July 8, 2025 • 34 mins
In Episode 103 of Your Landlord Resource, we dive deep into our real-world experience installing property-wide fiber optic Wi-Fi in a six-unit rental property. This isn’t theory—we share what worked, what we wish we knew sooner, and what it all cost. From upgrading a midterm rental and supporting smart locks to giving tenants high-speed access at a fraction of retail pricing, this episode is packed with tips for self-managing landlords.
We break down why Wi-Fi is becoming a top must-have amenity for renters (with 90% of tenants in a 2024 NMHC survey rating it essential), and how landlords can meet that demand in a cost-conscious and scalable way. You’ll learn what types of properties benefit most, how much bandwidth you really need, and how to handle the install without blowing your budget—or your mind.
We cover the technical details landlords need to know, including using VLANs for tenant privacy, installing CAT6 ethernet, and choosing between budget systems like TP-Link or pro-level gear like Ubiquiti. And most importantly, we talk about whether tenants truly value this amenity and if it’s worth the investment.
If you're a landlord managing a duplex, triplex, or small multifamily and want to offer high-speed internet while protecting your bottom line, this episode is for you.
🧠 What You’ll Learn in This Episode
👉When property-wide Wi-Fi makes sense (and when it doesn’t)
👉The difference between cable and fiber optic internet
👉Required bandwidth based on unit count
👉What VLANs are and why they're crucial for tenant privacy
👉Product comparisons: TP-Link vs. Ubiquiti
👉Installation pitfalls, hidden costs & hiring IT support
👉Whether to charge tenants separately or bundle Wi-Fi into rent
👉Questions to ask tenants to determine demand for shared internet
🔗 Links & Resources Mentioned
🎧 Listen to Episode 101: Staying Motivated When Work Gets Tough
Connect with Us:
🌎 Visit our website
📧 Subscribe to our newsletter.
👆Click HERE for our FREE Landlord Forms and Doc’s
🤳Text Us: 650-489-4447. We love questions and love letters!
📩Email us at: Stacie@YourLandlordResource.com, Kevin@YourLandlordResource.com
➡️ Review the Podcast on Apple or on Spotify or YouTube
✔️Course Waitlist: From Marketing to Move In, Place Your Ideal Tenant
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Stacie (00:00):
I am aware that the upfront cost of installing
(00:03):
internet like this was insane.
And if we divide what we earnmonthly into that final amount
paid, it will take years for usto break even and recoup that
money.
But you can't think of it thatway.
You wouldn't if you installednew appliances for$2,500 and
maybe got an extra$50 of rentbecause of'em.
(00:24):
Or$10,000 for a bathroom remodelthat might get you another a
hundred dollars a month in rent.
You just can't think that way.
You have to look at it as along-term improvement that's
going to continue to benefityour tenants and hopefully make
them happy enough to stay andkeep renewing year after year.
(00:47):
Welcome to Your LandlordResource podcast.
Many moons ago when I started asa landlord, I was as green as it
gets.
I may have had my real estatelicense, but I lack confidence
and the hands-on experienceneeded when it came to dealing
with tenants, leases,maintenance, and bookkeeping
after many failed attempts.
Fast forward to today, Kevin andI have doubled our doors and
(01:08):
created an organized.
Professionally operated rentalproperty business.
Want to go from overwhelm toconfident if you're an ambitious
landlord or maybe one in themaking.
Join us as we provide strategiesand teach actionable steps to
help you reach your goals andthe lifestyle you desire.
All well building is streamlinedand profitable rental property
(01:28):
business.
This is Your Landlord ResourcePodcast.
Hey.
Hey there, landlords.
This is Stacie and you'relistening to the Your Landlord
Resource podcast.
I'm here with my co-host andcohabitant Kevin Kilroy.
Kevin (01:46):
Hello there landlords.
Thanks for tuning in andlistening to the tips we have to
offer self-managing landlords.
Stacie (01:55):
So I'm gonna get right to it.
About a year ago when we werecompleting our renovation on our
studio apartment, and convertingit to a midterm rental, we
needed to include wifi with theunit.
And in case you're not aware,midterm rentals are essentially
fully furnished units, much likean extended stay hotel that is
(02:15):
fully functional with anequipped kitchen.
They need to have all theessentials someone would need to
live for a short period of timeand be able to cook meals and
eat.
And work, meaning there needs tobe a desk or a designated
workspace.
And relax, so they need a niceplace to sit or read and watch
tv, like a couch or a comfychair.
(02:36):
And of course a comfortable bedand a bathroom where they can
shower, et cetera.
But unlike a hotel, this placeusually has its own washer and
dryer, so the tenant can washtheir linens and does not need
to rely on daily or weeklyhousekeeping service like you'd
get in a hotel.
Their stay is over 30 days andtypically at least 90 days.
(03:00):
And commonly midterm rentalshouse traveling nurses,
contractors coming into town towork on a project for several
months, teachers who are guestteaching for a semester,
students who are doing summerinternships from outta town, and
athletes or those working for asports team.
And you know, it kind of runs agamut.
Anybody who needs to stay in alocation for, you know, three,
(03:25):
six months, that's who can usethis kind of space.
In our case, the Oakland A'sbaseball team is using the minor
league baseball stadium inSacramento while they wait for
their new stadium to be built inNevada.
And our tenant who actuallylives in Alabama, works for the
A's and comes into town to workfor the baseball season only.
(03:48):
And we have several friends ofkid one who are minor league
baseball players, and they dothis same thing.
They rent space for 30 days at atime while they're playing for
their team.
So these people come in withtheir suitcases full of clothes
and their personal items, andessentially use our space for
the time that they're gonna bein town.
(04:08):
When we sold the rental housethat my brother was living in
before he passed, I transferredthe Comcast internet from his
property to this midterm rental.
And that was fine when the costwas$65 a month.
But in the last year, that planis now costing us$130 a month.
Kevin (04:28):
Yeah, I mean, that's just infuriating.
I, I know we can call and getthe cost reduced or a credit or
something like that, but this ishow they make their money.
So we had an issue.
We had to provide wifi to theunit, and that wifi cost was
really cutting into our profit.
(04:49):
Now this midterm rental islocated within our sixplex,
where we also have beeninstalling little by little
smart locks on the doors.
We like smart locks for a coupleof reasons.
One, the tenants like the smarttechnology and with smart locks,
they don't have to fiddle withtheir keys to enter.
Two, it has made access mucheasier for our team to enter
(05:13):
when we are not present.
So the cleaning lady can go intothe midterm rental whenever
she's scheduled, and we don'thave to leave a key in a
lockbox.
Now we used to love to use ourlockbox, and in many cases we
still do, but the keys would getmisplaced and plus we have no
idea if dishonest people arerunning out to make a copy to
(05:34):
use later on.
With the smart lock, Jim can goright into a unit without having
to open the gate and then openup the basement and fish for the
correct key in our secret hidingspot.
Lastly, we know severallandlords who are now allowing
potential tenants to gain accessto their vacant unit to do their
(05:55):
own viewing.
Now, we don't do this or adviseit, but we can see how for
out-of-state landlords, it iscertainly something that can be
helpful.
Now, in order to use these smartlocks, there has to be internet
close by the door lock.
Now that's fine when someone isliving there, but not when the
place is vacant.
(06:17):
We are also kicking around theidea of installing security
cameras for our walkways.
So these are the reasons why webegan looking into property wide
wifi instead of just having itin the one midterm rental.
Stacie (06:31):
Yeah and plus we may convert the other studio into a
midterm rental as well, andwe're gonna need wifi in there
too.
Kevin (06:37):
Yeah, that's right.
Stacie (06:39):
So as we looked into offering property wide wifi, we
found a couple benefits.
And one, we could bring in oneline that could be used for all
six units.
So for us, we had to do acommercial account for wifi
because we're an LLC.
With this level, we got one gigof fiber optic for a price of
(07:02):
$160 a month.
You know, that's only$30 morethan what we were paying for,
much less coverage that we weregetting from Comcast.
We figured if we could get thisinto each unit, we could charge
tenants for this wifi serviceand make a few bucks off it each
month.
And essentially, the tenants whoopt in to use the service are
(07:24):
paying for or towards theservice that we need to have for
the midterm rental, the smartlocks, and potential security
cameras anyway.
So we did some research, and youcan Google this, to find out
what percentage of renterswanted wifi and internet as part
of the amenity with a unit.
(07:44):
The majority of renters wantwifi and internet service
available as an amenity in theirapartment communities.
Specifically, and are you readyfor this?
90% of respondents in the 2024NMHC and Grace Hill Renter
Preferences survey report,that's the National Multifamily
(08:08):
Housing Council, 90% said highspeed internet was a must have.
High speed internet consistentlyranks as a top apartment feature
and a community amenity, and itoften comes in third after air
conditioning and in unit washersand dryers.
And we have both those as well,so check and check.
(08:31):
This demand is driven by factorssuch as remote work.
So many renters work remotelyand require reliable and fast
internet connection.
Also, streaming andentertainment.
Renters need high-speed internetfor activities like watching
videos and gaming and streamingmusic.
(08:51):
And also smart home technology.
So increasing numbers of smartdevices in apartments require
strong internet connectivity.
In fact, some surveys indicatethat a lack of adequate internet
service can be a deal breakerfor potential renters.
Properties offering built-inhigh-speed internet stand out in
(09:13):
competitive markets and can helpattract and retain tenants.
You know, that's our goal.
So in our last episode wediscussed that when you are
struggling with something withinyour rental property business or
looking to make a change, thatyou should not go with your gut.
You know, all the data is there,you just need to find it and
(09:34):
evaluate it and see if it's agood fit for your business.
And for us, this seemed like aslam dunk.
Kevin (09:41):
So I wanna be clear here.
For those listeners who ownsingle family homes, usually
this is not gonna be somethingyou need to handle.
The tenants will bring in theinternet service provider of
their choice.
Typically, you are not going toneed to provide security cameras
either, but you can authorizeyour tenants to install them if
they choose.
(10:02):
Adding internet access is idealfor duplexes, triplexes,
fourplexes, and small apartmentbuildings.
The only time you would need toprovide internet for a single
family home would be if you usethe home as a midterm rental or
maybe single room occupancy.
In that case, you would includethe internet and the cost would
(10:25):
be folded in with the cost ofthe rent, not charged as an
additional fee.
So I want to talk a little bitabout what we did.
First, we contacted AT&T andinquired about the cost and
setup for fiber optic high speedinternet.
Fiber optic internet uses thinstrands of glass or plastic to
(10:45):
send data as light pulses, whileregular internet, especially
cable, uses copper or coaxialcables to send data as
electrical signals.
So this enables fiber optic totransfer the speed of the
internet much faster, cleaner,and less susceptible to
interferences due to weather orelectromagnetic interference.
(11:09):
Which is essentially noise thatcomes from power lines, cell
phones, and computers.
And think of it like when youare on a plane and they ask you
to put your phone into airplanemode so the magnetic transfer
from your phone trying toconnect, won't conflict with the
pilot's ability to hear commandsfrom the air traffic control or
other planes in the area.
(11:31):
Now, we opted for one gig ofspeed, which is equal to a
thousand megabytes per second.
This means it can transfer alarge amount of data very
quickly, making it suitable foractivities like streaming high
definition video, online gaming,and large file downloads.
And fiber optic typically doesnot lag on transfer of data when
(11:54):
multiple devices are connected,where cable internet does.
So it's really reliable, whichwas very important to us.
We wanted to make sure thetenants were paying for the best
offered.
Stacie (12:07):
Right.
And when I called AT&T, at firstI was kind of vague because I
wasn't sure if they would forceme to install one line for each
unit, which would've been costprohibitive.
So when I called, I made itsound like we just wanted to add
wifi to the property to use forour smart locks in a security
system.
(12:28):
But because we're a businessaccount, they explained that
only one line would come to thebuilding, and from there we
could do what we wanted with it.
You know imagine a small officebuilding or a warehouse where
they need internet to cover theentire space for several
employees.
This was the same exact thinghere.
You know, it's for a business,only it's for a residential
(12:50):
building.
And I don't believe if you did apersonal account, you'd be able
to get that same speed for thesame price.
My understanding is, theyconsider personal accounts not
needing as much speed and maynot offer that.
But don't quote me on that.
I know it's different for alldifferent areas.
I'm just going by what oursalesperson on the business side
(13:11):
of AT&T had said to us.
Now I did find a source onlinethat had a chart, and basically
for one to two units, you wouldneed 500 MBPS, that's megabytes
per second, for a one to twounit building.
For three to six units, one gig,or a thousand MBPS, which is
(13:33):
what we got.
And for seven units or more, oneto two gigs, and fiber optic is
strongly advised.
And for our six units, we gotthe one gig and the fiber optic.
So when you call, they're gonnawanna know the square footage of
the coverage because they willassume you will be using one
modem, which they provide, andinternet extenders to boost the
(13:57):
internet to all the differentcorners of the building.
However, we didn't use boosters.
We wanted to have access pointsconnected to each unit so that
every unit had their own privateand secure internet with their
own password.
Kevin (14:11):
And that is where it became a little tricky.
Now stick with me here.
I'm gonna get a littletechnical, but I'll do my best
to be clear and concise.
So, in order to not have to havean open network where everyone
uses one public password, we hadto use VLANs for SSID isolation
so that each unit had its ownpassword protection.
(14:35):
Now, VLAN stands for VirtualLocal Area Network, and that
device allows you to separate ordivide a single physical network
into multiple isolated networks.
So the modem that comes fromAT&T usually has a couple of
ethernet ports to be able to dothis.
(14:55):
Those ethernet ports are whereyou can run hard wires direct to
an access point, which isbasically a mini modem, and be
able to have a private andsecure wifi point wherever that
ethernet court connects to theaccess point.
Which would likely be fine for aduplex.
But because we needed at leastsix hookups, one for each unit,
(15:18):
we had to purchase a new devicewith more ports to separate the
networks for each unit.
SSID is the server setidentifier or the name of the
device you are looking for, andthat pops up when you're
searching for internet.
So in this case, we'll just sayit was named like unit one or
unit two, and so on.
(15:39):
Those are the access points.
Okay, you're still with me?
Now many of our units alreadyhad ethernet lines run to their
unit from previous AT&T hookupsfor internet.
Unfortunately, those lines wereCat five, an older version of
ethernet wire and works fine,but with the new commercial
(16:00):
grade modem and increased speed,we were better off with the CAT
six.
This would ensure that ourtenants would not experience any
lag time or issues if they wererunning multiple devices.
And let's face it, for eachunit, we will have to have the
smart locks hooked up, and mostpeople have at least one phone,
(16:21):
one computer, one tablet, andwho knows what else they might
be running for work.
Stacie (16:27):
Don't forget smart TVs for streaming now.
Kevin (16:29):
Yeah, good point.
And we figured that we'll onlyincrease as smart devices
improve and become more popular.
So here's where it getsinteresting.
We have an electrician and weask him to bid on running CAT
six to every unit.
And as we said, the fourdownstairs units already have
(16:50):
CAT five ethernet run to theirunit, so all they have to do is
follow that run and get the lineup through the wall.
Easy peasy, right?
The hard part was getting linesto the upstairs units where the
ethernet would have to run fromthe back of the basement, out
the side of the building, upthrough conduit, into the attic,
(17:14):
and across to both units.
Of which there was a firewallbetween the units that they have
to push the conduit through.
We understood that that would bea challenge.
So he came back at$3,000 just torun the lines and then he told
us he actually can't run CAT sixbecause he didn't have the
(17:36):
proper tool for that grade ofethernet.
He can only do CAT five, whichwe already had run to four of
the six units.
We were like, huh, so how muchis this tool?
$45, he said.
And that's when we realized hereally didn't want to do this
job.
Stacie (17:57):
You know, I really wish he would've just told us he was
too busy or that he wasn'tcomfortable running those wires.
'Cause you guys, I looked onlineand a hundred foot roll of CAT
six wire was like 18 bucks.
And originally I had thoughtthey could run it through the
walls alongside the existingcable line, like the old
(18:18):
ethernet was in the downstairsunits.
And we would then have a newwall plate installed with
connections for both theexisting cable line and the
ethernet ports.
Then we could purchase accesspoints, you know those little
mini modems we talked about.
We would essentially plug intothat ethernet wall port and we
(18:39):
were in business.
Bing, bam, boom, we're all set.
Yeah, right.
Nope.
So I called our IT guy that dida lot of work connecting fiber
optic to one of our mountainhomes.
I wanted to see if he knewanyone local to Sacramento that
could come and check out the joband see if we were on the right
(18:59):
track.
And he was a great guy and rightaway referred us to someone.
And after a little back andforth with this guy, we were
told that none of the productthat we had hoped to use would
work.
I mean, it would work, but it'snot gonna be as secure and as
reliable.
That the TP Link product wasmore for home-based usage, like
(19:21):
if you needed a private line fora business within a home, and
we're not really worried aboutother people in the home gaining
access to your wifi.
And we were bummed because TPLink is budget friendly and we
felt that we could set it upourselves.
So, this guy highly recommendeda product called Ubiquiti, which
(19:42):
we ultimately went with.
They have an access point thatwas independent and would not
require a power cord to run toit because it pulled its power
through the ethernet cord from aspecial modem or VLAN or
whatever it is.
But the term is called a POE,power over ethernet.
This actually allows the accesspoint to be placed anywhere
(20:03):
within the unit.
And in this case, it replacedthe old cable line wall plate
that we had in each of theunits.
So it was small, clean, andbarely noticeable.
The other nice part was that thedownstairs access points all had
two ethernet ports on the bottomof that box in case someone
(20:24):
needed to connect a hard linefrom their computer or gaming
system.
Now, apparently when people haveto work over Zoom a lot, they
prefer to have a hard ethernetline connected to the modem, or
in our case, the access point,just in case the wifi is spotty,
then they won't lose theirconnection.
And it goes the same thing withgaming consoles.
People don't wanna be in themiddle of a game and lose their
(20:46):
wifi connection, so they'llconnect an ethernet cable
between the two points.
I mean, it makes perfect sense,and just because we don't have a
need for it or really understandit all, that doesn't mean that
the younger population who isour target market for tenants,
won't appreciate it.
Kevin (21:02):
So the thing that Stacie is leaving out is that the cost
for all of this to happen wasway more than we had thought.
When we got the bid from theelectrician, we were like, no
way.
After getting the bid from theIT guy, we wish the electrician
was able to do it.
When it was all said and done,the installation, parts, and
(21:25):
support cost us$4,600.
At this point, we were alreadycommitted because we had sent
out an email to our currenttenants asking if they would be
interested in switching fromtheir internet service provider
to our service, and two wantedto switch right away.
Plus a new tenant moving intoone of our one bedrooms wanted
(21:48):
to get signed up as well.
So if you listen to our lastepisode where we said to do your
research and make sureimprovements that will benefit
your tenants is financiallyfeasible before committing,
please heed that advice.
Yeah.
The thing is we move forwardwith the IT guy doing the
(22:09):
install because of a couplereasons.
One, that amount of money is notan expense write off, it is a
capital improvement.
Which means that amount spentgets added to the value of the
property as capital added fortax purposes.
And when and if we ever sell thebuilding, that$4,600 that has
(22:33):
been added to the quote unquotecapital improvement value, will
decrease the capital gains taxeswe would have to pay.
If you don't follow that, youcan talk to your CPA about how
to handle a large improvement toyour property.
But basically you don't get thewrite off from that year's
taxes, but at the end when yousell or transfer it to your
(22:56):
heirs.
The second reason was when andif we go to sell the building,
having that improvementcompleted and having an amenity
such as that all set up alreadyis a huge selling point.
The new owners have an automaticrevenue stream by way of
internet fees.
It's not a huge money maker, butit will add a couple of hundred
(23:19):
bucks a month to our bottomline.
And third, we are not techies.
If something goes wrong, this ITguy is all set up remotely to
handle it.
If we did the install ourselves,we would have to travel two
hours up to the property, godown to the basement, and what?
Try to wiggle the wires and turnthe power on and off and cross
(23:42):
our fingers that it worked?
I mean, we have no idea what isgoing on in those boxes or the
ethernet lines that are run.
I mean, we have a generalunderstanding, but if our
tenants are paying for aservice, we had better be able
to handle an issue when itarises.
Stacie (24:00):
I mean, for the most part, we handle most everything.
But as we work to stay incompetition and remain at the
higher end of the mid-levelrentals in our market, like we
said in episode 1 0 1, we haveto get uncomfortable in order to
succeed and reach our goals.
Now, I wanna touch on a fewpoints.
(24:20):
More and more rentals ofapartment buildings are
including some level of internetas an amenity.
Many internet service providersmake new customers sign up for a
two year contract.
And if a tenant moves after ayear to a different part of the
country where that internetcompany doesn't exist, they have
a pretty hefty earlycancellation fee to cover.
(24:43):
And by us providing internet,where the tenant just moves in
and connects to it right away,and pays on average 15 to$25
less per month to use ourservice versus the internet
company, that's a big win forthem.
For us at this point, the threetenants that are using our
internet service are pretty muchcovering our bill.
(25:06):
When we rent our two bedroomunit out, if they also use it,
we'll be earning a profit.
And yes, I am aware that theupfront cost of installing
internet like this was insane.
And if we divide what we earnmonthly into that final amount
paid, it will take years for usto break even and recoup that
(25:27):
money.
But you can't think of it thatway.
You wouldn't if you installednew appliances for$2,500 and
maybe got an extra$50 of rentbecause of'em.
Or$10,000 for a bathroom remodelthat might get you another a
hundred dollars a month in rent.
You just can't think that way.
You have to look at it as along-term improvement that's
(25:48):
going to continue to benefityour tenants and hopefully make
them happy enough to stay andkeep renewing year after year.
Kevin (25:56):
All right, so let's talk numbers.
We decided to keep the cost ofthe internet a separate fee.
And the reason why is because,as we mentioned earlier,
internet companies like toincrease their prices, and
often.
If we fold the cost into therent, it will make it really
hard to recoup that fee.
(26:17):
By charging them a flat rate andputting into the lease that we
can increase it as needed, thenwe can be assured that that cost
should always be covered.
But we are charging our tenants$50 a month through the internet
fee.
And when we looked last, theintroductory rate for a
residential unit was between$65and$85 a month.
Stacie (26:42):
I believe the guy in unit three said he was paying$85
a month before he switched overto ours.
Kevin (26:48):
Yeah, and we're offering fiber optic, which is premium
level internet so that isactually a great deal for them.
So we have five units that couldpay for this service at$50 a
month.
That's$250 a month in fees tocover our expense of$160.
And we have to provide it forthe midterm rental anyway, so
(27:10):
for us, that's an extrapotential$250 a month in income.
And keep in mind that for yourmarket, it might be better to
bundle that fee in with therent.
I know that when we go to aresort on vacation, I mean, it
just kills me when they nickeland dime us with resort fees.
So if your market is one whereyou are better off just to
(27:33):
increase the rent a little anduse the internet as a bonus or
free amenity, then you can gothat route.
How will you know?
Ask your tenants.
Ask other landlords in your areathat provide internet.
You know, how have they handledit?
If you have kids or friends thatare renters, text them and ask
(27:54):
what their thoughts are.
Here's some questions you canask them.
Yes or no.
Would they want the internet feeincluded in the rent or would
they prefer to use their ownprovider?
Yes or no?
Would they be willing to pay anextra$25 to$50 a month for
included high-speed internet, orwould it depend on the speed?
(28:17):
Ask them how important isinternet speed when choosing a
rental?
Not important at all, somewhatimportant, very important?
Or is it a deal breaker?
And finally, if internet wasincluded, would you want a
private login?, A sharedbuilding wifi with password, or
(28:38):
would they prefer to have theirown service?
And I bet nine times outta 10,they want their own private
login security reasons, But dothe research.
Stacie (28:50):
All right, we wanna wrap it up with some tips and things
to consider if you're thinkingproperty wide wifi is gonna work
for your rental.
So ask yourself, is yourproperty a good fit?
Does it have two or more unitswhere you can earn some or most
of your monthly bill back?
You know, think of it kind oflike house hacking.
(29:12):
Like if you buy a duplex andyou're gonna live in one side,
that other unit is helping tocompensate for the mortgage.
This is a very similar situationon a much smaller scale.
You also wanna ask, will yourtenant demographic value this
amenity enough to justify theeffort?
What else can you use the wififor?
(29:33):
You know, do you have plans forany security or smart devices
that are gonna need this wifi tofunction?
Can you handle the installationor do you need to hire it out?
Do you have a shared electricalroom or a basement or somewhere
that you can have a structuredcabling area?
Who will manage connectionissues?
(29:53):
How do tenants report an issue?
What's your policy for abuse oroveruse of the internet?
Now, this is not likely if youget one gig, but you never know
what or how many electronicdevices that your tenants are
running in their units.
And have you added a wifiprovided clause to your lease?
So when we first started, wespoke with a technical person at
(30:16):
AT&T and they told us that whatwe wanted to do was absolutely
possible.
They mentioned TP Link productsand they also mentioned Ubiquiti
noting that Ubiquiti was alittle more secure and higher
end product.
When the internet was actuallyinstalled by AT&T, again Kevin
(30:36):
spoke with the installer andmentioned what we were thinking
of doing and he told us again,it's definitely doable and it's
not that hard.
So this is why we were thinkingthat we could handle it.
But I think with six units maybeit was a bit overzealous of us
to have that confidence.
We have zero experience with thetech side of setting up
(30:57):
internet.
And where we have a generalunderstanding of it now, and
hopefully we didn't confuse theheck out of you when we tried to
explain it to you today.
We were in no shape, matter, orform capable of doing this job
on our own.
Kevin (31:11):
Alright, so knowing what you know now, would you have
connected internet to everyunit?
Stacie (31:18):
Yes.
I mean, we had the option to notgo through with it when we got
the bid from the IT guy.
And we had internet there forthe use for the midterm rental,
so the real expense wasconnecting it securely to each
unit.
And for clarification, not everytenant joined.
Two of the tenants did not, andopted to keep their own existing
(31:39):
service.
So for now, the ethernet linesto their units have been
disconnected down in thebasement.
And they can't connect without apassword anyway,but it was best
to get all the units connectedand ready to go at the same
time.
One, because it was costeffective.
And two, so that when we installthe smart locks and should the
(32:01):
next tenant who moves in, wantsto use a service, it's all ready
to go.
Kevin (32:05):
Yeah, and I think it was a good move for us too.
I mean, we've been working tokeep the property a little
higher end than the others inour area.
And from my own experiencerecently, while showing our
vacant two bedroom unit inSacramento, I think it's
definitely an amenity they'reexcited about.
When we discuss the amenitiesavailable, prospective tenants
(32:28):
have been thrilled that we offerfiber optic high-speed internet
and have confirmed that at$50 amonth, it is much lower than
what they are paying now.
So the only big thing reallyhurting us now is parking.
So many people do not want todeal with street parking and we
really don't have a solutionunless they want to park a
(32:49):
couple of blocks away at a bigcomplex where we can negotiate
parking spaces.
Then they'd have to walk threeto five minutes to their unit,
and that really doesn't makesense to us.
Stacie (33:02):
Yeah.
And pay a bundle in fees that wewould have to charge them.
You know, we're on a quietstreet, and from time to time
parking can be an issue.
But not once have we had atenant complaint about the
parking situation.
Kevin (33:15):
So let's hope that continues.
Stacie (33:18):
All right, you guys thanks so much for tuning in.
If you wanna know the specificproducts used to get the
property wide internet all setup, you can drop us an email to
stacie@yourlandlordresource.com.
That's Stacie with an IE orkevin@yourlandlordresource.com,
and we'll get a list over toyou.
(33:39):
If you like what you hear onthis podcast, would you do us a
favor and subscribe or follow onyour favorite podcast platform?
That way our episodes will bethere waiting for you each week
so you can enjoy all we have tosay about owning and
self-managing rental properties.
If you have a question or wannasuggest a subject for our
podcast, you can text us at 6 50 4 8 9 4 4 4 7 or you can email
(34:06):
us as well.
Feel free to download any of theforms or templates we offer.
Or if you want to sign up forour free newsletter, you can
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And if you'd like to followalong on the daily, you can find
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And we have a private Facebookgroup as well.
And that's for landlords only.
Again, links to those are in ourshow notes.
(34:28):
Thanks again for taking time outof your day to listen to our
podcast, and until next time,you've got this landlords.
I am aware that the upfront cost of installing
(00:03):
internet like this was insane.
And if we divide what we earnmonthly into that final amount
paid, it will take years for usto break even and recoup that
money.
But you can't think of it thatway.
You wouldn't if you installednew appliances for$2,500 and
maybe got an extra$50 of rentbecause of'em.
(00:24):
Or$10,000 for a bathroom remodelthat might get you another a
hundred dollars a month in rent.
You just can't think that way.
You have to look at it as along-term improvement that's
going to continue to benefityour tenants and hopefully make
them happy enough to stay andkeep renewing year after year.
(00:47):
Welcome to Your LandlordResource podcast.
Many moons ago when I started asa landlord, I was as green as it
gets.
I may have had my real estatelicense, but I lack confidence
and the hands-on experienceneeded when it came to dealing
with tenants, leases,maintenance, and bookkeeping
after many failed attempts.
Fast forward to today, Kevin andI have doubled our doors and
(01:08):
created an organized.
Professionally operated rentalproperty business.
Want to go from overwhelm toconfident if you're an ambitious
landlord or maybe one in themaking.
Join us as we provide strategiesand teach actionable steps to
help you reach your goals andthe lifestyle you desire.
All well building is streamlinedand profitable rental property
(01:28):
business.
This is Your Landlord ResourcePodcast.
Hey.
Hey there, landlords.
This is Stacie and you'relistening to the Your Landlord
Resource podcast.
I'm here with my co-host andcohabitant Kevin Kilroy.
Kevin (01:46):
Hello there landlords.
Thanks for tuning in andlistening to the tips we have to
offer self-managing landlords.
Stacie (01:55):
So I'm gonna get right to it.
About a year ago when we werecompleting our renovation on our
studio apartment, and convertingit to a midterm rental, we
needed to include wifi with theunit.
And in case you're not aware,midterm rentals are essentially
fully furnished units, much likean extended stay hotel that is
(02:15):
fully functional with anequipped kitchen.
They need to have all theessentials someone would need to
live for a short period of timeand be able to cook meals and
eat.
And work, meaning there needs tobe a desk or a designated
workspace.
And relax, so they need a niceplace to sit or read and watch
tv, like a couch or a comfychair.
(02:36):
And of course a comfortable bedand a bathroom where they can
shower, et cetera.
But unlike a hotel, this placeusually has its own washer and
dryer, so the tenant can washtheir linens and does not need
to rely on daily or weeklyhousekeeping service like you'd
get in a hotel.
Their stay is over 30 days andtypically at least 90 days.
(03:00):
And commonly midterm rentalshouse traveling nurses,
contractors coming into town towork on a project for several
months, teachers who are guestteaching for a semester,
students who are doing summerinternships from outta town, and
athletes or those working for asports team.
And you know, it kind of runs agamut.
Anybody who needs to stay in alocation for, you know, three,
(03:25):
six months, that's who can usethis kind of space.
In our case, the Oakland A'sbaseball team is using the minor
league baseball stadium inSacramento while they wait for
their new stadium to be built inNevada.
And our tenant who actuallylives in Alabama, works for the
A's and comes into town to workfor the baseball season only.
(03:48):
And we have several friends ofkid one who are minor league
baseball players, and they dothis same thing.
They rent space for 30 days at atime while they're playing for
their team.
So these people come in withtheir suitcases full of clothes
and their personal items, andessentially use our space for
the time that they're gonna bein town.
(04:08):
When we sold the rental housethat my brother was living in
before he passed, I transferredthe Comcast internet from his
property to this midterm rental.
And that was fine when the costwas$65 a month.
But in the last year, that planis now costing us$130 a month.
Kevin (04:28):
Yeah, I mean, that's just infuriating.
I, I know we can call and getthe cost reduced or a credit or
something like that, but this ishow they make their money.
So we had an issue.
We had to provide wifi to theunit, and that wifi cost was
really cutting into our profit.
(04:49):
Now this midterm rental islocated within our sixplex,
where we also have beeninstalling little by little
smart locks on the doors.
We like smart locks for a coupleof reasons.
One, the tenants like the smarttechnology and with smart locks,
they don't have to fiddle withtheir keys to enter.
Two, it has made access mucheasier for our team to enter
(05:13):
when we are not present.
So the cleaning lady can go intothe midterm rental whenever
she's scheduled, and we don'thave to leave a key in a
lockbox.
Now we used to love to use ourlockbox, and in many cases we
still do, but the keys would getmisplaced and plus we have no
idea if dishonest people arerunning out to make a copy to
(05:34):
use later on.
With the smart lock, Jim can goright into a unit without having
to open the gate and then openup the basement and fish for the
correct key in our secret hidingspot.
Lastly, we know severallandlords who are now allowing
potential tenants to gain accessto their vacant unit to do their
(05:55):
own viewing.
Now, we don't do this or adviseit, but we can see how for
out-of-state landlords, it iscertainly something that can be
helpful.
Now, in order to use these smartlocks, there has to be internet
close by the door lock.
Now that's fine when someone isliving there, but not when the
place is vacant.
(06:17):
We are also kicking around theidea of installing security
cameras for our walkways.
So these are the reasons why webegan looking into property wide
wifi instead of just having itin the one midterm rental.
Stacie (06:31):
Yeah and plus we may convert the other studio into a
midterm rental as well, andwe're gonna need wifi in there
too.
Kevin (06:37):
Yeah, that's right.
Stacie (06:39):
So as we looked into offering property wide wifi, we
found a couple benefits.
And one, we could bring in oneline that could be used for all
six units.
So for us, we had to do acommercial account for wifi
because we're an LLC.
With this level, we got one gigof fiber optic for a price of
(07:02):
$160 a month.
You know, that's only$30 morethan what we were paying for,
much less coverage that we weregetting from Comcast.
We figured if we could get thisinto each unit, we could charge
tenants for this wifi serviceand make a few bucks off it each
month.
And essentially, the tenants whoopt in to use the service are
(07:24):
paying for or towards theservice that we need to have for
the midterm rental, the smartlocks, and potential security
cameras anyway.
So we did some research, and youcan Google this, to find out
what percentage of renterswanted wifi and internet as part
of the amenity with a unit.
(07:44):
The majority of renters wantwifi and internet service
available as an amenity in theirapartment communities.
Specifically, and are you readyfor this?
90% of respondents in the 2024NMHC and Grace Hill Renter
Preferences survey report,that's the National Multifamily
(08:08):
Housing Council, 90% said highspeed internet was a must have.
High speed internet consistentlyranks as a top apartment feature
and a community amenity, and itoften comes in third after air
conditioning and in unit washersand dryers.
And we have both those as well,so check and check.
(08:31):
This demand is driven by factorssuch as remote work.
So many renters work remotelyand require reliable and fast
internet connection.
Also, streaming andentertainment.
Renters need high-speed internetfor activities like watching
videos and gaming and streamingmusic.
(08:51):
And also smart home technology.
So increasing numbers of smartdevices in apartments require
strong internet connectivity.
In fact, some surveys indicatethat a lack of adequate internet
service can be a deal breakerfor potential renters.
Properties offering built-inhigh-speed internet stand out in
(09:13):
competitive markets and can helpattract and retain tenants.
You know, that's our goal.
So in our last episode wediscussed that when you are
struggling with something withinyour rental property business or
looking to make a change, thatyou should not go with your gut.
You know, all the data is there,you just need to find it and
(09:34):
evaluate it and see if it's agood fit for your business.
And for us, this seemed like aslam dunk.
Kevin (09:41):
So I wanna be clear here.
For those listeners who ownsingle family homes, usually
this is not gonna be somethingyou need to handle.
The tenants will bring in theinternet service provider of
their choice.
Typically, you are not going toneed to provide security cameras
either, but you can authorizeyour tenants to install them if
they choose.
(10:02):
Adding internet access is idealfor duplexes, triplexes,
fourplexes, and small apartmentbuildings.
The only time you would need toprovide internet for a single
family home would be if you usethe home as a midterm rental or
maybe single room occupancy.
In that case, you would includethe internet and the cost would
(10:25):
be folded in with the cost ofthe rent, not charged as an
additional fee.
So I want to talk a little bitabout what we did.
First, we contacted AT&T andinquired about the cost and
setup for fiber optic high speedinternet.
Fiber optic internet uses thinstrands of glass or plastic to
(10:45):
send data as light pulses, whileregular internet, especially
cable, uses copper or coaxialcables to send data as
electrical signals.
So this enables fiber optic totransfer the speed of the
internet much faster, cleaner,and less susceptible to
interferences due to weather orelectromagnetic interference.
(11:09):
Which is essentially noise thatcomes from power lines, cell
phones, and computers.
And think of it like when youare on a plane and they ask you
to put your phone into airplanemode so the magnetic transfer
from your phone trying toconnect, won't conflict with the
pilot's ability to hear commandsfrom the air traffic control or
other planes in the area.
(11:31):
Now, we opted for one gig ofspeed, which is equal to a
thousand megabytes per second.
This means it can transfer alarge amount of data very
quickly, making it suitable foractivities like streaming high
definition video, online gaming,and large file downloads.
And fiber optic typically doesnot lag on transfer of data when
(11:54):
multiple devices are connected,where cable internet does.
So it's really reliable, whichwas very important to us.
We wanted to make sure thetenants were paying for the best
offered.
Stacie (12:07):
Right.
And when I called AT&T, at firstI was kind of vague because I
wasn't sure if they would forceme to install one line for each
unit, which would've been costprohibitive.
So when I called, I made itsound like we just wanted to add
wifi to the property to use forour smart locks in a security
system.
(12:28):
But because we're a businessaccount, they explained that
only one line would come to thebuilding, and from there we
could do what we wanted with it.
You know imagine a small officebuilding or a warehouse where
they need internet to cover theentire space for several
employees.
This was the same exact thinghere.
You know, it's for a business,only it's for a residential
(12:50):
building.
And I don't believe if you did apersonal account, you'd be able
to get that same speed for thesame price.
My understanding is, theyconsider personal accounts not
needing as much speed and maynot offer that.
But don't quote me on that.
I know it's different for alldifferent areas.
I'm just going by what oursalesperson on the business side
(13:11):
of AT&T had said to us.
Now I did find a source onlinethat had a chart, and basically
for one to two units, you wouldneed 500 MBPS, that's megabytes
per second, for a one to twounit building.
For three to six units, one gig,or a thousand MBPS, which is
(13:33):
what we got.
And for seven units or more, oneto two gigs, and fiber optic is
strongly advised.
And for our six units, we gotthe one gig and the fiber optic.
So when you call, they're gonnawanna know the square footage of
the coverage because they willassume you will be using one
modem, which they provide, andinternet extenders to boost the
(13:57):
internet to all the differentcorners of the building.
However, we didn't use boosters.
We wanted to have access pointsconnected to each unit so that
every unit had their own privateand secure internet with their
own password.
Kevin (14:11):
And that is where it became a little tricky.
Now stick with me here.
I'm gonna get a littletechnical, but I'll do my best
to be clear and concise.
So, in order to not have to havean open network where everyone
uses one public password, we hadto use VLANs for SSID isolation
so that each unit had its ownpassword protection.
(14:35):
Now, VLAN stands for VirtualLocal Area Network, and that
device allows you to separate ordivide a single physical network
into multiple isolated networks.
So the modem that comes fromAT&T usually has a couple of
ethernet ports to be able to dothis.
(14:55):
Those ethernet ports are whereyou can run hard wires direct to
an access point, which isbasically a mini modem, and be
able to have a private andsecure wifi point wherever that
ethernet court connects to theaccess point.
Which would likely be fine for aduplex.
But because we needed at leastsix hookups, one for each unit,
(15:18):
we had to purchase a new devicewith more ports to separate the
networks for each unit.
SSID is the server setidentifier or the name of the
device you are looking for, andthat pops up when you're
searching for internet.
So in this case, we'll just sayit was named like unit one or
unit two, and so on.
(15:39):
Those are the access points.
Okay, you're still with me?
Now many of our units alreadyhad ethernet lines run to their
unit from previous AT&T hookupsfor internet.
Unfortunately, those lines wereCat five, an older version of
ethernet wire and works fine,but with the new commercial
(16:00):
grade modem and increased speed,we were better off with the CAT
six.
This would ensure that ourtenants would not experience any
lag time or issues if they wererunning multiple devices.
And let's face it, for eachunit, we will have to have the
smart locks hooked up, and mostpeople have at least one phone,
(16:21):
one computer, one tablet, andwho knows what else they might
be running for work.
Stacie (16:27):
Don't forget smart TVs for streaming now.
Kevin (16:29):
Yeah, good point.
And we figured that we'll onlyincrease as smart devices
improve and become more popular.
So here's where it getsinteresting.
We have an electrician and weask him to bid on running CAT
six to every unit.
And as we said, the fourdownstairs units already have
(16:50):
CAT five ethernet run to theirunit, so all they have to do is
follow that run and get the lineup through the wall.
Easy peasy, right?
The hard part was getting linesto the upstairs units where the
ethernet would have to run fromthe back of the basement, out
the side of the building, upthrough conduit, into the attic,
(17:14):
and across to both units.
Of which there was a firewallbetween the units that they have
to push the conduit through.
We understood that that would bea challenge.
So he came back at$3,000 just torun the lines and then he told
us he actually can't run CAT sixbecause he didn't have the
(17:36):
proper tool for that grade ofethernet.
He can only do CAT five, whichwe already had run to four of
the six units.
We were like, huh, so how muchis this tool?
$45, he said.
And that's when we realized hereally didn't want to do this
job.
Stacie (17:57):
You know, I really wish he would've just told us he was
too busy or that he wasn'tcomfortable running those wires.
'Cause you guys, I looked onlineand a hundred foot roll of CAT
six wire was like 18 bucks.
And originally I had thoughtthey could run it through the
walls alongside the existingcable line, like the old
(18:18):
ethernet was in the downstairsunits.
And we would then have a newwall plate installed with
connections for both theexisting cable line and the
ethernet ports.
Then we could purchase accesspoints, you know those little
mini modems we talked about.
We would essentially plug intothat ethernet wall port and we
(18:39):
were in business.
Bing, bam, boom, we're all set.
Yeah, right.
Nope.
So I called our IT guy that dida lot of work connecting fiber
optic to one of our mountainhomes.
I wanted to see if he knewanyone local to Sacramento that
could come and check out the joband see if we were on the right
(18:59):
track.
And he was a great guy and rightaway referred us to someone.
And after a little back andforth with this guy, we were
told that none of the productthat we had hoped to use would
work.
I mean, it would work, but it'snot gonna be as secure and as
reliable.
That the TP Link product wasmore for home-based usage, like
(19:21):
if you needed a private line fora business within a home, and
we're not really worried aboutother people in the home gaining
access to your wifi.
And we were bummed because TPLink is budget friendly and we
felt that we could set it upourselves.
So, this guy highly recommendeda product called Ubiquiti, which
(19:42):
we ultimately went with.
They have an access point thatwas independent and would not
require a power cord to run toit because it pulled its power
through the ethernet cord from aspecial modem or VLAN or
whatever it is.
But the term is called a POE,power over ethernet.
This actually allows the accesspoint to be placed anywhere
(20:03):
within the unit.
And in this case, it replacedthe old cable line wall plate
that we had in each of theunits.
So it was small, clean, andbarely noticeable.
The other nice part was that thedownstairs access points all had
two ethernet ports on the bottomof that box in case someone
(20:24):
needed to connect a hard linefrom their computer or gaming
system.
Now, apparently when people haveto work over Zoom a lot, they
prefer to have a hard ethernetline connected to the modem, or
in our case, the access point,just in case the wifi is spotty,
then they won't lose theirconnection.
And it goes the same thing withgaming consoles.
People don't wanna be in themiddle of a game and lose their
(20:46):
wifi connection, so they'llconnect an ethernet cable
between the two points.
I mean, it makes perfect sense,and just because we don't have a
need for it or really understandit all, that doesn't mean that
the younger population who isour target market for tenants,
won't appreciate it.
Kevin (21:02):
So the thing that Stacie is leaving out is that the cost
for all of this to happen wasway more than we had thought.
When we got the bid from theelectrician, we were like, no
way.
After getting the bid from theIT guy, we wish the electrician
was able to do it.
When it was all said and done,the installation, parts, and
(21:25):
support cost us$4,600.
At this point, we were alreadycommitted because we had sent
out an email to our currenttenants asking if they would be
interested in switching fromtheir internet service provider
to our service, and two wantedto switch right away.
Plus a new tenant moving intoone of our one bedrooms wanted
(21:48):
to get signed up as well.
So if you listen to our lastepisode where we said to do your
research and make sureimprovements that will benefit
your tenants is financiallyfeasible before committing,
please heed that advice.
Yeah.
The thing is we move forwardwith the IT guy doing the
(22:09):
install because of a couplereasons.
One, that amount of money is notan expense write off, it is a
capital improvement.
Which means that amount spentgets added to the value of the
property as capital added fortax purposes.
And when and if we ever sell thebuilding, that$4,600 that has
(22:33):
been added to the quote unquotecapital improvement value, will
decrease the capital gains taxeswe would have to pay.
If you don't follow that, youcan talk to your CPA about how
to handle a large improvement toyour property.
But basically you don't get thewrite off from that year's
taxes, but at the end when yousell or transfer it to your
(22:56):
heirs.
The second reason was when andif we go to sell the building,
having that improvementcompleted and having an amenity
such as that all set up alreadyis a huge selling point.
The new owners have an automaticrevenue stream by way of
internet fees.
It's not a huge money maker, butit will add a couple of hundred
(23:19):
bucks a month to our bottomline.
And third, we are not techies.
If something goes wrong, this ITguy is all set up remotely to
handle it.
If we did the install ourselves,we would have to travel two
hours up to the property, godown to the basement, and what?
Try to wiggle the wires and turnthe power on and off and cross
(23:42):
our fingers that it worked?
I mean, we have no idea what isgoing on in those boxes or the
ethernet lines that are run.
I mean, we have a generalunderstanding, but if our
tenants are paying for aservice, we had better be able
to handle an issue when itarises.
Stacie (24:00):
I mean, for the most part, we handle most everything.
But as we work to stay incompetition and remain at the
higher end of the mid-levelrentals in our market, like we
said in episode 1 0 1, we haveto get uncomfortable in order to
succeed and reach our goals.
Now, I wanna touch on a fewpoints.
(24:20):
More and more rentals ofapartment buildings are
including some level of internetas an amenity.
Many internet service providersmake new customers sign up for a
two year contract.
And if a tenant moves after ayear to a different part of the
country where that internetcompany doesn't exist, they have
a pretty hefty earlycancellation fee to cover.
(24:43):
And by us providing internet,where the tenant just moves in
and connects to it right away,and pays on average 15 to$25
less per month to use ourservice versus the internet
company, that's a big win forthem.
For us at this point, the threetenants that are using our
internet service are pretty muchcovering our bill.
(25:06):
When we rent our two bedroomunit out, if they also use it,
we'll be earning a profit.
And yes, I am aware that theupfront cost of installing
internet like this was insane.
And if we divide what we earnmonthly into that final amount
paid, it will take years for usto break even and recoup that
(25:27):
money.
But you can't think of it thatway.
You wouldn't if you installednew appliances for$2,500 and
maybe got an extra$50 of rentbecause of'em.
Or$10,000 for a bathroom remodelthat might get you another a
hundred dollars a month in rent.
You just can't think that way.
You have to look at it as along-term improvement that's
(25:48):
going to continue to benefityour tenants and hopefully make
them happy enough to stay andkeep renewing year after year.
Kevin (25:56):
All right, so let's talk numbers.
We decided to keep the cost ofthe internet a separate fee.
And the reason why is because,as we mentioned earlier,
internet companies like toincrease their prices, and
often.
If we fold the cost into therent, it will make it really
hard to recoup that fee.
(26:17):
By charging them a flat rate andputting into the lease that we
can increase it as needed, thenwe can be assured that that cost
should always be covered.
But we are charging our tenants$50 a month through the internet
fee.
And when we looked last, theintroductory rate for a
residential unit was between$65and$85 a month.
Stacie (26:42):
I believe the guy in unit three said he was paying$85
a month before he switched overto ours.
Kevin (26:48):
Yeah, and we're offering fiber optic, which is premium
level internet so that isactually a great deal for them.
So we have five units that couldpay for this service at$50 a
month.
That's$250 a month in fees tocover our expense of$160.
And we have to provide it forthe midterm rental anyway, so
(27:10):
for us, that's an extrapotential$250 a month in income.
And keep in mind that for yourmarket, it might be better to
bundle that fee in with therent.
I know that when we go to aresort on vacation, I mean, it
just kills me when they nickeland dime us with resort fees.
So if your market is one whereyou are better off just to
(27:33):
increase the rent a little anduse the internet as a bonus or
free amenity, then you can gothat route.
How will you know?
Ask your tenants.
Ask other landlords in your areathat provide internet.
You know, how have they handledit?
If you have kids or friends thatare renters, text them and ask
(27:54):
what their thoughts are.
Here's some questions you canask them.
Yes or no.
Would they want the internet feeincluded in the rent or would
they prefer to use their ownprovider?
Yes or no?
Would they be willing to pay anextra$25 to$50 a month for
included high-speed internet, orwould it depend on the speed?
(28:17):
Ask them how important isinternet speed when choosing a
rental?
Not important at all, somewhatimportant, very important?
Or is it a deal breaker?
And finally, if internet wasincluded, would you want a
private login?, A sharedbuilding wifi with password, or
(28:38):
would they prefer to have theirown service?
And I bet nine times outta 10,they want their own private
login security reasons, But dothe research.
Stacie (28:50):
All right, we wanna wrap it up with some tips and things
to consider if you're thinkingproperty wide wifi is gonna work
for your rental.
So ask yourself, is yourproperty a good fit?
Does it have two or more unitswhere you can earn some or most
of your monthly bill back?
You know, think of it kind oflike house hacking.
(29:12):
Like if you buy a duplex andyou're gonna live in one side,
that other unit is helping tocompensate for the mortgage.
This is a very similar situationon a much smaller scale.
You also wanna ask, will yourtenant demographic value this
amenity enough to justify theeffort?
What else can you use the wififor?
(29:33):
You know, do you have plans forany security or smart devices
that are gonna need this wifi tofunction?
Can you handle the installationor do you need to hire it out?
Do you have a shared electricalroom or a basement or somewhere
that you can have a structuredcabling area?
Who will manage connectionissues?
(29:53):
How do tenants report an issue?
What's your policy for abuse oroveruse of the internet?
Now, this is not likely if youget one gig, but you never know
what or how many electronicdevices that your tenants are
running in their units.
And have you added a wifiprovided clause to your lease?
So when we first started, wespoke with a technical person at
(30:16):
AT&T and they told us that whatwe wanted to do was absolutely
possible.
They mentioned TP Link productsand they also mentioned Ubiquiti
noting that Ubiquiti was alittle more secure and higher
end product.
When the internet was actuallyinstalled by AT&T, again Kevin
(30:36):
spoke with the installer andmentioned what we were thinking
of doing and he told us again,it's definitely doable and it's
not that hard.
So this is why we were thinkingthat we could handle it.
But I think with six units maybeit was a bit overzealous of us
to have that confidence.
We have zero experience with thetech side of setting up
(30:57):
internet.
And where we have a generalunderstanding of it now, and
hopefully we didn't confuse theheck out of you when we tried to
explain it to you today.
We were in no shape, matter, orform capable of doing this job
on our own.
Kevin (31:11):
Alright, so knowing what you know now, would you have
connected internet to everyunit?
Stacie (31:18):
Yes.
I mean, we had the option to notgo through with it when we got
the bid from the IT guy.
And we had internet there forthe use for the midterm rental,
so the real expense wasconnecting it securely to each
unit.
And for clarification, not everytenant joined.
Two of the tenants did not, andopted to keep their own existing
(31:39):
service.
So for now, the ethernet linesto their units have been
disconnected down in thebasement.
And they can't connect without apassword anyway,but it was best
to get all the units connectedand ready to go at the same
time.
One, because it was costeffective.
And two, so that when we installthe smart locks and should the
(32:01):
next tenant who moves in, wantsto use a service, it's all ready
to go.
Kevin (32:05):
Yeah, and I think it was a good move for us too.
I mean, we've been working tokeep the property a little
higher end than the others inour area.
And from my own experiencerecently, while showing our
vacant two bedroom unit inSacramento, I think it's
definitely an amenity they'reexcited about.
When we discuss the amenitiesavailable, prospective tenants
(32:28):
have been thrilled that we offerfiber optic high-speed internet
and have confirmed that at$50 amonth, it is much lower than
what they are paying now.
So the only big thing reallyhurting us now is parking.
So many people do not want todeal with street parking and we
really don't have a solutionunless they want to park a
(32:49):
couple of blocks away at a bigcomplex where we can negotiate
parking spaces.
Then they'd have to walk threeto five minutes to their unit,
and that really doesn't makesense to us.
Stacie (33:02):
Yeah.
And pay a bundle in fees that wewould have to charge them.
You know, we're on a quietstreet, and from time to time
parking can be an issue.
But not once have we had atenant complaint about the
parking situation.
Kevin (33:15):
So let's hope that continues.
Stacie (33:18):
All right, you guys thanks so much for tuning in.
If you wanna know the specificproducts used to get the
property wide internet all setup, you can drop us an email to
stacie@yourlandlordresource.com.
That's Stacie with an IE orkevin@yourlandlordresource.com,
and we'll get a list over toyou.
(33:39):
If you like what you hear onthis podcast, would you do us a
favor and subscribe or follow onyour favorite podcast platform?
That way our episodes will bethere waiting for you each week
so you can enjoy all we have tosay about owning and
self-managing rental properties.
If you have a question or wannasuggest a subject for our
podcast, you can text us at 6 50 4 8 9 4 4 4 7 or you can email
(34:06):
us as well.
Feel free to download any of theforms or templates we offer.
Or if you want to sign up forour free newsletter, you can
access all those links in theshow notes.
And if you'd like to followalong on the daily, you can find
us on Instagram and Facebook.
And we have a private Facebookgroup as well.
And that's for landlords only.
Again, links to those are in ourshow notes.
(34:28):
Thanks again for taking time outof your day to listen to our
podcast, and until next time,you've got this landlords.
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