Everyone is talking about how AI is impacting the workforce. I’m more interested in what it can do for your biggest asset.
Owning a property comes with expensive surprises: The heating stops working, water gets into the basement, or the electricity bill jumps, and nobody can explain why.
You call someone, wait for an appointment, and hope the bill isn’t too painful.
I believe AI can help us get ahead of traditionally “unpredictable” ownership costs in some of these situations. With the right sensors and connected equipment, software can track temperature, humidity, water flow and energy consumption. AI can then detect and extrapolate from unusual patterns. For example: If your heating system begins to consume more energy, while maintaining the same temperature, in relation to stable patterns of external temperatures, that could flag something worth checking.
AI won’t necessarily tell you what is broken, but catching a problem early gives you a chance to deal with it before the damage gets expensive.
AI can be useful; but, it has its limitations:
It can help homeowners make better decisions about renovations.
Before spending $80,000, it is important to know what you are trying to accomplish: Better everyday living? Higher resale value? More rental income?These are different goals that don’t always call for the same work; so, understanding these distinctions, and using properly formulated prompts when interacting with AI, is critical.
It can help with comparing scenarios and organizing costs:
Comparable sales, and potential returns; but, someone still needs to verify the information and understand what buyers actually value in your property, or in your neighbourhood.For investors, the biggest benefit could be catching weak assumptions before they become expensive mistakes:
AI can help review leases, track expenses, and estimate how changes in interest rates, rental income, or vacancies could affect an investment. Small changes matter:A decrease of just $500 per month in net rental income could, under certain financing conditions, reduce mortgage borrowing capacity by approximately $68,000. That’s a substantial difference for what initially looks like a relatively small change in monthly income.
As a realtor, I am excited at the ways AI can assist with information gathering and organizing, as well as monitoring and optimizing; but, before putting your money behind an AI-generated response, it is important to review it with your insight, as well as those of relevant professionals, including your trusted real estate professional. We’ll check the numbers, question the assumptions, and get the right people involved.
AI will flood you with advice, and can be sycophantic, flattering the desired results telegraphed in prompts, but good luck calling AI back when the provided advice goes sideways.