Twinkle0927

Maybe in Austin it’s different but here in the mountains we use more rudimentary means to protect our property. Dogs and guns (or the threat thereof) seem to be the methods of choice for most. These internet-controlled things are no good when your internet connection is only on for 4 hours a day and every heavy snowfall wipes out your electricity for the rest of the day.

GeoffM

When we lived in the High Desert, with its wide daily temperature variations and pitch black nights, it was useful to set the AC/heating to minimal when going away for an unknown length of time, and then before driving home we could turn it back to a sensible level, and turn the driveway lights on. Similarly we could adjust it after going away if we forgot beforehand.

I think we spent about $300 on bits and pieces for the Iris system. So easy to install, wireless (except power for some things), could hook up to cell phone if we wanted (a few dollars per month), control everything from your phone, etc etc. I think the Amazon Alexa communicates with it now, as well. Hundreds of devices are compatible now. I wonder whether this $60k system has such flexibility? Often proprietary expensive systems don't - they want you to buy their add-ons.

Yes, any security system is prone to hacking. It's just a case of weighing your preferences between potential losses vs everyday convenience.

Dorothy

The aircon system I had installed in August has the app feature so it can be turned on or adjust the temperature from my phone. It was an extra $100 for the upgraded controlle, but our house is very small, so I didn't bother with it. It only takes 10 minutes to cool the main parts of this house once I get home so it's not really necessary to turn it on before we get in.

Pulaski

We bought a new heating and AC system last December, and the one we chose, with several of the latest efficiency options - such as a variable speed fan, came with a internet-connected controller and a phone app.

It has been handy to be able to turn the system on an hour or so before we arrive home when we have been away, but I wouldn't have paid even $250 if there had a fee for the remote control feature.

jammiie

I empathise with your desperation to make this work but honestly it sounds like bro-science to me. $100k will disappear in the blink of an eye I'm afraid.

Awesome Welles

I suspect that many of the respondents to this (and that includes me) are not qualified to assess the viability of your business concept. Picking holes in a commercial proposition, having no relevant expertise is kind of valueless, in my view.

But I do agree with what is stated above. I established an E1 business in FL back in 2006 and my start-up capital/stock was 4 times bigger than the numbers you are referencing - and it was still a struggle to get it of the ground.
I think that you may struggle to convince a Consular Adjudicator that you have the $$$ wherewithal to make this work.

It also could be interpreted that you are fashioning a 'subsistence' business - i.e. just enough to support you and your family - that won't fly with an E2.

tracyandneil

Hi

Hope your research is going well! There is so much information out there but it is more difficult to find it for the E2 route.

I agree with what has been said in the previous replies- this is a difficult route to take and the Business Plan, financial side of things and a solid 5 year business projections are key.

Hope it works out for you!

S Folinsky

Interesting thread. OP has provided minimal information. I have not a clue on the viability of his plan.

Pulaski

It should be noted that there is a difference between it being practically viable (ignoring visa considerations), and it being deemed viable for E-2 purposes.

Just because the business could survive and create adequate income for the owner, doesn't mean that it won't be flagged as a subsistence business and an E-2 visa will be denied. .... And many of his competitors may be operating as subsistence businesses, but that is perfectly OK for a US citizen to operate a subsistence business.

scrubbedexpat099

Home Depot had a deal and I bought a remote light system for $100 but I have a very specific need, also extended it.

I do remember getting an invite for a really high end house in Breck, it was at a point where all the cabling had been put in and wow, and how they found the space for the insulation. Must have used miles of wire.

Now that was put in by a specialist Contractor from Denver.

If you are looking at new build then that seems a different market to retrofits. Obviously building a name in a crowded market is not easy, or cheap.

S Folinsky

I agree. I was addressing visa viability, not business viability.

I note that in the first post, OP indicates awareness of the marginality requirements (albeit with a typo). We have no idea of what OP's total assets are; he doesn't tell us. Speaking from experience, I recall a case I handled some years ago, where the US business, although not all that lucrative and the amount invested was on the smallish side, was one of the businesses owned and operated by the family. It was the assets and income in the home country that made the application viable.

There are many ways to meet the marginality requirements but we have no idea how OP intends to meets this.

(BTW, a long time ago, I attended a lecture by the attorney who litigated the seminal Walsh & Pollard case. The actual investment in that case was $10,000 and the premises was one office "with a desk, chair, telephone and a potted plant." Walsh & Pollard involved sevices rendered by a UK operation, such services rendered in Michigan)