Many landlords now carry smart phones and are appreciative of how they can help in the day to day running of their business. But the real secret to staying ahead in the residential letting sector is to invest in smart homes.
Cater for tenant satisfaction
There is an ever growing emphasis for landlords at the top end of the sector to provide something more than just conventional living to tenants willing to take out long term letting agreements on their properties. Many are now getting landlord insurance quotes on homes that not only offer high speed internet and off road parking but also offer tenants the chance to cut down on the cost of living, lower energy consumption, and generally make life simple. Home automation allows control of a range of electrical items in the home and it is the way of the future. Everyone can minimise the impact they have on the environment by using home automation to get their house under control and lower energy bills, landlords offering such properties will stay ahead of the game.
Make the house a machine
All, or at least most, electrical items, lighting and security can be controlled through one interface and switched on and off remotely. This makes it easy to make sure everything is off when it should be and that lights, for instance, can be switched on ten minutes before arriving home in the summer or ten minutes after dusk in the winter. Basically it will give the impression that someone is home when they are actually out. If it looks as though someone is at home it will hopefully deter a break in and a claim on the home property insurance policy.
Heating any home is now becoming very costly, and heating an empty home for any great length of time is no longer viable. Most homes only take half an hour to an hour to warm up if the heating system is of modern design. A smart heating system can be activated when the tenant leaves work, which will ensure he walks into a welcoming atmosphere without encountering hostile fuel bills.
Compute optimised settings
The best advantage of an automated system is being able to manage how and when heating and lighting are used. The benefits gained through this ability to switch the electrical items or heating on when needed, as opposed to leaving them on, will be significant. Many new systems now give the dweller a chance to monitor his energy output room by room and hour by hour. Software can now be linked from the energy source to a computer that will give a rundown of usage anywhere in the home at any time, allowing the inhabitant to identify where savings can be made.