Property Management Smart Home Technology: Adding Value to Your Real Estate Property by ABODO Apartments June 25, 2018February 11, 2019 by ABODO Apartments June 25, 2018February 11, 2019 We – real estate investors and landlords – all want to improve our investment properties to make them worth more. New paint and updated kitchens and bathrooms, along with hardwood flooring, are great examples of improvements that have traditionally added value to our real estate properties. If you add the wrong items, however, like an outside pool in Anchorage, Alaska, you may not receive the increased value you had counted on. On the other hand, if you live in a city like Denver, Colorado, for example, where rent prices are at an all-time high, then adding small updates using smart home tech will surely boost your property value even more. Here are a few reasons why you seriously need to consider the value smart home technology can add to your investment property. The Way It Used to Be When your parents left on vacation, it was time for paranoia: Did we leave the stove on? Did you turn off the sprinkler? I might have forgotten to turn the AC to 80 degrees. I never emptied the washer. I think the garage refrigerator door was left ajar. Did I lock the side door? Rapid Change Remember the recent TV commercial where a man and a woman were on vacation lying in the sun and the woman said, “Honey, did you remember to lock the car?” The man suddenly remembered that he didn’t, but accessed his OnStar app and stealthily locked the car. Then he remembered that he might have forgotten to close the apartment windows, and the next scene shows birds flying around the living room. Not Anymore You don’t see this commercial anymore and here’s why: With new smart home technology, you can not only control all of your home’s systems from your phone, but you can also detect what is wrong. Indoor cameras would have quickly caught the open window mistake, and the guy could have sent a friend over to close them. A smart thermostat would have let the owners know that their apartment was unusually hot or cold, and some detective work would have led them to the open window issue. New Smart Home Advances There continue to be a stunning array of smart home products that can add to your home’s present value: Energy monitoring devices Smart thermostats Smart bulbs Cloud cams Smart doorbells Smart WiFi plugs Robot vacuums Smart security systems How Much Value Can They Add? Even though millennials and baby boomers are both embracing new home smart security systems, there is not yet a definitive way to measure the value they may add to your home. While updated bathrooms may add $15,000, and a solar electric system may add thousands more, most pundits are unwilling to commit to a certain figure for the addition of specific smart systems. Some say that any upgrades you do must be on the cutting edge, or they could date your home quicker than shag carpeting. The Answer? If you want top dollar for your investment property, it needs to be updated. Yes, paint, appliances, major systems, and bathrooms need to be state of the art. Do that, and add smart technology to the mix, and you are going in the right direction. Just don’t think that the new smart doorbell you have installed will instantly make your house worth several thousands more. This article has been contributed by our friends at ABODO Apartments. Start Your Investment Property Search! START FREE TRIAL Start Your Investment Property Search! START FREE TRIAL Guest BlogsProperty ValuationRenovationsTechnology 0 FacebookTwitterGoogle +PinterestLinkedin ABODO Apartments Sam is an author at ABODO Apartments, an online apartment marketplace that makes apartment hunting easier for people all across the country. ABODO's research has been featured nationally in HuffPo, Mashable, and Forbes. For more information, please follow along on Twitter at @ABODOapts and visit ABODO.com. Previous Post Conducting Comparative Market Analysis: An Art or a Science? Next Post Investing in Rental Properties: Is It Worth It? Related Posts Choosing the Right Home Insurance Policy for Rental Properties How to Create Positive Cash Flow with Rental Property How Much Rent to Charge for My Rental Property? The Best Tips to Boost Your Occupancy Rate for Better Tenant Retention 8 Things That Make a Good Tenant How to Prepare Your Rental Property Roof for Winter How to Be a Successful Remote Landlord: 8 Tips Property Renovation 101: What Improvements to Make for High ROI What to Do When a Tenant Has a Late Rent Payment Critical About Property Management Companies? Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Be Who Is Responsible for Pest Control in a Rental Property? Real Estate Ads – Creative Ways for Marketing Your Airbnb Rental Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.