You’ve received a Foresight smart home inspection report. Now what? This guide walks you through the key sections, explains what the findings mean, and tells you how to use the report in your negotiations.
The Four Sections
1. Control System Status
This section evaluates the primary automation platform — Crestron, Savant, Control4, or similar. The key flags to watch for: source code not available (the seller doesn’t have the programming files), firmware significantly out of date (more than 2 versions behind), and installing integrator out of business (no one to service the system).
Any of these flags represents a negotiating point. Reprogram a Crestron system from scratch: $15,000–$50,000. That cost belongs in the negotiation.
2. Network Infrastructure
The network is the backbone of every smart home system. The report evaluates whether the infrastructure is enterprise-grade (Cisco Meraki, Araknis, Ubiquiti) or consumer-grade (Netgear, Linksys, TP-Link). Consumer networking in a luxury home is a reliability and security problem — budget $5,000–$25,000 to upgrade.
3. AV & Cinema Systems
Projectors, screens, amplifiers, and speakers are evaluated for age, condition, and remaining useful life. Pay particular attention to projector lamp hours — commercial-grade projectors are typically rated for 2,000–4,000 hours; a projector at 3,500 hours needs a lamp replacement ($500–$2,000) or full replacement ($10,000–$100,000+) shortly.
4. Security & Access
The most important flag in this section: unknown remote access. If cameras or access control systems have credentials that were never reset between owners, the previous owner or their integrator may still have remote visibility into your home. This requires immediate credential audit and reset before move-in.
How to Use the Report in Negotiations
A Foresight report gives you negotiating leverage — specific, documented issues with estimated remediation costs. The approach that works best:
- Calculate the total estimated remediation cost for all flagged issues
- Request a price reduction equal to 75% of that total (leaving room for negotiation)
- Or request that the seller remediate specific items before closing
- Use the source code transfer as a non-negotiable condition of sale
Sellers in luxury real estate typically prefer price reductions to remediation — it’s cleaner, faster, and doesn’t involve contractors. Your documented Foresight report makes the case.