Lock it up and throw away the keys

Jim,

For me, I only handle new homes in Atlanta. A large percentage of the home builders have implemented a certain locking mechanism that does way with the problem you described . Once the home owners use their keys for the first time, then all other keys will no longer work; a tumbler within the lock will drop and only that new key will work.

Do the builders in your area do the same?

Good advice Jim.  I've not had that happen to me yet, but I'm sure there's a first for everything, and this would not be a good circumstance.  Good post!

Great Jim!  I always advise the same thing.  Some buyers get annoyed when I had them one key.  I'm like, what does it matter when you're going to rekey?  They still don't always get it and they want every key the seller has.  On the flip side, sometimes my sellers freak out if they can only find a couple of keys.  I tell them not to worry because the buyer will rekey, and they'll still tear everything apart looking for more keys.  RE-KEY!  $100 sounds steep though, as many locksmiths around here wiill do it for about $7-10 a lock, and there are usually only the front, back, and garage doors needing to be keyed.

The home builders in Atlanta that use this technique apply it to all exterior doors. At closing, the keys are given to the buyer with instructions to insert & exercise a key in all exterior doors to reset the mechanisms within the locks. 

For resales -- or new homes that don't use this technique -- one should definitely re-key. Good advice.

It's always amazing to me that buyers will argue about this-they really don't see a need to re-key, but if you don't know the location of every key and copy ever made, you don't know who has access.  Buyers also need to be smart and reset the rolling codes on the garage door openers. They're very easy to access if you don't-and many people leave the door from the garage to the house unlocked.

Smart advise...I too tell buyers that rekeying their locks is a priority. Too many possibilities of who can have access to the home they buy- Previous Cleaning ladies, babysitters, family members...even neighbors!

 

Good Advice!!!

New homes and new condos often have the "builder locks" that were mentioned above. Resales don't and should be rekeyed. This may be a good time to suggest combo locks rather than just keys. We don't see many combo locks on the front doors but we have lots of combo boxes that will allow you to raise the garage door and go in that way. It's great when you're out walking or running and don't want to carry a key!

Jim, It's amazing how many people still leave keys under the flower pot, the door mat, a shrub,...or just lwill even leave their door unlocked... 

Ginger 

Jim, this is great advice and I bet isn't thought about by most home buyers. There is no telling how many people may have a copy of the key. This kind of makes me wonder if I ought to go ahead and change mine soon.