about my experience.