Extra Special Tenant Care

October 17, 2001 - Great landlords, like great tenants, are somewhat difficult to find, and when you do find a good one, you definitely want to hang on to them. The good landlords are the ones who look out for their tenants and their tenant’s safety. That’s the kind of landlord Armando Hernandez is.

"I have a one bedroom condo," Armando says, which he uses as a rental. He tells us that it’s "located in an upscale neighborhood." Which means that it has an upscale monthly rent to match. He bought the condo a couple of years ago as a rental. As part of his renovation when he bought it, Armando decided to add some very simple, but very powerful security features to make sure that whoever lived in the condo would be safe. One of those renovations he chose was X10’s ActiveHome.

First Armando installed an ActiveHome Socket Rocket into the front porch light socket. Then he set up another light inside the condo and attached that to an ActiveHome Lamp Module. Because the light was controlled by a remote, he added a SlimLine light switch on the wall. That was the easy part, since all he had to do was peel and stick the SlimLine to the wall. Now he or his tenants could turn it on and off just like a light, even thought it was operating from a radio frequency.

When he was done, the porch light, and one light inside the house were fully accessible via remote control. Then, when each of his tenants moved in, along with the keys to the house, he gave them their own Keychain Remote.

So far, Armando’s tenants have been two separate females who have rented the condo one after the other. And they are especially glad for this added feature.

Now when they arrived home after dark, which during the winter is anytime after 4:00 pm, they can hit their Keychain Remote as they pull up to the driveway, and the porch light, and a light inside the house come on, giving his tenants added security of being able to see in the dark. "They have found this feature very handy, and very comforting" he says.

"I really think this feature has aided in leasing this property," Armando says. And then he ends with "Thanks X10." To which X10 replies with an even bigger, "You’re welcome!"

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