Advice on temporary security cameras during rent-ready repairs on long-term rentals

[Nadine Wallace]

Does anyone have any advice on effectively setting up temporary battery-operated cameras on a long-term rental property to deter break-ins and squatters while rent-ready repairs are being made before a tenant moves in? We have had two homes broken into and materials stolen recently. We are out of state and have local property managers. We want to set up something short-term with or without wifi. We have heard of using a hotspot or burner phone situation for wifi, but we are not sure how this works. We welcome any suggestions.

[JD Martin]

Quote from @Nadine Wallace:

Thank you for the advice! It's extremely helpful. From what I can tell with all the research I've done I need to set up the app on my phone (to see the video) while in close proximity to the camera to connect. Maybe I'm wrong but I had to do that on our STR (Ring) and Wyze also requires close proximity on initial setup. Still trying to figure that out.

The break-ins happened on 2 separate SFH that are not located near each other. They were not initially considered high crime areas. With one property, a hotel that doubled as a homeless shelter one neighborhood over shut down and has caused problems for the surrounding areas. The other is unrelated and we suspect is tied to the tenant (who was with us for 3 years) that did not renew their lease and moved (we cannot prove this).

Again, many thanks! 

You can view Blink cameras from anywhere. I routinely monitor my STR 600 miles away from me. I can see when they're cleaning the pool, cutting the grass, servicing the HVAC unit outside, etc. All they need is a connection to WiFi. If you don't/won't have WiFi then you should either consider a SimpliSafe system that you can move around from house to house, or some type of Trail cameras like hunters use for identifying game areas. Those work well and you can also get them that work off a cell phone provider; I used to have one that was US Cellular enabled.