I placed my order yesterday for my first shipment of electronic lock boxes. They will be coming in sometime in August. I have been looking forward to this for some time. Our Honolulu Board of REALTORS® made the decision to go with SentriLock, REALTOR® Electronic Lockbox. Several years back the board implemented electronic boxes and the system was a disaster. This time they underwent serious planning; to ensure they selected the best system and will have a smooth introduction and a program that would be embraced by the members and their clients.
In the last month I have had 3 different REALTORS® give the code to my lock boxes to their clients at closing instead of meeting them. In one case they took my lock box and I had to have their agent get it back. With the new electronic boxes they will need a smart card and a pin code. Also there is a 2nd code to remove the box, which they will not have.
We will have a log of who entered and when. Hopefully that will stop some of the nonsense. I am also looking forward to the reports that we can generate for our sellers. It will be nice to have confirmation of when and if they viewed the home. It will also prevent agents from giving lock box codes to their clients. Sellers will feel much more comfortable with having a lock box on their door.
Use of the new electronic boxes is optional, but agents who do not use them will find themselves in the minority quickly. The Board of REALTORS® is providing the first box and the smart card free along with a huge discount on pre-ordered lock boxes. I am hoping that will encourage almost everyone to get onboard.
Here in Las Vegas we use electronic boxes, but we've seen quite a few of the old combo boxes showing up on many of the foreclosure listings. I'll like to see the electronic boxes be mandatory.