4 Best Smart Home Upgrades for Multi-Family Rental Properties

When you buy your first investment property, one of your priorities is to increase its value over the years. While some factors that affect a property's value are not in your direct control (like the state of the economy and the overall attractiveness of the region, city, or district where the property is located), there are many actions that real estate investors can take to boost the value of their assets. An increasingly popular trend is ensuring that your property is up-to-date with the most recent technological development and displays so-called smart building features.

Installing smart technologies in your property will probably become the norm at one point, so staying ahead of the curve is the clever thing to do for a property owner. In this article, we will illustrate four smart building upgrades you can make to increase the value of your property.

Introduce Smart Lightning

Smart lighting solutions are one of the best energy-efficient upgrades for your home because they can be adjusted automatically based on the time of day, occupancy, and tenant convenience. For example, you can set your system so that lights dim or turn off when the space is vacant and brighten up before the tenants arrive. Smart lighting systems can be connected to motion sensors, timers, and mobile apps, allowing you to control the lights with an app on your phone or laptop. These systems are very popular among residential and commercial building owners, as they don't only increase the level of comfort of the building's occupants but also help them save energy and cut utility costs.

Install a Smart HVAC System

Another way you can boost the value of your property is by making heating and cooling management easier and more efficient with a smart HVAC system. Unlike traditional systems, a smart one collects data on temperature, humidity, and other climate-related parameters to create a comfortable environment for the building's occupants.

For example, you can set a specific time and temperature for each room in your building, helping to maximize energy efficiency. Some of these systems can reduce heating and cooling costs through automatic temperature management. That's because they are equipped with occupancy sensors that can tell when a room is occupied and adjust the temperature accordingly.

Additionally, they may also come with remote management features that allow you to adjust the temperature from anywhere. This can be very helpful when renting a residential property to a tenant, as it allows you to adjust certain HVAC settings to their preferences without needing a property manager on site.

Upgrade Your Security Solutions

Smart buildings use a combination of traditional home security measures that allow you to considerably raise your property's level of safety. These include access control measures aimed at ensuring that only authorized personnel can enter the property or specific areas of it. Consider upgrading traditional locks and keys to digital key fobs or mobile access into buildings, thus giving a more secure and convenient experience to tenants and property managers.

Smart alarms can also increase the effectiveness of your security system. They use motion sensors to detect suspicious movement both outside and inside of the property before sending the alert to your devices of choice, the property manager, or the authorities.

Obviously, a smart building must also have a bulletproof video security system. When installing cameras, there are many factors to consider. First of all, are you going to use digital or analog cameras? They can differ a lot in terms of overall quality and the way image resolution is measured (TVL vs MP), with digital cameras usually offering superior levels of quality. Then you should carefully select their location on your property. For example, some 360 security cameras should be installed in areas of greater visibility (which serves as a crime deterrent in and of itself), while others can be more discreet.

Another increasingly popular measure is to invest in an AI video management system that can quickly sift through hours of video footage and highlight certain events or potential threats across the property. Finally, you should choose whether you want to use a traditional CCTV system or a cloud-based one that allows for remote viewing and management of the video footage.

Install a Guest and Delivery Management System

Modern visitor management systems make it extremely easy for both tenants and property managers to manage guests and deliveries to the property by automatically maintaining visitor logs and providing temporary access credentials to allow for an efficient visitor experience without compromising building security. Examples include RFID-enabled card readers, mobile access control options that allow tenants to send and revoke access credentials for their guests, as well as video intercom systems that offer video chat capabilities and access control from inside the property.

Make the Most Out of Your Rental Property

Upgrading multi-family rental properties can be a wise investment strategy for property owners looking to increase the value of their assets. With various upgrades available, ranging from minor cosmetic changes to major structural renovations, there are many ways to enhance the appeal and functionality of a multi-family property.

From energy-efficient appliances and updated amenities to modernized common areas and outdoor spaces, these upgrades can attract high-quality tenants and boost rental income, resulting in greater long-term financial returns. By prioritizing strategic upgrades and working with experienced professionals, property owners can make informed decisions and create thriving rental properties that offer value to both tenants and potential buyers alike.