Smart Home Technology to Implement in Apartments & Multi-family Properties
Finding and retaining good tenants is tough for a landlord. Offer tenants a high-quality experience, and hopefully, they won’t move out. Providing a rental property is like providing a service. The apartment is the product. And the tenant is your customer. Besides keeping your property well-maintained, there are other things you can do to improve the experience for your tenants.
In this article, we’ll describe a number of smart home technologies that can improve security, safety, and convenience for your tenants and their visitors.
Access Control Systems
Access control systems are essential to prevent intruders from entering the building. Ideally, as a landlord, you make it easy and convenient for your tenants to enter the building. Allowing access to visitors is an entirely different layer to also consider. It’s about finding the balance between convenience and safety.
Most access control systems for multi-family buildings are installed at the main entrances. It’s also helpful to include them in areas with restricted access, such:
- Elevator
- Mailroom
- Gym
- Lounge
- Garages
Fitting access control readers to each entrance allows tenants to present credentials and get inside safely. Tenants can use entry items like a key card, key fob, or app on a smartphone. Technology is making access systems for large buildings simple and sleek. The latest systems incorporate biometric readers, making it even more convenient.
Visitors can request access by using an audio or video intercom system at the entrance, which links them to individual apartments or a security desk or concierge. Frequent visitors such as family members, couriers, or service staff can be given temporary guest credentials to make access more convenient. Access control systems help to maintain security at entrance points, but they also provide useful data on occupancy levels, which can be used as input to smart controls.
Security Cameras
Surveillance cameras inside and outside apartment buildings add additional security throughout your property. Consider installing cameras in areas you think are ‘vulnerable’ to intruders. The building perimeter is a great place to start!
Smart security cameras can be programmed to capture incidents when they are triggered by a motion detector (or sensor). If you think the outside of your multi-family building is dangerous, it’s smart to run the security cameras continuously. While security cameras are important, they should be discrete and blend with the architecture of the building.
Sensors and Alarms
Smart alarms and sensors help increase safety in a larger building. If the sensors detect carbon monoxide, smoke, or other unusual activity, they send notifications automatically to the property manager on-site to ensure a quick response. Sensors can also be programmed to send automated notifications to the emergency services. For landlords managing large buildings, it’s important to automate as much of the process as you can! It’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your property.
HVAC systems
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems can improve the quality of the environment within an apartment block. However, they can be expensive to run if they are controlled manually. How many tenants do you think leave the heat blasting all day during the winter? Not all tenants are good to keep long-term. Some will drive your property’s monthly expenses through the roof.
Smart HVAC systems can be controlled automatically by using sensors and control software. The sensors monitor temperatures, external weather conditions, and other environmental factors when adjusting the HVAC system’s output. Smart technology has made home features, like air conditioning, energy efficient. You can reduce utility costs and save the planet along the way.
Lighting
Smart lighting systems can help to maintain the safety of tenants and the building itself. Like smart HVAC systems, apartment building lighting can be programmed to respond to existing weather conditions without human touch. Integrating lighting systems with access control can also automate lighting at times when there is little activity in the building, such as from midnight to 5 am.
Keeping Properties Safe
Regardless of the type of property you own, it’s important to keep it safe. If you are dealing with a house that suffered from damages due to break-ins, you have different options for what to do. You can sell the house for cash to an end buyer. There are plenty of real estate investors that purchase large properties with cash. We buy houses companies are also reliable investor groups to reach out to. Don’t lose hope when dealing with a property that has been damaged because it didn’t have security alarm systems in place.