Do tenants actually care about smart home upgrades?
Category: Miscellaneous
3 replies
Original post
Hi everyone!So, I keep seeing smart locks, thermostats, doorbells, and other tech stuff marketed as upgrades that tenants love... but do people actually mention these things during showings or are us landlords more excited about them than tenants are?
I can see the convenience (especially with lock changes and temperature control) but I also don’t want to pay for another device I’ll have to troubleshoot every time something goes wrong with it.
Have smart home upgrades been worth it for your properties? Or are they not really worth the potential hassle?
Reply by Christina Calderon
They're not going to be the reason a tenant chooses one rental over another — but they do contribute to their overall feeling towards and impression of a unit. In my experience adding smart locks and thermostats to my units, tenants appreciated the addition but it didn't increase the rent or anything. It just made the unit feel more modern and hopefully will help my tenant satisfaction surveys later this year.Reply by Marc St.James
I'd say the smart lock has been the only one that's really been worth it for me. Tenants like not having to deal with keys, but honestly I appreciate it even more because I don't have to rekey locks every time someone moves out.
I haven't seen smart thermostats make much of a difference when showing a unit. Most tenants think they're nice, but I wouldn't expect them to pay more because of it.
For me, if an upgrade makes my life easier too, it's usually worth considering. If it's just another device I'll end up troubleshooting, I usually pass.