I looked for a while in DuPage county, but gave up. Good thing I didn't buy though because prices have dropped more. In SC I bought my home as a foreclosure for $76k less than the original owner paid in 2006! I think I bought right for my area, but only time will tell how much money I lose. My interest rate is so low that as long as I'm only loosing $300 in value/month from here on I'll be very happy.
Motorola Premise
Chuck,
I hope you stick around as you've been a great resource for me and others (I remember sometime ago you were kind enough to solve an issue with an Onkyo/Integra module that I couldn't figure out). I also use your iphone interface and like the graphics a lot, so please don't stop contributing
I also deleted my political comments a few posts ago in hopes that I don't/didn't add to the fire...
I hope you stick around as you've been a great resource for me and others (I remember sometime ago you were kind enough to solve an issue with an Onkyo/Integra module that I couldn't figure out). I also use your iphone interface and like the graphics a lot, so please don't stop contributing
I also deleted my political comments a few posts ago in hopes that I don't/didn't add to the fire...
tmbrown97
Senior Member
Hey Chuck,
I do hope you reconsider... it's so easy to miss something in written text that would've otherwise gone over fine. I don't know BSR personally but we talk in the chats and I see his posts and he seems like a genuine stand up guy. If I were to venture to guess, I'd think it was more the utter amazement of "how did you pull that off?!?" because, as he mentioned, many prospective buyers would be scared of taking that on. It's a very small percentage of the world who cares about this stuff enough and has the ability to take on supporting these systems ourselves and wants them enough to deal with the support. In the case of your system, there really isn't anyone to call if things go awry. The fact is, your system is one where the new homeowner must be able and willing to take over this support himself and have the knowledge to do so.
Most of us who are into home automation worry about what happens when we sell - what to do about that hole in the wall where the touchscreen is; will they understand firing up ElkRP or otherwise to change what time the sprinklers come on? Will they even know how to fire up a computer and an interface module to program the light switch? What if they want to change the text that shows up on the screen to match their kids name, or change Bedroom 4 to Office? How do they configure their AT&T boxed router to allow your touchscreen app to work outside the house? It's such a small percentage of the world who would even touch that.
The fact that you found a buyer who wanted it as-is could be an encouraging sign! The world is getting more tech-savvy; and that could mean a positive change in the tides if we can stop looking at HA as just a hobby and as a potential property-value booster and investment in our homes!
I struggle with this topic every day - people need to step back and realize that there are very few people in the world who are out to get you, hurt you, offend you, or put you down. 99% of the time you think that was the case, there was a misunderstanding involved. It's human nature; but people get stuck in "how they would communicate" rather than just seeing through specific words or tones and just finding the message inside.
You also seem like a good guy and a valuable member of and contributor to the CT family here - so I hope you reconsider and stick around. I know many of us would love to see what you do in round two - after any and all lessons learned on the first house. Every time we do this we get better and better at it.
I do hope you reconsider... it's so easy to miss something in written text that would've otherwise gone over fine. I don't know BSR personally but we talk in the chats and I see his posts and he seems like a genuine stand up guy. If I were to venture to guess, I'd think it was more the utter amazement of "how did you pull that off?!?" because, as he mentioned, many prospective buyers would be scared of taking that on. It's a very small percentage of the world who cares about this stuff enough and has the ability to take on supporting these systems ourselves and wants them enough to deal with the support. In the case of your system, there really isn't anyone to call if things go awry. The fact is, your system is one where the new homeowner must be able and willing to take over this support himself and have the knowledge to do so.
Most of us who are into home automation worry about what happens when we sell - what to do about that hole in the wall where the touchscreen is; will they understand firing up ElkRP or otherwise to change what time the sprinklers come on? Will they even know how to fire up a computer and an interface module to program the light switch? What if they want to change the text that shows up on the screen to match their kids name, or change Bedroom 4 to Office? How do they configure their AT&T boxed router to allow your touchscreen app to work outside the house? It's such a small percentage of the world who would even touch that.
The fact that you found a buyer who wanted it as-is could be an encouraging sign! The world is getting more tech-savvy; and that could mean a positive change in the tides if we can stop looking at HA as just a hobby and as a potential property-value booster and investment in our homes!
I struggle with this topic every day - people need to step back and realize that there are very few people in the world who are out to get you, hurt you, offend you, or put you down. 99% of the time you think that was the case, there was a misunderstanding involved. It's human nature; but people get stuck in "how they would communicate" rather than just seeing through specific words or tones and just finding the message inside.
You also seem like a good guy and a valuable member of and contributor to the CT family here - so I hope you reconsider and stick around. I know many of us would love to see what you do in round two - after any and all lessons learned on the first house. Every time we do this we get better and better at it.
I'm am not sure if I missed something or what, but I can guarantee that BSR's post was not meant in a negative way. It's easy to misinterpret something or someone over the internet, since we can't see faces or hear the voices. All we have are ASCII characters. I hope you reconsider your decision, since this seems to be a simple misunderstanding, but either way, I wish you the best of luck.
samgreco
Active Member
Chuck - I for one would be very sorry to see you go. I know you've been a big help to me here.
And I have to say that I did not read it the same way you did. I have had many real estate agent friends tell me that in a normal middle class house like mine HA would never sell and in fact, hurt my chances. They ALL advised me to consider removing all of it before I list, if and when I do.
So I too was surprised when I saw your post. And I may have responded similarly.
So I need to get all of my real estate friends to read that post ...
And I have to say that I did not read it the same way you did. I have had many real estate agent friends tell me that in a normal middle class house like mine HA would never sell and in fact, hurt my chances. They ALL advised me to consider removing all of it before I list, if and when I do.
So I too was surprised when I saw your post. And I may have responded similarly.
So I need to get all of my real estate friends to read that post ...
murphy
Member
You find a little smaller one if you are googling to "postini": only 1" high
C
chucklyons
Guest
Sorry folks - I probably was a bit over the top in my response. Except for the criticism about BSR's pompous comments. A shame someone in the HA field would make those types of comments.
My situation is prob different than a lot of folks. A) I live in Silicon Valley - technology here is a second, if not primary language. People here don't shy away from technology things B) The housing market reflects the type of buyer - one who either has the technical abilities to do it themselves, or can pay someone to do it. Sometimes, its bit of each.
As I said before, all functions (with the exception of using Premise for streaming music) can be done manually. And let's face it - for us on this forum who are married, the Wife Factor dictates things must work whether you're at home or not.
I appreciate those that have PM'd me or sent me emails. It's great to have friends that understand this world.
<ARNOLD>I'll Be Back!!!</ARNOLD>
My situation is prob different than a lot of folks. A) I live in Silicon Valley - technology here is a second, if not primary language. People here don't shy away from technology things B) The housing market reflects the type of buyer - one who either has the technical abilities to do it themselves, or can pay someone to do it. Sometimes, its bit of each.
As I said before, all functions (with the exception of using Premise for streaming music) can be done manually. And let's face it - for us on this forum who are married, the Wife Factor dictates things must work whether you're at home or not.
I appreciate those that have PM'd me or sent me emails. It's great to have friends that understand this world.
<ARNOLD>I'll Be Back!!!</ARNOLD>
123
Senior Member
I'm late to the party and it seems I missed all the excitement.
Chuck, stay awhile longer. Unless some posts have been deleted from this thread, I gather BSR was just amazed an old HA system was rolled into the home sale as opposed to admonishing you for including an old HA system in the sale. If you go, I'll never be enlightened on how Californians use Premise .. like to get surfing reports!
Chuck, stay awhile longer. Unless some posts have been deleted from this thread, I gather BSR was just amazed an old HA system was rolled into the home sale as opposed to admonishing you for including an old HA system in the sale. If you go, I'll never be enlightened on how Californians use Premise .. like to get surfing reports!
BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
Yes, it is that exactly! For instance, I have HomeSeer included in a custom setup that has a Caddx Security system as well as other hardware (Ocelot, WGL Relay-8, A-D board, weather station, etc...). I kept thinking that nobody would every want the entire system because of the lack of support (for the software as well as the hardware) with the exception of the Caddx Security system (since it is a common hardware supported by alarm companies here).
This post has me wondering if this strategy should be re-evaluated if I ever sale!
C
chucklyons
Guest
Again, my apologies to all. In all honesty, I think I have been freaking out about leaving my house of 21 years, and all of the memories, (good and bad), the dreams yet fulfilled, and the list of things to accomplish that will never happen.
I didn't expect any of these feelings .However, I digress.
So I think a few things come into play when selling a house with HA. a) The ability to work the house WITHOUT the SW element. All of the HW elements are supported by professional companies. Aprilaire. Lutron. Xantech. Insteon is debatable, however, it can be returned to a normal state via the button (I only used Insteon for outlets). Maybe if it's Crestron, then you would add major dollars because of the HW, SW and proprietary nature of Crestron.
I made a conscious decision in that regard for my new house. As I plan to use 123's security system (I'm moving from the rural to the suburbs), I wanted to have a qualified Elk installer who could support it. Aprilaire the same, and so on.
Client. If the buyer is tech savvy, they may be willing to give your HA system a shot. I did give the overview of Premise, the downloads, and all of the rest prior to the sale. And the emphasis on it being an optional way of controlling the home. They can do manual, if they so choose.
Support. I am working with the buyer to walk them thru the system. It's not forever, but it should get them to a comfort stage if they're tech savvy. And you know what? I'm darn proud of my HA system. I want the new owner to enjoy it too! Just today, the new owners home url is active, after I transferred ownership for it (I almost cried!). I logged in via the builder to look around. (with the owner's permission of course.) How forward thinking is that remote builder capability!!!????
As I am in the buying mode, in my viewing, I see systems (not HA) from manufacturers no longer around; solutions not viable for the long haul; and so on.
In the big scheme, the buyer didn't buy the house because of the HA, but if they could enjoy the HA, it only added to the plus side of the purchase. It's like throwing in the sofa....
I didn't expect any of these feelings .However, I digress.
So I think a few things come into play when selling a house with HA. a) The ability to work the house WITHOUT the SW element. All of the HW elements are supported by professional companies. Aprilaire. Lutron. Xantech. Insteon is debatable, however, it can be returned to a normal state via the button (I only used Insteon for outlets). Maybe if it's Crestron, then you would add major dollars because of the HW, SW and proprietary nature of Crestron.
I made a conscious decision in that regard for my new house. As I plan to use 123's security system (I'm moving from the rural to the suburbs), I wanted to have a qualified Elk installer who could support it. Aprilaire the same, and so on.
Client. If the buyer is tech savvy, they may be willing to give your HA system a shot. I did give the overview of Premise, the downloads, and all of the rest prior to the sale. And the emphasis on it being an optional way of controlling the home. They can do manual, if they so choose.
Support. I am working with the buyer to walk them thru the system. It's not forever, but it should get them to a comfort stage if they're tech savvy. And you know what? I'm darn proud of my HA system. I want the new owner to enjoy it too! Just today, the new owners home url is active, after I transferred ownership for it (I almost cried!). I logged in via the builder to look around. (with the owner's permission of course.) How forward thinking is that remote builder capability!!!????
As I am in the buying mode, in my viewing, I see systems (not HA) from manufacturers no longer around; solutions not viable for the long haul; and so on.
In the big scheme, the buyer didn't buy the house because of the HA, but if they could enjoy the HA, it only added to the plus side of the purchase. It's like throwing in the sofa....
C
chucklyons
Guest
I just read that Phillips is finished with Pronto. The Pronto. Quite the device in the day and REALLY kicked off the next generation of remote controls. The reason I point this out is that, here again, is a system that is installed in a number of homes. The manufacturer decided it 'doesn't fit into their strategic plan' and is moving on...what about the hundreds of homes with it installed? The best we, as homeowners and HA enthusiasts can do, is to automate with local controls and let the chips fall where they do if we sell or move on....There just aren't any guards against obsolescence..
