DAlter01 Posted January 20, 2021 Posted January 20, 2021 In a prior home I had a big Insteon network controlled by an ISY. It worked good but there wasn't any local talent to maintain it after the sale and when I mentioned Insteon to the buyer and their agents, nobody had heard of it, etc. I don't think having that automation helped in the sale and improved the property value. It was a big multi-million dollar house, the buyers had Crestron at their prior house and having a functional home automation is "expected" in that price range. I am now contemplating my options on a new house. It has an old Lutron system that needs to be completely replaced. I can go Insteon again which will take a bunch of my time to set up but a local well qualified Lutron dealer has pitched a new Homeworks system, and frankly, the price isn't that bad. Being Lutron and with that name being known among at least some buyers and certainly by their real estate agents, in the multi-million price range does anyone know if the Lutron system might add value? In other words, if I spend more money to get the Lutron Homeworks system, do you believe I'll get that increased cost back, or more, in sales price when I sell the place? Assume, of course, that I sell before the tech is outdated. He is picthing a new tech Homeworks QSX processor so I believe it should have at least a 15 year operating lifespan. I'll probably own the house for 5-10 years so a 15 year technology lifespan shouldn't be a dead system when I go to sell.
jmbraben Posted January 20, 2021 Posted January 20, 2021 (edited) I'm currently in a similar boat...my current home has Insteon that I installed, now we're building new. Trying to figure out what I want to put in that house (and if the Insteon is positive or negative in current house). I don't want a closed system that I can't maintain myself, but I'm currently on hold with Smarthome trying to understand what is going on with Insteon availability (if you haven't noticed, most SKU has not been in stock for several months). Edited January 20, 2021 by jmbraben
simplextech Posted January 20, 2021 Posted January 20, 2021 6 minutes ago, jmbraben said: (if you haven't noticed, most SKU has not been in stock for several months). I'll simply chime in that this is affecting multiple vendors and suppliers. SmartHome is not the only one with inventory issues.
jmbraben Posted January 20, 2021 Posted January 20, 2021 Finally got through to Smarthome customer support, the rep stated that they "expect inventory next week and to be back to normal lead times"...hopefully that will be the case.
bpwwer Posted January 20, 2021 Posted January 20, 2021 I would assume that most home buyers aren't going to have the DIY automation knowledge that I do and that my ISY/Insteon/Z-wave installation would not be a value add to the home sale. For my home, I'd either configure the Insteon/Z-wave devices in a stand-alone manner such that they basically operate as standard devices or I'd pull them and replace with standard switches. Now if the system was professionally installed, is well documented, and has a company standing behind the work to support it for the new owners, then it may add some value (or at least not remove value). And at this level, the technology is less important than the reputation of the company that did the work and supports it. 4
jmbraben Posted January 20, 2021 Posted January 20, 2021 yeah...pretty much what I'm thinking...everything already works by default stand alone anyhow (but ripping it all out would be no big deal either) Personally I see negative value in "professionally installed", but that is me. Just need to find nerd buyer Guess we'll see what happens.
dbuss Posted January 20, 2021 Posted January 20, 2021 I sold a home a couple of years ago with the ISY and all devices and an Elk alarm system. It didn't add any value to home. However, it was something the buyers thought was neat and helped get the sale. Would they have bought the home without it...probably. But may not have paid as much as they did. That's something I'll never know.
DAlter01 Posted January 20, 2021 Author Posted January 20, 2021 Thanks all. It seems there probably isn't a measurable advantage of property value one way or another on which system is chosen as long as it isn't in a "failed" state at time of sale. Maybe it comes down to which one I like, which contractor I like, or if I want to have an owner managed technology.
carealtor Posted January 20, 2021 Posted January 20, 2021 No buyer is going to buy a house because it is filled with DIY home automation. Plenty of buyers won't buy a house because it is filled with DIY home automation. I always install my home automation with a removal plan. 2
MrBill Posted January 21, 2021 Posted January 21, 2021 17 hours ago, carealtor said: No buyer is going to buy a house because it is filled with DIY home automation. Plenty of buyers won't buy a house because it is filled with DIY home automation. I always install my home automation with a removal plan. I've always wondered if you were a carealtor? I tend to agree if we ever sell the house is not more valuable with the DIY system installed here, no one else would be able to maintain it. I wouldn't want to become "support" either. New owner: "Sorry to bother you but the switches don't really seem to be working" Me: "you must have noise, start by unplug everything you have plugged in" New owner: "no it's supposed to work" ---or--- New Owner's Attorney: "You failed to disclose that this lighting system is junk" (because they don't understand it). 2 1
carealtor Posted January 21, 2021 Posted January 21, 2021 1 hour ago, MrBill said: I've always wondered if you were a carealtor? I tend to agree if we ever sell the house is not more valuable with the DIY system installed here, no one else would be able to maintain it. I wouldn't want to become "support" either. New owner: "Sorry to bother you but the switches don't really seem to be working" Me: "you must have noise, start by unplug everything you have plugged in" New owner: "no it's supposed to work" ---or--- New Owner's Attorney: "You failed to disclose that this lighting system is junk" (because they don't understand it). "Yes!" to everything you said. (My wife and I are Realtors in Northern California. Specifically Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, which is just northeast of Sacramento.) 1
larryllix Posted January 22, 2021 Posted January 22, 2021 (edited) Most people buying a house would want compensation for light switches with occupancy sensors built into them, to pay an electrician to rip them out. "OMG! The lights go on automatically when you walk in the room! How creepy!" ...but then you have a hard time selling a house in this country with a pool in the back yard. You may need to fill it in or take a cut in the sale price. Edited January 22, 2021 by larryllix
iowaj Posted February 28, 2021 Posted February 28, 2021 On 1/20/2021 at 2:34 PM, dbuss said: I sold a home a couple of years ago with the ISY and all devices and an Elk alarm system. It didn't add any value to home. However, it was something the buyers thought was neat and helped get the sale. Would they have bought the home without it...probably. But may not have paid as much as they did. That's something I'll never know. I am curious when you sold if you gave any instruction on the system and how many devices you actually had. I, too, hope we can sell with the system in place, but I don't want any followup on it other than passing info to access the ISY launcher for admin console. Speaking of that, I welcome any suggestions for passing that on to a new buyer.
dbuss Posted February 28, 2021 Posted February 28, 2021 9 minutes ago, iowaj said: I am curious when you sold if you gave any instruction on the system and how many devices you actually had. I, too, hope we can sell with the system in place, but I don't want any followup on it other than passing info to access the ISY launcher for admin console. Speaking of that, I welcome any suggestions for passing that on to a new buyer. I spent a few hours with the buyer going over the devices and programs. They haven't spent a lot of time with the system. They disabled some of the programs that didn't apply to them. I know they haven't reprogrammed the locks because they called me last Sunday because they were locked out of the house. I cleared all the lock codes when we moved and re-keyed the locks and gave them all the keys. They had to make a trip to someone they gave a key. After this fiasco they said, I guess that's why we have the home automation system for instances like this. The key is the new owners need to have a real interest in the system. If they don't, it will most likely not be used to it's potential. 1
larryllix Posted February 28, 2021 Posted February 28, 2021 I would never try to pass a running system to a new user now. If you do pass the limited instructions on paper and make no verbal contact, as it can open you up to costly legal action, once the frustrated new owner talks to his friends for the usual "you should have gotten better" advice. Selling a house in the past, I ripped out the X10 wall switches after the agreement. When the new owner showed up for the final inspection she ran right to the wall switch missing and asked me where it went. I explained it was part of the security and wouldn't work any (BS), to which she replied "Good, then it won't cost me anything for an electrician to replace it" 3
TrojanHorse Posted March 1, 2021 Posted March 1, 2021 Just my two cents not based on experience. If you do sell a house with automation /smarts I would be clear in writing that it’s as is / where is. That’s a legal concept here in the US that should protect the seller. Another idea could be to show the house with the automation but have the details of the listing clearly say it’s not included. Then a buyer can ask that it be included (just as they could ask to buy your couch, dog butler statue, etc) or not. The advantage here to seller is that you can have the automation working while you sell the house since you don’t know how long that might take. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1
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