Are you handy with devices and up to date on the latest popular homeowner trends? Smart homes, often built from a disparate collection of devices, are taking the world by storm. As more and more Internet of Things (IoT) devices become compatible with smart home hub personalities like Alexa and her Echo home management system, the dream of having a fully voice-controlled, automated, and wifi-enabled home is becoming a reality. You may already be switching out your flip home’s lights for energy efficient LEDs and improving the wiring in old properties and you have every reason to jump on this rising trend, offering your buyers not just an energy efficient home, but a pre-configured, family-welcoming smart home.
The Complete Smart Home Package
While smart homes are most often put together by homeowners with a combination of devices they personally choose, the systems have become unified and streamlined enough that you can now offer your buyers a complete smart home experience with none of the hassle of personally choosing, configuring, and setting up the devices. Just make sure each device is compatible with your hub.
Smart Home Checklist
- Smart Home Hub
- Color Changing LED Wifi Light Bulbs (don’t pay more than $20 each)
- Smart Thermostat
- Camera Doorbell
- Smart Front Lock
- Smart Garage Door Opener
- Set of Smart Outlet Strips
Place the Hub
Your smart home hub needs to be in a place that can listen to most of the house, so put it in a centralized location, preferably raised up off the ground away from wherever your buyers might want furniture. While most hubs are made to sit on a table, you can make it a special shelf or mount it to a wall in an upper corner of the living room. Walk through the house asking if it can hear you. This will give you an idea of the range. However, if a back bedroom can’t be heard, your buyers will still be able to control their smart home features with mobile devices. You might consider including a single inexpensive tablet in the deal to help configure and run the smart home.
Set Up the Lights
The one essential part of any smart home setup are responsive LED lights. These are not only more energy-efficient than classic incandescents, they’re also incredibly neat and very charming to work with. Make sure to get color-changing for that ultimate high-tech (better than a dimmer switch) effect. All you need to do is take out the old bulbs and replace them with wifi-enabled smart bulbs, and don’t forget outdoor bulbs as well. For chandelier-sized sockets, you may need a converter piece to use the same bulbs throughout the home. Use a mobile device to set up easy groups like ‘Overhead Lights,’ ’Dining Room,’ or ‘Porch.’
Hooking Up the Accessories
Depending on how handy you (or your contractors) are, installing a smart thermostat, doorbell, and garage door opener may or may not be a simple task. The thermostat is a particularly appealing feature as it allows the home’s heating and cooling to be voice and app-controlled as well as set to a schedule that turns itself off when everyone leaves and on just before they come home for energy efficient comfort. The doorbell can give people a digital look at visitors and package delivery and the garage door opener means that they never have to fumble for a device or open the garage manually for guests.
Updating the Outlets
Not everything electrical in a home has been ‘smartened’ yet, but you can still give your buyers control over things like toasters, fans, and other appliances with smart outlets and power strips. Simply plug them in over the old outlets and then each new provided outlet can be turned on and off through the hub, whatever happens to be connected to it.
Configuring the Convenience
Finally, use your tablet and the smart home’s options to set everything to be incredibly convenient. Create light and appliance groups that can be controlled with phrases like “Turn off kitchen lights” or “Turn overhead lights blue,” then teach your real estate agent to use these features when giving walkthroughs of the house. Your potential buyers will be delighted and interest in your flip will go through the roof. For more interesting flipping ideas and tips, contact us today!
