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A Spooky Feature in your Smart Home

By
Real Estate Agent with Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 SA5376460000

Spooky Feature in Your Smart Home  

 

You're sitting on the couch watching your favorite shows when all of a sudden the thermostat shuts off!  "What happened," you're thinking?  After all, you just bought this home and moved in a few days ago?  What could possibly be wrong?  

 

You had a home inspection, a termite inspection, and everything checked out.   You were confident everything that was going to be fixed was fixed, so how could this happen?

 

The explanation is quite simple actually.  The thermostat in your new home is  a smart thermostat.  It's the kind that you can control from your cell phone and program to turn off and on according to your preferences.  You can program it from your cell phone. 

 

Turns out the program for your smart thermostat is set to the previous owners specifications, habits and temperature. 

 

What to do now?  It's actually pretty simple.  Look up the model and perform a factory reset.  You'll have to set up your own preferences and paswords, but at least you'll learn the system now that you own the home.

 

If you go to sell the home, make sure your agent uses the

Smart Home Checklist to  review with the new buyer of your home.  It will save a few surprises!  

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Dorte Engel
RE/MAX Leading Edge - Bowie, MD
ABC - Annapolis, Bowie, Crofton & rest of Maryland

Dear Jan,

Another possibility is that it has been hacked. Hackers yelling at babies through their monitors seems to be popular too.

Oct 30, 2018 10:00 PM
Leif Price
Chirpy Home - Portland, OR
Blogger at Chirpy Home

Smart thermostats is a step to saving from high utility bills and checking them now and then will ensure that you get value for your money. Smart thermostats can be programmed for a family's schedule so you should also take that into consideration. A family member might be home earlier from work or school than expected. 

Oct 30, 2018 10:16 PM
Sally K. & David L. Hanson
EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI
WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

Sooo many things we can "smartly control" with the touch of a button...if you know what button !

Oct 31, 2018 01:39 AM
Barbara Todaro
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Happily Retired - Franklin, MA
Previously Affiliated with The Todaro Team

Good  morning, Jan Green I can picture myself panicking with that happening.... easy fix, but I'd need help!!!

Oct 31, 2018 03:58 AM
Nina Hollander, Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC
Your Greater Charlotte Realtor

I recently sold a home with this feature... it was a "bear" getting it set up for my buyers!

Oct 31, 2018 04:41 AM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

Never heard of that happening for a Dorte .  A recent buyer has one in her new home adn it was quite a feat figuring it out!  

Oct 31, 2018 07:30 AM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

Yes, programmable thermostats can also save money so that a homeowner isn't running their system so much while at work.  Forgetting to turn it off during the day can be wasteful Leif Price .  Make sure to check the link for the form that was created to assist with buyers and sellers of smart home features. 

Oct 31, 2018 07:31 AM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

So true Sally K. & David L. Hanson !  Some of it is just too sophisticated! 

Oct 31, 2018 07:32 AM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

Yes, and I've heard of this happening to others.  I can just see myself scrambling looking for my glasses to be able to figure it out Barbara Todaro 

Oct 31, 2018 07:33 AM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

Yes, these things aren't set up for US at our age.  I was showing some condos and happened upon one and luckily their 12 year old daughter helped me to figure it out Nina Hollander !

Oct 31, 2018 07:33 AM
Anna "Banana" Kruchten
HomeSmart Real Estate - Phoenix, AZ
602-380-4886

Well Jan Green that is quite the visual!!!  Yuck!!!  And funny too!!!  Yes we have one of those smart things and some times it's smarter than Gary LOL!!  Happy Halloween!!

Oct 31, 2018 11:33 AM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

I can appreciate that Anna Banana Kruchten CRB, CRS 602-380-4886 !  I helped a buyer client figure out the Next Thermostat included in their "new" home but after a 12 year old showed me first!

Oct 31, 2018 12:23 PM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Hi Jan- that\s the thing about a smart home...you have to know how to work it.

Oct 31, 2018 12:31 PM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

And unwork it Kathy Streib !  Thanks for commenting!

Oct 31, 2018 12:39 PM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

                                                        

                            You've been featured in the Group Bananatude!

Oct 31, 2018 12:41 PM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

Thank you Kathy Streib !  So cool! 

Oct 31, 2018 12:45 PM
Debb Janes
Nature As Neighbors - Camas, WA
Put My Love of Nature At Work for You

We have one, but for the most part, we manually control it. IF the house was empty for multiple hours, the smart aspect would make sense, but somebody is always here at our multi-gen home. 

Nov 03, 2018 07:52 AM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

I appreciate that you of all people would have a smart thermostat!  Since reading about your mulit-gen home I can understand why no need to program that smart feature Debb Janes EcoBroker and Bernie Stea JD 

Nov 04, 2018 02:02 PM