We are considering selling our home. We may leave our Smart devices, including the HE everything is connected to. How can I transfer registration to the buyers or even a neutral email address assigned to the house?
If they don't want the system, I'll gladly remove all my work and take it with me, which would help as we build our new home. An HE system is what I will rebuild in our new one anyway. However, if it sells with the house it should be in their name not mine and there has to be a better way than removing every device from the HE and having to reconnect every piece.
Thank you for your advice.
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I have sold several homes with that had smart devices installed and my advice would be to remove them prior to the home inspection. People don't notice what kind of switches you have but the home inspector does, and if you want to remove them prior to closing, the buyers will usually insist that a licensed electrician does the removal work.
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Thank you for the advice.
I agree there’s probably a limited market for homebuyers that are looking for DIY automation systems like Hubitat to go with their new home.
If you have a use for the light switches and other devices in your new home, I would definitely consider removing them and taking them with you.
I actually was able to knock $1k off the price of the last house I bought BECAUSE it had smart devices.
It was a control4, so I told them replace with dumb switches or lower the price. I won. Then ripped it out myself and replaced the control4.
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It probably depends on the market where you are. where I am right now it’s a sellers market. Houses are selling 20-30% over asking. If someone asked me to remove it or knock $1k off, I’d tell them to find another house!
By contrast when I bought this house it was a buyers market. I asked for a bunch of stuff and got them to do it all.
I’d also say it depends on the buyer/clientele of the area. Would people view it as a benefit or hassle?
So I don’t think there’s a right answer, it definitely depends on the situation.
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About a year ago I sold my house full of Insteon/ISY994i,
solar panels and many other toys.
Got extra 25K thanks to all these stuff.
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Oh definitely! No way could I have gotten away with that if buying today.
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There is a good chance that we will be relocating within this year, so this topic has been swirling in my mind. If it is anything like the last time that we moved, I was in the new city buying a house while my wife was taking care of selling the old house. Spending a weekend swapping out controls is probably not viable.
For the most part, things would work as expected without the hub. Dimmers still dim and switches still switch. Even smart bulbs will resume their previous state. The relay modules that are tucked away will be inert to normal operation.
One Zooz Zen16 is neatly installed in an outdoor enclosure to control pool pump speeds, but the pump will defer to default speeds if it does not receive remote inputs. Another Zen16 is in parallel with the wall control button for the garage door and will simply do nothing.
Really, the only things that are likely to draw negative attention are some string lights that I hacked. It is an obvious homemade job, so I would consider taking an hour to remove those. Home inspectors seem to be pretty weak around here, though. Maybe I would leave those as an Easter egg for them to find.
A great point.
Something the seller’s agent should have a good grasp on (that’s what they’re being paid for, after all).
If one is lucky, they might even have some experience with how to factor the smart home tech into the sale (or not). I would expect that to be more likely at the higher end for much more expensive systems like Crestron or Control4 though.
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I know that one day in the not so distant future, I will sell my home and downsize as I am retired. I installed Lutron Caseta dimmers and switches that will work with or without a hub. Since hubs and bridges are connected to your home router and then to the Internet, transferring everything from one owner to another would be difficult. Also, the new owner might not like the way you set up your automations or even be interested in modifying them himself.
Thus, my plan is to leave the Lutron Caseta wall switches and dimmers and associated Pico remotes. I will also leave my Ring doorbell and Schlage smart lock. However, everything else will be removed when the house is put on the market. That avoids any awkward conversations about whether specific devices are considered part of the house or personal property. For example, a sensor attached to a wall using screws would be considered a permanent fixture of the house whereas something attached with Velcro would be considered removeable. If there is any question, remove it before the house is viewed by potential buyers.
Remember also that Thread and Matter devices are on the horizon. A buyer interested in home automation might not like what you installed.
Thank all of you for your considered opinions. I believe what I have settled on is to remove my HE, smart bulbs, switches, dimmers, motion detectors and cameras, leaving the Ring doorbell, the two Nest thermostats and the main echo device.
I will mark each of these as they removed to help when reinstalling them when we get our new home. This should eliminate any issues with the buyer and get a head start on the new home setup.
Thank you all again for your recommendations.
Just an added note...
The dismantling project is still in progress, but I have shut down and removed the hub, as well as many of the devices, enough so the house is no longer "smart". My wife remarked only yesterday how it feels odd to have to manually turn things on and off, she misses the automation she under appreciated only days before. At first she considered this "smart home thing" a silly hobby project of mine that she'd learn to live with, and now she misses it. It was an interesting observation and remark. My son who was only slightly more interested is also missing the convenience. As was mentioned in one of the Hubitat training videos, I feel like some sort of "caveman" having to manually operate switches. We already miss this more than expected. I am anxious to rebuild.
Thank you all for your work, advice, support and consideration.
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It can help to leave it. Majority are going to be impressed by simple lighting automation. Does not even need motion sensors, but has to be solidly reliable like Lutron.
Alarm systems and automated shades will help too if you already have them and they’re good quality like Serena Shades (no DIY). Everything else is a liability, so pull it out.
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I could see leaving the shades. That is a pretty specific thing that is unlikely to fit another home. Too bad as those are so expensive to purchase. I also wouldn't remove an alarm system, or it's hardwired sensors.
But your average Zwave/Zigbee/Wifi stuff, absolutely take it. Unless a switch is so old (300 series Zwave?) that you would be better off just leaving it in place, and not even telling someone it was a smart switch.
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To be clear, are you recommending that they be removed (and do so prior to the home inspection), or only that if the seller wants to remove anything, they do so prior to the inspection?
Where I am at, you had better remove them before even listing the house for sale. You can list exclusions in the contract, but it will get very messy very quickly. It is just easier all around (including the inspector thing) to just have the house as you will be selling it when you list it.
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I have always taken my home automation (and network) gear with me when selling a home. The first time I sold my home with automation in it (X10 WS467s!), I removed the switches before listing because they were strange enough to attract negative attention from potential buyers. The second time, I left them in through home inspection and ended up paying $500 to an electrician to remove them (34 Switchlincs). The third time (GE and Zooz Zwave), I removed them as the house was being shown, but got them all out before the home inspection. Dealing with the gradual de-automation of the house was a bit traumatic for my family and I was strategic about when I removed certain things.
I agree with this. Once you’ve listed the house and started showing it, the light switches are part of the sale unless specifically excluded in the contract.
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