THE DOS AND DON’TS ABOUT BUYING AND SELLING SMART

THE DOS AND DON’TS ABOUT BUYING AND SELLING SMART

The latest Cheddar @ Home episode details how to buy and sell a home with smart home products

When it comes to buying a new home, house hunters are  inundated with decisions. The typical choices – such as the number of bathrooms and bedrooms, or the style of the home – are still on people’s minds. And these days, another popular topic for first-time homebuyers is a home’s ability to easily incorporate smart home products.

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For sellers, they too have choices about smart home products: they can either bring those smart home devices with SELL-Smart-Home-KMT-300x157 THE DOS AND DON'TS ABOUT BUYING AND SELLING SMARTthem, or leave them in the home to increase the value of their home. Cheddar @ Home recently spoke with Lourdes Pena, a real estate agent with Redfin, about the latest home-buying trends. Pena advises her sellers to leave some of those smart devices in the home.

For example, if something is mounted to the wall or ceiling – like a flat-panel TV or a smart thermostat, or a sound system, the sellers will likely leave that. Home owners may want to bring their wireless cameras or appliances to their next home, so it’s best to check with your agent to be sure.

Pena also shared a few other home-buying tips, including:
1. Location. Consider where you want to buy. Should it be in a good school district? Do you want an easy commute?  How about a nice “walking score?”
2. Finances. You’ll want to know what you can afford before you start your search. Pena also recommends to get pre-approved for a loan before you start searching so your dream home doesn’t get snatched up before you can put the money down.

3. Build the team. Get recommendations from family or friends about a good real estate agent and a mortgage lender.

For those sellers looking to upgrade before they list their home on the market, here are a few ways to connect and control your home and make it more comfortable and secure. And, best of luck to those new home buyers as the Spring market heats up!

Amazing Smart Home Combos That Will Make Your Life Easier

Amazing Smart Home Combos That Will Make Your Life Easier

Research shows that buying a connected thermostat is often the “gateway” into purchasing other smart-home products…most often resulting in the purchase of a smart speaker, like the Echo Dot. So why not take a dive and get them both at the same? Afterall, research shows that a single smart home device isn’t enough for about 1 in 6 households.

The integration of the Echo with the thermostat allows you to control the temperature of your home with a simple voice command. It’s as easy as, “Alexa, set the temperature to 72.” The duo can help you stay comfortable and better manage your energy usage during the hot summer months. When you’re leaving the house for the day, you can ask Alexa to turn up your A/C as you rush out the door to work or to drop your kids off at summer camp.

Best Buy’s bundle deal works with all Honeywell Home Wi-Fi thermostats, at a range of price points and features. All five have Smart Response technology, which provides “just right” temperatures by identifying your preferred heating and cooling cycles. Each one also integrates with your smartphone, allowing you to control the temperature of your home from anywhere.

Take a look, and choose the one that best fits you.

NEW Honeywell Home T9 Smart Thermostat with Smart Room Sensor

Get precise temperature control with the Smart Room Sensor – it can monitor and help regulate temperature and humidity levels room by room, based on occupancy or a specific schedule that you choose.

NEW Honeywell Home T9 Smart Thermostat

The T9 uses geofencing technology to help automate your home’s temperature controls. It has an interactive, high-quality display with easy-to-navigate menus.

Honeywell Home T5+ Smart Programmable Touch-Screen Wi-Fi Thermostat

In addition to Smart Response, the T5+ also automatically changes from heat to cool to provide maximum comfort. Built in smart alerts send push notifications to remind you to change your filter or warn of extreme outdoor temperatures. Geofence technology uses your smartphone’s location to adjust the temperature when you’re away and when you return.

Honeywell Home Smart Color Thermostat with Wi-Fi Connectivity

Built for comfort AND design aesthetics, this thermostat features a large, customizable color touchscreen display that allows you to create a unique look to match or accent your homes décor.

Honeywell Home – 7 Day Programmable Thermostat with Wi-Fi Capability

Large, easy to read display with 7-day programming and up to 4 program periods per day. Clock keeps working during power failures and automatically adjusts for daylight savings time.

So, if you were ever thinking about jumping into the smart home game, take advantage of Best Buy’s bundle offer, and let the smart thermostat and Echo Dot be your gateway. Soon you’ll be hooked and may even want to reap the benefits of a whole-home monitoring solution, controlling everything from your door locks, to your office lamp with the swipe of a finger.

Goodbye smart home novice; hello envy of the neighborhood.

Need a New Thermostat? Buy a Smart One

Need a New Thermostat? Buy a Smart One

The T9 Smart Thermostat for smart home enthusiast.

Need a new Thermostat?
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The T9 senses the temperatures in the rooms you care about most. Focus on the rooms you choose as a part of your set schedule, or allow comfort to go where you go as you move about your home. Then, help save energy when you leave.

Place Smart Room Sensors where you want to see each room’s temperature and humidity. Use the multi-room display on the thermostat’s touchscreen or in the app to easily focus on rooms either based on their occupancy or according to a specific schedule you choose.

When focused on multiple rooms, the T9 will work towards creating an average temperature, balancing the needs across the whole home.

Purchase the T9 bundled with a sensor, and expand the system by adding up to 20 additional sensors.

With the Honeywell Home app, using geofencing the T9 knows when you’re coming and going, so no matter your schedule, you can always come home to comfort and save energy when you’re away.

The T9 learns your home’s heating and cooling cycles to help deliver the optimal temperature at the right time. Plus you can be alerted when it’s time to change your filters and when temperatures get too high or low.

It’s easy to incorporate the T9 into your home system. Our partners integrate through the Works with Honeywell Home program so you can control your devices the way you want.

The Benefits of Home Security Automation and Why You Should Upgrade

Today you live in a smart home, and your home is being made capable of being able to do a lot of automated tasks. One of the areas of interest that is becoming popular is improved home security. Since the technology and processing power exists to do some pretty amazing things with the security of your home, this makes it possible for a home owner to get a lot of security tweaks for an ever-reducing cost. With that in mind, the following are a few areas of automation that will benefit you and your family. 

PoweredByCircle_Home_Print-1019x1024 The Benefits of Home Security Automation and Why You Should Upgrade

Remote Access 

You left your smart home and were a good way down the road before you remembered you forgot to arm your home alarm. While most people would be fuming by realizing this and complaining about the hassle of having to turn around to fix it, you calmly pull out your smart phone and use your onboard app to arm your alarm system by remote. The added benefit of not having to go back to do this manually means that you will have saved a ton of time and gas in the process that would have been wasted otherwise. 

Learning Your Schedule 

One of the great aspects of technology-based security upgrades for a home is that more and more security devices are able to learn and adapt to your schedule. If you regularly come in late at night, your home can prepare for your arrival by turning on the lights for you. This is an important home security measure, because you do not have to get out of your car in the darkness anymore and fumble for the right key. Rather, your security lighting is ready to go as you pull into the driveway and will fire up when you get into a close enough proximity to your home. The lighting that comes on for you will illuminate your path to the front door. 

Monitoring Your Perimeter 

While it is nice to have cameras watching everything that goes on outside your dwelling, you can set your home security system up to alert your smartphone any time someone gets too close to your home. You can access any camera by remote and watch a real time feed of the kind of activity going on outside. This also gives you the advantage of taking a solid look around your smart home for intruders before leaving your house.

Why You Should Invest in Smart Home Automation

Why You Should Invest in Smart Home Automation

Smart home automation is increasingly popular these days – and for good reason. Home automation carries many benefits, and the individual devices are becoming more affordable, widely available, and easy to use. And it’s easy to customize your system to meet your needs, then add additional devices as you go.

If you’re new to home automation, it’s a good idea to let experienced professionals handle the installation. KMT Systems specializes in smart home automation, offering sales, installation, and guidance to customers who want to automate but aren’t sure of what they need. Give us a call at (770) 507-5828 to get started!

Not sold on smart home automation? Read on for a few of the many benefits of automating your home.

Increased Home Security

Internet surveillance cameras allow you to monitor your home from anywhere, smart locks and remote light controls give you control over your home when you’re not physically there. Being able to turn lights on at random times or check in on interior or exterior from a different location can significantly increase the security of your home.

Lower Energy Usage and Costs

We’ve all done it: turned the air conditioning on full blast, then left the house without remembering to turn it down. But what if you could change the temperature of your home from far away? Not only do smart automation devices give you the power to do just that, but many learn your schedule and habits, and optimize functions to reduce unnecessary energy use. Over time, the money you’ll save on your heating and cooling bills will fully cover the cost of a smart thermostat – and then some!

Make Day-to-Day Life Easier

Smart home devices can do many things. They can help you make a shopping list, check the weather, monitor your to-do list and play music. They can turn on your coffee maker when your alarm goes off. They can lock the door when you forget – and much more. Smart home automation makes your life simpler and easier.

KMT Systems offers a variety of residential and commercial security services, including security systems and alarm monitoring services, to homes and businesses throughout the Atlanta metro area. We can customize a security solution to meet your needs and budget. Get in touch with our Georgia home security experts today!

More Home Security with Less Effort

More Home Security with Less Effort

Residential robberies account for 70% of the burglaries in the United States according to National Statistics. Statistics also show that homes without home security security alarm systems are around 3 times more likely to be burglarized than houses along with security alarm systems. Yet only 20% 0f the homes in the US have a home security system.

The problem with traditional hard wired home security systems is that arming the system is easy to forget. People stop using their systems. New technology changes the playing field.

Here are some of the latest technology for improving home security systems that makes it easier for you the home owner.

Within the wireless alarm techniques, (WIFI) the components of the home security system sends signals over the airwaves. Sensors like carbon monoxide and smoke detectors can be incorporated into the main alarm. There is not need to run cables and lines through your existing walls.

With a wireless system you can arm your home security from your car or anywhere. No need to give out codes or punch buttons.

You can get email alerts every time your front door is opened.

You can open the door for your children when they come home from school right from your workplace or any phone.

You can get video clips from a camera watching your door.

Security camera are part of the new home security technology. Today the presence of cameras has become common place. You can even check your cameras from your phone.

Conclusion

With today’s wireless technology and mobile apps, you can add more security to your home with far less effort. Want more information about wireless home security systems? Give us a call and let us explain your options for using technology to improve security with your Atlanta home.