All Forum Posts by: Mike A.

Originally posted by @Will Triplett:

Mike A,

What brand did you decide on? Also, I did the ecobee thermostat thing on a B+ unit and that simple change made it more competitive in the rental market.

I set one building up on the Nest x Yale lock with Nest Thermostat e's.  I kind of cheated where my utility company was selling them for 29.00 a piece per account, so they were pretty cheap. I like the ability to control and monitor everything through the app. The tenants love the fact they can monitor everything in their apartment through an app too.

The other building I am trying to save a little and using Ring doorbells, ecobee and Yale YRD256 Assure Lock SL as a deadbolt.  

Originally posted by @Aaron K.:

Absolutely, just saying it won't be as completely headache free as you may have anticipated

 True, but when is anything 100% headache free when you are hands on managing several buildings?

Originally posted by @Aaron K.:

@Mike A. even with the lithium batteries the batteries still die fairly often and someone has to be sent out to change the batteries.  Granted that this was large numbers, probably 100 units at any given time but still.

 Cheaper and more efficient than coping keys, buying a new lock or rekeying a lock.

Originally posted by @Aaron K.:

@Mike A. so did the company I used to work for.

 Sorry, not sure what you mean.

We use lithium batteries which last years, we'd also receive notifications from the locks if the batteries are low. In addition, you can give power to the lock by placing a 9V battery on the bottom of the lock.

As we continue to grow and manage our own rentals, I am thinking, that over the long run, I will save money and headaches by just switching out a traditional deadbolt lock, to one of those keyless locks. I have a few 5 unit buildings and two large complexes with 25 and 30 units. I cannot tell you how many times some of these knuckleheads also lose their keys. They are a little more expensive, where a deadbolt is around 15 bucks, to one of these keyless locks which is around 100 bucks. However, I do save on the headaches of a lost key, no re-keying and if/when I sell the buildings, I do not have to send over a janitorial key ring with dozens of keys.

I've also added ecobee thermostats and video doorbells to my nicer units, which tenants seem to appreciate and enjoy. They seem to like the convenience of these additions; not to mention the energy savings with the thermostat. I am pulling an additional $75.00 a month per unit by having and offering "smart apartments". Granted, these are A and B neighborhoods, not C or D.

What do you guys think?

Originally posted by @Bjorn Ahlblad:

@Mike A.I too have coin operated machines and it is a bit of a hassle for tenants and me with all those coins! True it is cash, and Coinstar will give you gift certificates to lots of places. But hauling around 20+lbs of quarters is no picnic either. Then there are the service providers who will install and service and split the bill. With a 30 unit building you have options. LED lighting is an alternative for your parking lot. All the best.

I found a solar panel adapter I can add to the poles. I think that should work. Need to run it by an electrician.

Trying to lower the water consumption. The water bill is huge.

One of my buildings, a 30 unit, has a three washers and three dryers. I am trying to get the the expenses down, and the water/electric use for the building is pretty high. The dryers are electric, so I was going to update them to gas, however, I wanted to get some recommendations on a new set to buy. Also, I need them to be coin-operated as well.

In addition, does anyone know how to make parking lot light use more efficient? I find the four pole lights using quite a lot of electricity too.

Anyone?