We Installed Property-Wide Wi-Fi. The Pros, Cons & What to Know

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

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Transcript

Stacie: 0:00

I am aware that the upfront cost of installing internet like this was insane. And if we divide what we earn monthly into that final amount paid, it will take years for us to break even and recoup that money. But you can't think of it that way. You wouldn't if you installed new appliances for$2,500 and maybe got an extra$50 of rent because of'em. Or$10,000 for a bathroom remodel that 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 a long-term improvement that's going to continue to benefit your tenants and hopefully make them happy enough to stay and keep renewing year after year.

0:47

Welcome to Your Landlord Resource podcast. Many moons ago when I started as a landlord, I was as green as it gets. I may have had my real estate license, but I lack confidence and the hands-on experience needed when it came to dealing with tenants, leases, maintenance, and bookkeeping after many failed attempts. Fast forward to today, Kevin and I have doubled our doors and created an organized. Professionally operated rental property business. Want to go from overwhelm to confident if you're an ambitious landlord or maybe one in the making. Join us as we provide strategies and teach actionable steps to help you reach your goals and the lifestyle you desire. All well building is streamlined and profitable rental property business. This is Your Landlord Resource Podcast.

Stacie: 1:36

Hey. Hey there, landlords. This is Stacie and you're listening to the Your Landlord Resource podcast. I'm here with my co-host and cohabitant Kevin Kilroy.

Kevin: 1:46

Hello there landlords. Thanks for tuning in and listening to the tips we have to offer self-managing landlords.

Stacie: 1:55

So I'm gonna get right to it. About a year ago when we were completing our renovation on our studio apartment, and converting it to a midterm rental, we needed to include wifi with the unit. And in case you're not aware, midterm rentals are essentially fully furnished units, much like an extended stay hotel that is fully functional with an equipped kitchen. They need to have all the essentials someone would need to live for a short period of time and be able to cook meals and eat. And work, meaning there needs to be a desk or a designated workspace. And relax, so they need a nice place to sit or read and watch tv, like a couch or a comfy chair. And of course a comfortable bed and a bathroom where they can shower, et cetera. But unlike a hotel, this place usually has its own washer and dryer, so the tenant can wash their linens and does not need to rely on daily or weekly housekeeping service like you'd get in a hotel. Their stay is over 30 days and typically at least 90 days. And commonly midterm rentals house traveling nurses, contractors coming into town to work on a project for several months, teachers who are guest teaching for a semester, students who are doing summer internships from outta town, and athletes or those working for a sports team. And you know, it kind of runs a gamut. Anybody who needs to stay in a location for, you know, three, six months, that's who can use this kind of space. In our case, the Oakland A's baseball team is using the minor league baseball stadium in Sacramento while they wait for their new stadium to be built in Nevada. And our tenant who actually lives in Alabama, works for the A's and comes into town to work for the baseball season only. And we have several friends of kid one who are minor league baseball players, and they do this same thing. They rent space for 30 days at a time while they're playing for their team. So these people come in with their suitcases full of clothes and their personal items, and essentially use our space for the time that they're gonna be in town. When we sold the rental house that my brother was living in before he passed, I transferred the Comcast internet from his property to this midterm rental. And that was fine when the cost was$65 a month. But in the last year, that plan is now costing us$130 a month.

Kevin: 4:28

Yeah, I mean, that's just infuriating. I, I know we can call and get the cost reduced or a credit or something like that, but this is how they make their money. So we had an issue. We had to provide wifi to the unit, and that wifi cost was really cutting into our profit. Now this midterm rental is located within our sixplex, where we also have been installing little by little smart locks on the doors. We like smart locks for a couple of reasons. One, the tenants like the smart technology and with smart locks, they don't have to fiddle with their keys to enter. Two, it has made access much easier for our team to enter when we are not present. So the cleaning lady can go into the midterm rental whenever she's scheduled, and we don't have to leave a key in a lockbox. Now we used to love to use our lockbox, and in many cases we still do, but the keys would get misplaced and plus we have no idea if dishonest people are running out to make a copy to use later on. With the smart lock, Jim can go right into a unit without having to open the gate and then open up the basement and fish for the correct key in our secret hiding spot. Lastly, we know several landlords who are now allowing potential tenants to gain access to their vacant unit to do their own viewing. Now, we don't do this or advise it, but we can see how for out-of-state landlords, it is certainly something that can be helpful. Now, in order to use these smart locks, there has to be internet close by the door lock. Now that's fine when someone is living there, but not when the place is vacant. We are also kicking around the idea of installing security cameras for our walkways. So these are the reasons why we began looking into property wide wifi instead of just having it in the one midterm rental.

Stacie: 6:31

Yeah and plus we may convert the other studio into a midterm rental as well, and we're gonna need wifi in there too.

Kevin: 6:37

Yeah, that's right.

Stacie: 6:39

So as we looked into offering property wide wifi, we found a couple benefits. And one, we could bring in one line that could be used for all six units. So for us, we had to do a commercial account for wifi because we're an LLC. With this level, we got one gig of fiber optic for a price of$160 a month. You know, that's only$30 more than what we were paying for, much less coverage that we were getting from Comcast. We figured if we could get this into each unit, we could charge tenants for this wifi service and make a few bucks off it each month. And essentially, the tenants who opt in to use the service are paying for or towards the service that we need to have for the midterm rental, the smart locks, and potential security cameras anyway. So we did some research, and you can Google this, to find out what percentage of renters wanted wifi and internet as part of the amenity with a unit. The majority of renters want wifi and internet service available as an amenity in their apartment communities. Specifically, and are you ready for this? 90% of respondents in the 2024 NMHC and Grace Hill Renter Preferences survey report, that's the National Multifamily Housing Council, 90% said high speed internet was a must have. High speed internet consistently ranks as a top apartment feature and a community amenity, and it often comes in third after air conditioning and in unit washers and dryers. And we have both those as well, so check and check. This demand is driven by factors such as remote work. So many renters work remotely and require reliable and fast internet connection. Also, streaming and entertainment. Renters need high-speed internet for activities like watching videos and gaming and streaming music. And also smart home technology. So increasing numbers of smart devices in apartments require strong internet connectivity. In fact, some surveys indicate that a lack of adequate internet service can be a deal breaker for potential renters. Properties offering built-in high-speed internet stand out in competitive markets and can help attract and retain tenants. You know, that's our goal. So in our last episode we discussed that when you are struggling with something within your rental property business or looking to make a change, that you should not go with your gut. You know, all the data is there, you just need to find it and evaluate it and see if it's a good fit for your business. And for us, this seemed like a slam dunk.

Kevin: 9:41

So I wanna be clear here. For those listeners who own single family homes, usually this is not gonna be something you need to handle. The tenants will bring in the internet service provider of their choice. Typically, you are not going to need to provide security cameras either, but you can authorize your tenants to install them if they choose. Adding internet access is ideal for duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and small apartment buildings. The only time you would need to provide internet for a single family home would be if you use the home as a midterm rental or maybe single room occupancy. In that case, you would include the internet and the cost would be folded in with the cost of the rent, not charged as an additional fee. So I want to talk a little bit about what we did. First, we contacted AT&T and inquired about the cost and setup for fiber optic high speed internet. Fiber optic internet uses thin strands of glass or plastic to send data as light pulses, while regular internet, especially cable, uses copper or coaxial cables to send data as electrical signals. So this enables fiber optic to transfer the speed of the internet much faster, cleaner, and less susceptible to interferences due to weather or electromagnetic interference. Which is essentially noise that comes from power lines, cell phones, and computers. And think of it like when you are on a plane and they ask you to put your phone into airplane mode so the magnetic transfer from your phone trying to connect, won't conflict with the pilot's ability to hear commands from the air traffic control or other planes in the area. Now, we opted for one gig of speed, which is equal to a thousand megabytes per second. This means it can transfer a large amount of data very quickly, making it suitable for activities like streaming high definition video, online gaming, and large file downloads. And fiber optic typically does not lag on transfer of data when multiple devices are connected, where cable internet does. So it's really reliable, which was very important to us. We wanted to make sure the tenants were paying for the best offered.

Stacie: 12:07

Right. And when I called AT&T, at first I was kind of vague because I wasn't sure if they would force me to install one line for each unit, which would've been cost prohibitive. So when I called, I made it sound like we just wanted to add wifi to the property to use for our smart locks in a security system. But because we're a business account, they explained that only one line would come to the building, and from there we could do what we wanted with it. You know imagine a small office building or a warehouse where they need internet to cover the entire space for several employees. This was the same exact thing here. You know, it's for a business, only it's for a residential building. And I don't believe if you did a personal account, you'd be able to get that same speed for the same price. My understanding is, they consider personal accounts not needing as much speed and may not offer that. But don't quote me on that. I know it's different for all different areas. I'm just going by what our salesperson on the business side of AT&T had said to us. Now I did find a source online that had a chart, and basically for one to two units, you would need 500 MBPS, that's megabytes per second, for a one to two unit building. For three to six units, one gig, or a thousand MBPS, which is what we got. And for seven units or more, one to two gigs, and fiber optic is strongly advised. And for our six units, we got the one gig and the fiber optic. So when you call, they're gonna wanna know the square footage of the coverage because they will assume you will be using one modem, which they provide, and internet extenders to boost the internet to all the different corners of the building. However, we didn't use boosters. We wanted to have access points connected to each unit so that every unit had their own private and 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 little technical, but I'll do my best to be clear and concise. So, in order to not have to have an open network where everyone uses one public password, we had to use VLANs for SSID isolation so that each unit had its own password protection. Now, VLAN stands for Virtual Local Area Network, and that device allows you to separate or divide a single physical network into multiple isolated networks. So the modem that comes from AT&T usually has a couple of ethernet ports to be able to do this. Those ethernet ports are where you can run hard wires direct to an access point, which is basically a mini modem, and be able to have a private and secure wifi point wherever that ethernet court connects to the access point. Which would likely be fine for a duplex. But because we needed at least six hookups, one for each unit, we had to purchase a new device with more ports to separate the networks for each unit. SSID is the server set identifier or the name of the device you are looking for, and that pops up when you're searching for internet. So in this case, we'll just say it was named like unit one or unit two, and so on. Those are the access points. Okay, you're still with me? Now many of our units already had ethernet lines run to their unit from previous AT&T hookups for internet. Unfortunately, those lines were Cat five, an older version of ethernet wire and works fine, but with the new commercial grade modem and increased speed, we were better off with the CAT six. This would ensure that our tenants would not experience any lag time or issues if they were running multiple devices. And let's face it, for each unit, we will have to have the smart locks hooked up, and most people have at least one phone, one computer, one tablet, and who 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 only increase as smart devices improve and become more popular. So here's where it gets interesting. We have an electrician and we ask him to bid on running CAT six to every unit. And as we said, the four downstairs units already have CAT five ethernet run to their unit, so all they have to do is follow that run and get the line up through the wall. Easy peasy, right? The hard part was getting lines to the upstairs units where the ethernet would have to run from the back of the basement, out the side of the building, up through conduit, into the attic, and across to both units. Of which there was a firewall between the units that they have to push the conduit through. We understood that that would be a challenge. So he came back at$3,000 just to run the lines and then he told us he actually can't run CAT six because he didn't have the proper tool for that grade of ethernet. He can only do CAT five, which we already had run to four of the six units. We were like, huh, so how much is this tool?$45, he said. And that's when we realized he really 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't comfortable running those wires.'Cause you guys, I looked online and a hundred foot roll of CAT six wire was like 18 bucks. And originally I had thought they could run it through the walls alongside the existing cable line, like the old ethernet was in the downstairs units. And we would then have a new wall plate installed with connections for both the existing cable line and the ethernet ports. Then we could purchase access points, you know those little mini modems we talked about. We would essentially plug into that ethernet wall port and we were in business. Bing, bam, boom, we're all set. Yeah, right. Nope. So I called our IT guy that did a lot of work connecting fiber optic to one of our mountain homes. I wanted to see if he knew anyone local to Sacramento that could come and check out the job and see if we were on the right track. And he was a great guy and right away referred us to someone. And after a little back and forth with this guy, we were told that none of the product that we had hoped to use would work. I mean, it would work, but it's not gonna be as secure and as reliable. That the TP Link product was more for home-based usage, like if you needed a private line for a business within a home, and we're not really worried about other people in the home gaining access to your wifi. And we were bummed because TP Link is budget friendly and we felt that we could set it up ourselves. So, this guy highly recommended a product called Ubiquiti, which we ultimately went with. They have an access point that was independent and would not require a power cord to run to it because it pulled its power through the ethernet cord from a special modem or VLAN or whatever it is. But the term is called a POE, power over ethernet. This actually allows the access point to be placed anywhere within the unit. And in this case, it replaced the old cable line wall plate that we had in each of the units. So it was small, clean, and barely noticeable. The other nice part was that the downstairs access points all had two ethernet ports on the bottom of that box in case someone needed to connect a hard line from their computer or gaming system. Now, apparently when people have to work over Zoom a lot, they prefer to have a hard ethernet line connected to the modem, or in our case, the access point, just in case the wifi is spotty, then they won't lose their connection. And it goes the same thing with gaming consoles. People don't wanna be in the middle of a game and lose their wifi connection, so they'll connect 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 understand it all, that doesn't mean that the younger population who is our 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 was way more than we had thought. When we got the bid from the electrician, we were like, no way. After getting the bid from the IT guy, we wish the electrician was able to do it. When it was all said and done, the installation, parts, and support cost us$4,600. At this point, we were already committed because we had sent out an email to our current tenants asking if they would be interested in switching from their internet service provider to our service, and two wanted to switch right away. Plus a new tenant moving into one of our one bedrooms wanted to get signed up as well. So if you listen to our last episode where we said to do your research and make sure improvements that will benefit your tenants is financially feasible before committing, please heed that advice. Yeah. The thing is we move forward with the IT guy doing the install because of a couple reasons. One, that amount of money is not an expense write off, it is a capital improvement. Which means that amount spent gets added to the value of the property as capital added for tax purposes. And when and if we ever sell the building, that$4,600 that has been added to the quote unquote capital improvement value, will decrease the capital gains taxes we would have to pay. If you don't follow that, you can talk to your CPA about how to handle a large improvement to your property. But basically you don't get the write off from that year's taxes, but at the end when you sell or transfer it to your heirs. The second reason was when and if we go to sell the building, having that improvement completed and having an amenity such as that all set up already is a huge selling point. The new owners have an automatic revenue stream by way of internet fees. It's not a huge money maker, but it will add a couple of hundred bucks a month to our bottom line. And third, we are not techies. If something goes wrong, this IT guy 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, go down to the basement, and what? Try to wiggle the wires and turn the power on and off and cross our fingers that it worked? I mean, we have no idea what is going on in those boxes or the ethernet lines that are run. I mean, we have a general understanding, but if our tenants are paying for a service, we had better be able to handle an issue when it arises.

Stacie: 24:00

I mean, for the most part, we handle most everything. But as we work to stay in competition and remain at the higher end of the mid-level rentals in our market, like we said in episode 1 0 1, we have to get uncomfortable in order to succeed and reach our goals. Now, I wanna touch on a few points. More and more rentals of apartment buildings are including some level of internet as an amenity. Many internet service providers make new customers sign up for a two year contract. And if a tenant moves after a year to a different part of the country where that internet company doesn't exist, they have a pretty hefty early cancellation fee to cover. 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 our service versus the internet company, that's a big win for them. For us at this point, the three tenants that are using our internet service are pretty much covering our bill. When we rent our two bedroom unit out, if they also use it, we'll be earning a profit. And yes, I am aware that the upfront cost of installing internet like this was insane. And if we divide what we earn monthly into that final amount paid, it will take years for us to break even and recoup that money. But you can't think of it that way. You wouldn't if you installed new appliances for$2,500 and maybe got an extra$50 of rent because of'em. Or$10,000 for a bathroom remodel that 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 a long-term improvement that's going to continue to benefit your tenants and hopefully make them happy enough to stay and keep renewing year after year.

Kevin: 25:56

All right, so let's talk numbers. We decided to keep the cost of the internet a separate fee. And the reason why is because, as we mentioned earlier, internet companies like to increase their prices, and often. If we fold the cost into the rent, it will make it really hard to recoup that fee. By charging them a flat rate and putting into the lease that we can increase it as needed, then we 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, the introductory rate for a residential unit was between$65 and$85 a month.

Stacie: 26:42

I believe the guy in unit three said he was paying$85 a month before he switched over to ours.

Kevin: 26:48

Yeah, and we're offering fiber optic, which is premium level internet so that is actually a great deal for them. So we have five units that could pay for this service at$50 a month. That's$250 a month in fees to cover our expense of$160. And we have to provide it for the midterm rental anyway, so for us, that's an extra potential$250 a month in income. And keep in mind that for your market, it might be better to bundle that fee in with the rent. I know that when we go to a resort on vacation, I mean, it just kills me when they nickel and dime us with resort fees. So if your market is one where you are better off just to increase the rent a little and use the internet as a bonus or free amenity, then you can go that route. How will you know? Ask your tenants. Ask other landlords in your area that provide internet. You know, how have they handled it? If you have kids or friends that are renters, text them and ask what their thoughts are. Here's some questions you can ask them. Yes or no. Would they want the internet fee included in the rent or would they prefer to use their own provider? Yes or no? Would they be willing to pay an extra$25 to$50 a month for included high-speed internet, or would it depend on the speed? Ask them how important is internet speed when choosing a rental? Not important at all, somewhat important, very important? Or is it a deal breaker? And finally, if internet was included, would you want a private login?, A shared building wifi with password, or would they prefer to have their own service? And I bet nine times outta 10, they want their own private login security reasons, But do the research.

Stacie: 28:50

All right, we wanna wrap it up with some tips and things to consider if you're thinking property wide wifi is gonna work for your rental. So ask yourself, is your property a good fit? Does it have two or more units where you can earn some or most of your monthly bill back? You know, think of it kind of like house hacking. Like if you buy a duplex and you're gonna live in one side, that other unit is helping to compensate for the mortgage. This is a very similar situation on a much smaller scale. You also wanna ask, will your tenant demographic value this amenity enough to justify the effort? What else can you use the wifi for? You know, do you have plans for any security or smart devices that are gonna need this wifi to function? Can you handle the installation or do you need to hire it out? Do you have a shared electrical room or a basement or somewhere that you can have a structured cabling area? Who will manage connection issues? How do tenants report an issue? What's your policy for abuse or overuse of the internet? Now, this is not likely if you get one gig, but you never know what or how many electronic devices that your tenants are running in their units. And have you added a wifi provided clause to your lease? So when we first started, we spoke with a technical person at AT&T and they told us that what we wanted to do was absolutely possible. They mentioned TP Link products and they also mentioned Ubiquiti noting that Ubiquiti was a little more secure and higher end product. When the internet was actually installed by AT&T, again Kevin spoke with the installer and mentioned 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 thinking that we could handle it. But I think with six units maybe it was a bit overzealous of us to have that confidence. We have zero experience with the tech side of setting up internet. And where we have a general understanding of it now, and hopefully we didn't confuse the heck out of you when we tried to explain it to you today. We were in no shape, matter, or form capable of doing this job on our own.

Kevin: 31:11

Alright, so knowing what you know now, would you have connected internet to every unit?

Stacie: 31:18

Yes. I mean, we had the option to not go through with it when we got the bid from the IT guy. And we had internet there for the use for the midterm rental, so the real expense was connecting it securely to each unit. And for clarification, not every tenant joined. Two of the tenants did not, and opted to keep their own existing service. So for now, the ethernet lines to their units have been disconnected down in the basement. And they can't connect without a password anyway,but it was best to get all the units connected and ready to go at the same time. One, because it was cost effective. And two, so that when we install the smart locks and should the next tenant who moves in, wants to 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 to keep the property a little higher end than the others in our area. And from my own experience recently, while showing our vacant two bedroom unit in Sacramento, I think it's definitely an amenity they're excited about. When we discuss the amenities available, prospective tenants have been thrilled that we offer fiber optic high-speed internet and have confirmed that at$50 a month, it is much lower than what they are paying now. So the only big thing really hurting us now is parking. So many people do not want to deal with street parking and we really don't have a solution unless they want to park a couple of blocks away at a big complex where we can negotiate parking spaces. Then they'd have to walk three to five minutes to their unit, and that really doesn't make sense to us.

Stacie: 33:02

Yeah. And pay a bundle in fees that we would have to charge them. You know, we're on a quiet street, and from time to time parking can be an issue. But not once have we had a tenant 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 specific products used to get the property wide internet all set up, you can drop us an email to stacie@yourlandlordresource.com. That's Stacie with an IE or kevin@yourlandlordresource.com, and we'll get a list over to you. If you like what you hear on this podcast, would you do us a favor and subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast platform? That way our episodes will be there waiting for you each week so you can enjoy all we have to say about owning and self-managing rental properties. If you have a question or wanna suggest a subject for our podcast, you can text us at 6 5 0 4 8 9 4 4 4 7 or you can email us as well. Feel free to download any of the forms or templates we offer. Or if you want to sign up for our free newsletter, you can access all those links in the show notes. And if you'd like to follow along on the daily, you can find us on Instagram and Facebook. And we have a private Facebook group as well. And that's for landlords only. Again, links to those are in our show notes. Thanks again for taking time out of your day to listen to our podcast, and until next time, you've got this landlords.