Do you remember the movies ‘Back to the future’?
What if we told you that those things are no longer just movie tricks or up to the imagination.
Now, you may ask why are we telling you about these unknown devices…
Or, maybe you’re already aware of them (Amazon Alexa)?
THIS IS WHY
The people who are going to be renting your property are becoming more and more tech-savvy. Smart technology has not only transformed the way they interact with their homes but also increased their focus on things that matter the most to them… TIME!
But why are Landlords not providing future renters with these devices?
The term is called ‘The Internet of Things’ or as we like to say: ‘Smart Homes’.
It has one goal and that goal goes with what we believe in… Saving you time.
Just like us, the tools are affordable, simple to use and beautifully designed.
Let us now explain why, how and what you, as a Landlord, can do, to stand out when displaying your property online on LetBritain, for tenants to find.
What You Need:
Wi-Fi… That’s it.
Depending on which device you have provided in your property, your tenant is now ready to play a specific song in a specific room, heat the living room before arriving home from work, or check who’s by the door while they are laying on the couch.
These devices are all able to be controlled through several ways of movements or directly through the voice commands of your tenant. As a Landlord, the common goal is to keep the costs as low as possible. However, in terms of Smart devices, it is extremely risk-free and easy to connect, adjust and implement into your property, regardless of the size of the property or properties. One tip: Avoid fitting equipment to walls and ceilings, so that you can change the layout without any challenges.
Instead of having to texts back and forth between Landlord and Tenant, today your tenant can have their own digital assistant around the house that welcomes their commands and allows them to virtually control connected smart equipment.
These are the leading smart domestic assistants. They’re all suitable to place anywhere in the home or flat. When the tenant call for their assistant – whether Alexa, Google, or Siri – the device will either play their favourite songs, schedule a meeting in their calendar, show recordings, manage the lights, or simply tell how the weather is going to be.
Additionally, smart displays combine the benefits of smart speakers with a touchscreen display. These let your tenant enjoy streaming media, online shopping, and even video calling. For smart displays, we recommend Amazon’s Echo Show, the Google Nest Hub, and the (Alexa-voiced) Facebook Portal device.
One of the simplest ways to make your property stand out is to add smart lighting. There’s no need to rewire the house, all it needs is to screw in the bulb (and maybe plug in a relay box). These are usually managed by an app-based timer, timed to switch on when the tenant comes home. Options include: The Lumiman range of Wi-Fi bulbs with RGBCW LEDs, and/or the Phillips Hue range.
With a smart plug installed, your tenant gets a list of options:
The Amazon Smart Plug is reasonably the best option available and features Alexa integration.
Besides the element of time, feeling safe at home is the most important feature any Tenant is looking for. Therefore, we’ve decided to add Smart Security to the list:
Multiple indoor security cameras are available that ship with a pedestal stand, saving you from having to mounting it on the wall. These come with environmental sensors for monitoring temperature, noise, humidity, and movement. This allows the tenant to get weather data, helping them pick out the best outfit for the day. – This is a Key feature to promote when listing your property.
Additionally, motion or noise near the window can send notification to any smartphone. Example: If the window opens while the alarm is on and the tenant is out of home, several things can happen: The system will sound the alarm, notify them on the phone, and open a video link to the strategically placed camera.
Recommendations:
For smoke and carbon monoxide detection, consider the Nest Protect, comes with app notifications and a split spectrum sensor to detect slow and fast-burning fires.
Connected boiler systems let you manage your heating, controlling the thermostat for hot water as well. These devices allow the temperature to be manually controlled, or based on weather conditions, and are compatible with most heating systems. Look at the devices from Hive or Nest.
HOW TO USE MAINTAIN:
Once any of these smart devices are up and running, we recommend considering the importance of security and maintenance:
Another essential step is to use the guest Wi-Fi capability of the network to connect smart home gear. This protects other hardware from insecure devices. Finally, we recommend finding a wireless repeater that can connect to your property’s Wi-Fi router and extend the range of the signal.
Okay… all this might sound fantastic and fancy, but how do you make sure your property is being shown to the right potential tenants?… without having to spend too much time or money.
Smart Letting allows you to do so.
Similar to high street agents, online letting agencies will take your property and market it on the UK’s biggest property portals, including Zoopla, Rightmove, and Prime Location + many more.
All you need to do to rent out your property is register on LetBritain, go through 3 simple steps enabling you to match your property type and customise the way you wish to let out your property – and we’ll advertise your property for you, on Rightmove, Zoopla, Prime Location, and many other UK property portals.
Our purpose? Essentially, it is to generate you as many quality tenant enquiries as possible. It’s then up to you, the landlord, to arrange viewings at a jointly convenient time and to then choose the tenants you wish to live in your property.
By letting out smartly you will be free to take care of the management of the letting and tenancy itself, while we would present leads and tenant enquiries.
One thing every SMART feature has, it the ability to be involved as much or as little as you like. If you only wish us to find you tenants or be flexible and choose a solution to meet your needs.
Example: If you’re a private landlord and you’re looking to:
Then an online letting agent is the SMART solution for you.
THANK YOU!
If you’ve read this far, thank you for your attention. We hope this piece of content helped you in even the slightest bit and if it did, please share with a friend, colleague or family member that could also benefit from this.