Why First-Time Buyers Should Buy Into Smart Home Tech For Their First Move

The stamp duty holiday, teamed with a post-lockdown demand for more space, has resulted in a mini-boom in the housing market in recent months; with the re-introduction of 95% mortgages only increasing this surge further. So, as we quickly approach the end of the stamp duty holiday, buyers will be hurrying to get their purchases across the line before the end of June deadline.

Even without the added pressure of a deadline, it is well documented that buying and moving home is one of life’s most stressful events, with a multitude of boxes to tick and tasks to arrange before move-in day even rolls around.

For many buyers, once the purchase has been completed, arranging home insurance is often near the top of the to-do list. In fact, in a recent survey, 93% of surveyed homeowners reported owning home insurance with the hope of protecting against the unexpected. However, in the urgency to complete everything ahead of the big move, how best to save money on such premiums is often overlooked.

One way in which new homeowners can keep the cost of their home insurance premiums down is by investing in smart tech devices that are installed neatly into the home. However, with a multitude of smart devices on the market, each promising to protect against differing risks – from theft to contents damage – it can be difficult to spot the best investment.

When looking into smart tech devices, customers should decide on gadgets that can be simply incorporated into the infrastructure of the home but provide the most real-life impact and ultimately make their lives easier. These forms of smart home technology run in the background, requiring little to no input from the owner, yet send actionable and informative insights on the state of their home.

These insights allow the homeowner to mitigate the risk of damage occurring in their property. Recent research by provider of IoT enabled water detectors, LeakBot revealed that 20% of surveyed homeowners had experienced 3 or more water leaks in houses they had lived in as adults. With each leak resulting in average repair costs of £1,074 and over half (52%) of polled property owners opting to shell out for these repairs themselves, homeowners could be making a hefty saving by investing in smart home technology to avoid such issues.
 

 
Investing in smart home technology could be even more beneficial for prospective buyers looking to purchase an older property, as recent research indicated that some properties were more at risk of costly issues than others. For instance, those rushing to complete a purchase on a post-war property (1945-1990) should do so wearingly as the study revealed these homes to be the most susceptible to water leaks. Yet, by making an investment in smart home tech, buyers of these at-risk properties can protect their new home against such risks.

Homeowners should also be on the lookout for smart tech solutions that not only draw awareness to greater risk to the home but also offer actionable resolutions. For example, the end-to-end service offered by LeakBot ensures that customers are alerted to the presence of a leak in their home and provide a find and fix service to resolve the issue before it escalates.

By installing smart-tech devices into the home, customers are taking a greater stake in their own home insurance cover, while also demonstrating responsibility and positive customer behaviour to the insurer. Such behaviour is exchanged for lower premium offerings from insurers who pass the savings from not having to pay out on large scale claims onto the customer. In addition, customers can save even more and benefit further through reduced or even completely omitted excess payments.

Ultimately, by taking the time to research and assess the smart tech devices available and the benefits associated with each, homeowners can actively reduce their home insurance premiums. Not only will savings be made on their insurance policy but associated costs with damage to the home and possessions will be greatly reduced. So, while purchasing and moving into a new home is an exciting time, setting aside time to actively protect from future disasters now, through methods such as installing smart tech, can save new homeowners money and stress in the future

 

Written by Craig Foster, CEO of LeakBot – the smart water leak detector