Rent.com conducted a survey and found that 82% of those who rent want their unit to include smart home tech for renters. These non-permanent devices connect home appliances to your phone through Wi-Fi, making it possible to control things such as the locks on your doors, your thermostat, and even your coffee maker – right from your phone.
Despite the high demand, 49% of rentals don’t have home automation for renters. But there is good news on that front: Harvest by Hillwood, a new home community in Argyle/Northlake, TX, now offers three- and four-bedroom single-family rental homes with the convenience of smart home technology! Pre-leasing on these homes is now available for move-ins in October 2022.
To showcase the benefits of smart home technology for renters, we review four of our favorite landlord-approved home automation devices.
Topping the charts is the smart lock—a must-have home automation tool for renters that makes lockouts a thing of the past. Smart locks for renters can be installed on top of traditional locks and removed when the lease is up!
Many smart locks can be controlled remotely, so if you’re at the office and need to let the dog walker into your home, you can unlock your front door for them from your desk. Similarly, if you leave your home in a rush and forget whether you locked up on your way out, many smart locks can restore your peace of mind by indicating whether the door is locked, and if it’s not, locking it for you.
There are various other ways to unlock your door should your phone die before you get home. Some smart locks, like many smartphones, scan your fingerprint to verify your identity, others require you to enter a code, and when all else fails, some of these devices come with a physical key to use as a last resort.
Tenants and landlords alike will be happy to know that renters can now buy their own robot maids. Live out your Jetson fantasies in a smart home rental with a vacuum that uses AI to learn about its surroundings, target tough messes, and even empty its own tank when it’s full.
For the busy renter, having help around the house can be invaluable, but not all robot vacuums are made equal. A tiny robot that runs over your shoes and gets lost in corners becomes more of a nuisance than a help.
The latest versions of robot vacuums are smart. They use lasers to scan for objects on the floor to ensure they don’t run into them. While they do that, they learn about your home’s layout and build an internal map, enabling them to clean your house more efficiently with each use. These smart devices pack a lot of power into a small package, make renting easier and cleaner.
Smart outlets are another energy-saving technology that benefit both landlords and tenants. Plug these connectors into existing outlets to make them “smart”. They’ll keep an inventory of what is plugged in at home, and from your smartphone, you can turn individual sockets off and on.
Imagine being able to monitor and control your energy consumption from the comfort of your bed or while waiting for an Uber. Rather than remembering to plug and unplug every electronic device in your home each time you use it, you can minimize your energy use and prolong the lives of your devices easily and from anywhere you have Wi-Fi.
Technology like this can help prevent accidents and fires, which not only saves money, but also saves lives. It makes sense why people look for this when searching out smart home rentals.
Some types of smart bulbs can be installed by tenants, but many landlords have one type of smart bulb installed already: the motion-activated light. To keep the late-night worker safe when they get home after dark, motion-activated bulbs use infrared waves to detect when a warm body is approaching. They stay on for a pre-programmed amount of time and then turn off so as not to disturb local wildlife and other sleeping tenants too much.
More recently developed smart bulbs can be dimmed on command and can change colors. Many also have energy-conserving features and long lifespans, making them both a fun and functional addition to your home.
To meet the high demand for smart homes for renters in North Texas, we’ve included professional technology integrators in the planning and development of our Argyle/Northlake, Texas new home community. Homebuyers can work with their builders to incorporate smart technology features that they want and need to make life more convenient. And with our amazing community amenities and award-winning lifestyle program, we’re not only satisfying today’s consumer demands—we’re creating the perfect conditions for people to get out and live life to the fullest for years to come.
We developed Harvest to be a unique community that marries modern conveniences with traditional values like connecting with and taking care of the land. Harvest is a one-of-a-kind agrihood, built around our area’s rich, farming tradition. The centerpiece of our community is a working commercial farm where residents can rent their own private garden plot and work in in the community garden as much or little as they wish.
Harvest has a variety of home styles and sizes to fit a range of tastes and budgets. Browse your new home options online and find the perfect lot, floor plan or quick move-in home within our Argyle/Northlake community. You can take a virtual tour to get a feel for the place from the comfort of your home, and when you’re ready, contact us or come take a look. We would love to see you!