Rental Homes + Smart Devices

 

Should You Include Smart Home Devices in Your Rental?

When preparing a property as a rental home, naturally you want to create an appealing and upgraded space. You might repaint the walls, replace old flooring, and of course, replace the old locks. You might caulk the windows and add new weather stripping. You might even replace the water heater or HVAC to ensure years of reliable service.

Shopping for the latest home features, you may also come across the desirability of smart home rentals. Smart home devices represent the cutting-edge of home technology, and some features are extremely desirable for modern renters. But is it a good idea for your property? Which of the many smart home upgrades are ideal for rental homes?

We can provide a quick and practical guide to smart home upgrades for any rental property.

 

Best Smart Home Features for Rental Homes

In the world of smart home design, some devices can make a home feel high-tech and high-quality. These are the best smart home features for a property owner to install before listing the home. In fact, you might even create an opportunity to increase your rental asking price. Here are the top four smart home upgrades that tenants are both practical and highly desired by tenants right now.

Smart Thermostats: Comfortable and Energy-Efficient

A smart thermostat is a programmable thermostat that can make smart decisions based on local and household data. It can remember temperature preferences and learn a family's routine, then optimize for energy efficiency and comfort. It can minimize power use when the house is empty and even adjust based on weather forecasts.

Tenants like smart thermostats because they make comfort easier and reduce the power bills. Investors benefit because they also extend the life of the HVAC and make the property more sustainable.

Smart Locks: Smart, Responsive Security

Smart locks are a useful way to increase home security. A smart lock can be locked using a phone app or voice command, on a schedule, or even based on a tenant's phone distance. This means the doors can lock themselves after dark, when tenants leave the house, and be easily operated by tenants during the day.

Keypad smart locks can even provide a separate code for each family member, codes that only work during certain times of day for guests and services, and create records of which code is used over time.

Smart Lights: Cool, Efficient, and Replaceable

Smart lights are normal screw-in LED light bulbs with RGBW (colorful and white) light options and smart home controls. They are easy to install and energy-efficient. They also make home life more convenient and fun with voice commands and routines instead of light switches.

Leak and Surge Detectors

Wifi leak detectors and surge detectors also provide you with live maintenance information, so that a leak below any sink or appliance or any unusual power fluctuations can be detected and repaired immediately.

 

Selectively Desirable Smart Home Features

Then there are smart home updates that can be cool, but are not universally desired. These should be installed with consideration for your audience and how each feature might be perceived.

Smart Home Appliances

There are tons of smart-home-capable appliances. Smart fridges that count the eggs, smart ovens that can pre-head with a wifi command, and so on. The usefulness of these appliances is still debatable. Some tenants will delight in having an all-smart kitchen or laundry, and some won't care, and some may think it's silly.

Video Doorbells

Video doorbells are an interesting convenience and security feature, but they're not for everyone. Some people will love being able to see out their front door at all times and use their doorbell as an intercom, but some may be uncomfortable being seen by their own doorbell coming home each day.

Smart Security Systems

Smart security systems are in the same boat. Some people will be excited about having wirelessly watchable security cameras and window alarms, and some will find this uncomfortable. That said, neighborhoods where most homes have security systems are more likely to consider this a positive upgrade.

 

What Smart Home Features to Avoid 

Lastly, there are a few smart home features that should be left to your tenants to decide on. These are either plug-and-play features that rely on personal preference or features that are a little too personal to share with one's landlord.

Plug-and-Play Smart Home Speakers

Smart lights, smart thermostats, and smart appliances are service-agnostic. This means their control apps can be connected to any smart home system. But the smart speakers decide which smart home assistant and network of services is used.

Let your tenants decide their own smart home core system. They might want Alexa, Apple, or Google, and the choice should be theirs. Plus, most smart home speakers are plug-and-play, making them more like furniture or personal devices rather than installed features like a thermostat or locks.

Smart Security Cameras

Interior security cameras are a touchy subject. If your tenants want internal smart cameras, let them choose, install, and fully control the cameras on their own. This way, there's no worry that anyone else might be watching their home interior.

 

Smart Home Upgrades for Rental Properties

With the right smart home upgrades,  you can increase the value and desirability of any rental home. From cozy apartments to lavish estates, a few smart home features can make a home feel convenient, comfortable, and cutting-edge. But it's also important to choose your upgrades carefully.

DIY Kitchen Updates

 DIY-Friendly Kitchen Repairs to Quickly Spruce Up Your Flip

Flipping a home to sell or rent is often about taking a shabby-looking house and sprucing up. A house with "good bones" still has a sound structure. It may have good insulation, well-built cabinetry, and a welcoming floorplan but the surfaces have become shabby and the style may be dated. This shows especially in the kitchen where people want to fall in love with a modern, charming space. 

The question is: How can you quickly DIY an older kitchen to make your flip more appealing without busting your renovation budget? Fortunately, we have several ideas that will bring your flip to life and transform the kitchen into a space that new buyers or renters will love.

 

1) Replace Small Kitchen Hardware

You don't have to rebuild your kitchen to modernize the hardware. In fact, kitchen hardware is one of the smallest yet most impactful ways to update your kitchen. Choose a new kitchen faucet such as a swan-necked pot filler with an extending hose for washing. Choose your favorite style of faucet handles. Then update your cabinets with a pack of new drawer-pulls and cabinet handles.   

 

2) Repaint Your Cabinets and Trim

Paint is one of the most affordable ways to completely transform your kitchen. You can also invest in vibrant (and washable) wallpaper for the parts of your kitchen with exposed drywall. A fresh coat of paint can give your cabinets and trim an entirely new color scheme. You can choose a new primary theme, accent colors, and contrasting colors. 

 

3) Strip and Stain Cabinets Instead

If you have painted cabinets, you can strip the paint and then restore the natural wood hues of your cabinetry. You can oil-polish the wood, or you can stain your wood cabinets to any natural shade you desire. Reseal the stained cabinets for a warm, welcoming look. If your cabinets are currently wood, you can stain them a new shade or paint them instead.

 

4) Re-Tile Your Backsplash

Your backsplash makes a big impact on the appearance of your kitchen. Many types of tile are quite affordable, making a new backsplash a great addition to any budget kitchen renovation.

 

5) Install New Decorative Molding and Cabinet Trim

You can even change the shape and style of your cabinets and kitchen design with the strategic use of molding and trim pieces. Trim pieces can add detail to your cabinets and subtly change their design style. Molding adds subtle elegance to your kitchen near the baseboards and ceiling. Explore shapes and style differences that you might prefer.

 

6) Place New Shades On Your Light Fixtures

You can also reinvent your existing light fixtures. most kitchen lighting can be completely transformed just by changing out which light shade you use. If the fixture is of standard sizes, you can swap out light covers for a completely different style. You can restyle flush lights, pendant lights, and even some chandelier styles.

 

7) Color Stain and Reseal Stone Countertops

Did you know that you can change the color of your countertops? While we don't recommend painting beautiful natural stone, you can color stain granite and other natural stone to give your countertop a whole new look without investing in new stone. Strip the current countertop seal, apply the stain, and then reseal your stone to protect it from moisture and unwanted staining.

 

8) Update Your Pantry Organization

Pantry renovations are very popular, but don't have to break the bank. Consider ways you can update your pantry organization without a costly new pantry system. You can install sliding wire drawers, new hanging shelves, and sectional spaces on your own. You can also update your pantry simply by organizing everything into baskets, trays, and matching dry storage canisters.

 

New Kitchen, New House

The kitchen is the heart of any home. The freshness and modern style of a kitchen can strongly sway buyers or renters which means focusing on kitchen updates with any flip. These DIY projects can help you completely change the look and feel of an older kitchen while keeping all the sturdy hardware and ergonomic flow of the original design

Leaf Management can help you choose the right renovations for your flip along with many other strategies to ensure every real estate investment has greater profit potential. Contact us today to learn more.