The Importance of Caution
I grew up in a world where there were "accidents" and things supposedly "just happened!" Once I became a Police Officer, however, I noted that aggressive legal prosecutions weren't pursued merely because of accidental misconduct or an unintentional act.
There have been many changes in the past years. Courts now allow blame to be placed for accidents or omissions due to an unintentional error or mistake. Obviously, civil law practitioners are supportive of the changes as it opens the door to many areas of prosecution. Most of us have either known or heard of someone being sued who did absolutly nothing wrong. Worse, a judgement was found against them because it was the "least expensive course of action" in the eyes of their insurance carrier.
How does this affect us in asset management and property sales? When a property is transferred by sale, we feel that we have done everything possible to assure our buyers have a very positive move-in, the product they purchased is a sound investment reasonably free of defects or hidden repairs that are required. Most agents encourage home inspections, roofing certifications, septic inspections and a mirad of other precaution oriented procedures to protect the buyer as well as the seller. One thing however is most often overlooked is the locks for the house that provide saftey and security to the buyers and thier family after moving in. There is no inspection that can tell us how many keys to this property are "out there"
I hear increasing "horror stories" of legal action taken against those of us in this business because we failed to encourage new buyers or lessors to have the locks changed. Think of the implied liability you may be subjected to if your buyer is attacked, robbed, or burglarized after moving in because of a criminal perpetrator having a key to the property! You can be added to a suit as a co-respondant if this occurrs
I do not suggest that the industry adopt policies that cause the locks to be changed upon a buyer taking possession of the property by the sales agency, this can create additional questions or security doubts. With our partners in the Real Estate industry we offer a coupon to the sales agent that is presented upon closing to the new buyer. This coupon offers a 50% discount from the retail service call for the buyers to have thier locks re-keyed through our Company. A brief letter accompanies the coupon that encourages the buyer to have the locks changed. This action, builds our business, makes you look good, and is a good way of passing the liability on to the buyer for retaining thier own security. This simple little act just might keep us out of a lawsuit
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