r/RealEstate•
com33

Is there a camera product to allow me to monitor a home during rehab? (No electric, no wifi)

Is there a security camera / product out there that can be used while the house is being rehabbed in another state? I go there daily but leave at night. Looking to add cameras to front and back and inside of house... but to a home with no WiFi or power.

Features.

AC adapter is ok but should also run on batteries.

Using satellite tech to email images without WiFi / internet access in the house.

Indoor / outdoor / night vision.

Recording to sd card / hdd locally.

Just throwing my thoughts out there

Posted Feb 26, 2018, 3:03 PM UTC

715
buckeyegal923•

Trail cams? Most of those are battery operated, weather-proof (I don't know how torn up the house is), only go off when there's movement, and store all photos on an SD card.

12
Hope-full•

What if whoever you are trying to record simply steals your trail cams with the SD cards? Lol

3
buckeyegal923•

In the woods we put them up into a tree, aimed out and down, so that they're not easy to spot and even harder to take down if you do see them. I imagine you could go the same route and find inconspicuous/inconvenient places to put them and secure them there somehow. Sometimes, yes, they do get stolen, but it's not as frequent as you'd think.

2
Hope-full•

Fair enough.

Not sure what OP is trying to gain by having at-night coverage... I think having a solid insurance policy and making sure your building is locked up/difficult to get into is the most reasonable plan.

1
coldcall42•

Arlo Go runs off battery and cellular but it's pricey and you will have to pay a monthly service for cell service.

6
LennyLongshoes•

I think you need wifi for those

1
dietcokefiend•

The Go is cell based.

1
wamazingAppraiser•

Offer to pay the neighbors some money to jump on their wifi.

6
lumpytroutLandlord, investor•

there are lots of Trail Cams that will send Cellular updates, but they cost a lot and you need to have them on a cell plan.

https://www.trailcampro.com/collections/cellular-trail-cameras

generally there are better options out there like borrowing a neighbors wifi but I do understand there are times when these are necessary.

2
bbqturtle•

RE: no wifi - you could buy and plug in a wifi hotspot through a coupla cell phone plans that just charge data, not by number of devices.

1
FIREburnSkred•

Is there a neighbor? Can you use their wifi/power?

1
com33OP•

No, it's a bad neighborhood so neighbor's are sketchy and not trustworthy.

1
anonyfool•

You don't mention a budget but there are companies that do this as a service . Here's one I've seen in California. http://techcam.net/

1
biglikeandrew•

Eventually the power will need to be reconnected - maybe reschedule the electrician to get the panel hooked up now instead of later (this does not take very long - pretty routine). Have the electrician just do the minimum panel connection and provide one outlet (this will likely help with the rest of the rehab because tools need power). Then get internet hooked up and use a Nest cam or similar. If you don't have power, you're likely paying subs for generator use, so this will offset some costs.

1
Mattsuo•

No WiFi....so no

-2