MANAGING
Smart utilities a key selling point for discerning tenants
F
inding great tenants and holding onto them has become the number one priority for landlords and property investors. With new data from Tenant Profile Network( TPN) showing that 11 % of rentals are now standing vacant, viewing your tenants as customers and delivering great customer experience could help you fill those vacancies. Empowering your tenant with intelligent utility solutions lays the foundation for this.
“ Rapidly changing consumer behaviour cannot be ignored and landlords shouldn’ t make the mistake of thinking the South African consumer is any less sophisticated than their international counterpart. Ensuring your property is equipped with smart utility management is the minimum requirement when facilitating the new digital lifestyles expected from today’ s consumer,” explains Michael Franze, MD of Citiq Prepaid.
Smart meters record power( or water) consumption and alerts the consumer when units are running low, or consumption is above a certain level. Smart meters record consumption in near real-time throughout the day. The main difference from the regular prepaid meters we are used to is that smart meters allow two-way communication between the service provider and the meter. This information is collected and presented back to the Landlord and Tenant who then have a better understanding of how( and when) electricity is used. by between five and nine percent. In much the same way that a smart watch empowers users with data that can influence their daily behaviour, smart meters empowers tenants with information that can affect their consumption behaviour. Something the modern consumer will welcome,” explains Franze.
Smarter lifestyles attract tenants and boost investment returns
The smart meter also enables the growing trend to offer greener homes that facilitate smart lifestyles. Smart TVs, smart fridges and homes that include features like self adjusting temperature, and lighting control that respond to your usage patterns, are growing in popularity. In fact, surveys have shown that smart homes can command a resale price of up to 5 percent more. On a R1,5 million home that is a tidy R75 000 and savvy investors and developers are seeing smart features as a must-have.
“ We are prepared for the future and the potential that it holds,” concludes Franze.
“ Our expertise is aligned with the intelligence embedded into smart metering solutions and innovations and we’ re looking forward to creating more efficient, greener and more relevant solutions for the market.”
“ This heightened awareness as a result of real-time measurement has been shown to result in incremental user changes. Studies done in the UK show that bills are reduced
SOURCE Citiq prepaid
20 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine