We are currently looking at houses and it got me thinking about what I am going to do with everything in this house and what my approach will be on the new house. I am going to disable all automations when the house goes up for sale so the new buyers don't think it comes with any of that functionality. Curious for those that moved did you pull out all your switches/bulbs/etc? Most of the devices in the house are closer to 5 years old and with the newer tech I am thinking it's not worth it.
I think it depends on the market you're in and that your house is in.
When I sold my house in 2023, my realtor recommended removing everything smart, so I did, except for an ecobee thermostat. That home sold within 4 days for over the asking price.
I've reused a good bit at the new place. Although I did buy several new items as well.
But if your house is more upmarket than my home was, or in an area that is more upscale, perhaps you'd do better leaving smart devices installed.
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I've contemplated this as well - not moving anytime soon but maybe in a few years. I created an email address that is associated to this street address and my Hubitat as well as any other smart appliances that I think will stay behind. I figured I would transfer the ownership - leave behind some guidance and passwords. And buy new and start fresh when I get where I'm goin'
I'll leave the thermostat and the video doorbell, but I'm thinking it's probably best to pull everything else even if I won't use them in the new house. I think it adds more confusion then value for the average buyer and I certainly am not interested in educating someone.
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I plan on taking everything with me when I move and either removing anything obvious before it gets listed -- or disclosing that switches/dimmers/thermostats/etc. (and Hue bulbs) are not part of the sale. I don't really think most people would notice or care, as everything can be done manually some way and the noticeable automations disabled, but I know this is something I'd pay attention to and assume there are others who would, too.
Mostly, I want to take most of what I have with me when I move. But I also don't want to be someone else's eternal smart home support, and no matter how hard I could try to make the latter not happen, it seems quite likely.
If I just had Lutron Radio RA2/RA3 or some other professionally installed or manageable system, I might consider things differently. But a DIY smart home platform strikes me as quite different.
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I went through this and I was told by my realtor, like others mentioned, to remove everything before the house went on the market.
It was a pain but I think it's the best option, I just started over at the new place.
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Look perfect timing- here’s someone on the other side
And also the irony that @bertabcd1234 is helping already
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Yes, I have seen that said by realtors in other threads about this. People don't want your old smart home stuff, they want regular switches or they want to add their own stuff. It can actually hurt the sale if the buyers do not want to deal with removing all the stuff you leave behind if they are not going to use it.
If and when we move I'm not removing or replacing any switches that are already in the wall. Just not worth the time effort to me. Since they are all Jasco they will look and behave just like a regular dumb switch without any automation attached to them. I don't see any problem for the new owner doing that.
I do have a few Pico's mounted in wall to control fans, those would have to replaced.
Not quite the same. Dumb switches have distinct on/off positions. Some people do find that disconcerting about smart switches - takes a little while to get used to.
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Yup, that's true. However, my wife (the OG "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE - IT'S DIFFERENT!!" person) had zero issues getting used to them, and likes them enough that she wanted to make sure I used them in the addition we did a couple years ago. So I'm willing to take on what I think is just a little risk in that area. A quick "see how it works?" should cover it. 
Fact is there is little chance we're going to move, the recent remodel set our home to serve as our expected retirement location, so unless things change a lot, we're here for the foreseeable (hopefully fairly long) future.
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I thought about that as well. Many of my switches if disconnected from the hub would still work as dumb switches.
For me, however, since a smart switch is about $30 to $40 and a dumb toggle switch is just a couple bucks, it seemed worth my time to change them.
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With a fresh start you could do all lr zwave, for instance.
I am putting my home up for sale and plan on leaving everything in place. I don't want to remove and replace. Also good excuse to buy all new zwave from insteon.
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Thanks for this thread. I will be selling in the next year and this was very helpful. I have a LOT of Smart Home devices, not to mention two server racks. I was already leaning to ripping everything out before it lists. I don't even want to deal with someone seeing stuff and trying to negotiate that it stays.
Having said that - a lot of the stuff I rip out likely won't find its way into the new house. Either because it is outdated, unreliable, or because the new house will be smaller and I don't need as much. Thankfully, I kept all of my decora switches I pulled out.
In my new house I will plan to simplify significantly. For example - current house has Lutron, Z-wave, Zigbee, Hue with Z-wave being the dominant technology. Would likely consolidate on Z-wave and add in more LR
Other things I will pull - Sprinkler controller (Rachio). Thermostats (Ecobee) - replace with $10 manual. Whole House Audio (Nuvo) - not sure if I will use as would have to hard wire. But it works great and my custom driver gives me complete control. Cameras (Reolink) - 50/50. Wall mounted Touchscreens.
I am slowly making my check list as this will be a big job.
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In retrospect I wish I had just left the switches in the wall at the old house. Most, at the time were old non+ GE/JASCO switches, and almost all of them have died over the last few years. So I think I would have been better off just getting new switches.
Something to consider if moving.
This is something I'd leave behind (and did when I sold my Mom's house after she passed). If you don't have a controller on the system, nothing will work until the new owner buys and installs (or pays someone to install) a controller. The home inspectors for the buyer of my Mom's house tested her sprinkler system/controller as a part of their inspection and would have raised it as an issue if we hadn't had a controller. When my son recently bought a home they also tested the sprinkler system/controller as a part of their inspection of the home.
If you do pull it anyway, make sure you label the wires clearly so the new owner can more easily install/connect a controller. But I think it's a cleaner/easier process for you (and buyer) if you leave that item behind.
I pulled everything except the Nest Thermostat, Nest Doorbell, Bhyve irrigation controller and a few z-wave light switches that were really really old. Everything else is now in a box waiting for construction on the new house to complete. They are sorted based on if they have a place in the new house and how old they are. I have items I will definitely re-use and others that I either don't have a use for in the new house or are older and will should probably be upgraded but will be evaluated based on their potential use case.
Good feedback. Thanks.
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