As a Lawrenceville rental property owner, you’re understandably always trying to check out various ways to reduce property maintenance costs. Even if you can do many things to save money, re-keying your rental property’s locks is not one of them. Without regard to how amicably your last renter left, you should certainly always have your property’s locks re-keyed between renters. There are multiple reasons for this, the most primal being the security of your property, the safety of future renters, and helping boost your rental’s appeal to new renters.
Property Security
Security should be a primary concern for Lawrenceville property managers, whether or not your property is currently occupied. Even for a short time, vacant properties can turn out to be targeted for criminal mischief and burglary. This is only made much easier if your previous renters copied their key and gave it to someone that wasn’t on the lease. To keep your property secure and to decline criminal activity, you need to be able to control who has access to the property and when. You can do this more without trouble by re-keying your property’s exterior doors every time a renter moves out.
Renter Safety
Unreturned keys are a major issue for your future renters. Renters need to feel safe in their rental homes. However, if your past renters still have a key to the house, that feeling of safety may be a harmful illusion. If a previous occupant or someone they gave a key to does break in, you may find yourself liable for any damage or injury that results. You will likewise lose the trust of your renter, which may set in motion canceled leases and high-cost turnover. To make renter safety a reality, it’s primal to re-key the locks.
Increased Appeal
Even supposing the cost of re-keying the locks between renters may make you hesitate, you can make the most of it as a selling point for your property. If a prospective renter is worried regarding safety, you can allay those fears by guaranteeing that their locks have been re-keyed; and they may desire your property over similar rentals in the area. If you can increase demand for your property, you can charge a bit more for rent and without delay recover anything paid to have the locks re-keyed.
DIY or Hire a Pro?
If you are quite handy, you can re-key the locks of your rental property yourself. Even while it is easy to undertake, it does take a bit of capability and know-how. And re-keying the locks can be more affordable than replacing the entire lock, knob, or deadbolt.
However, to see to it the job is done completely and without flaw, you may wish to hire a professional to come in and do it for you. A professional locksmith will be able to complete the job more efficiently and deliver you higher confidence that the re-key was accomplished properly. Either way, the most significant thing is that it is dealt with appropriately, and you have an entirely new set of keys to give to your new renter.
Alternatives to Re-Keying
Today’s landlords are indeed always looking for other solutions to help secure their property’s and renter’s safety. Such as, instead of re-keying the locks periodically whenever a renter moves out, numerous landlords find it more cost-effective to install an electronic keypad or smart key product. For example, installing a keyless entry system that is based on a code instead of a physical key could stop the need for re-keying your property altogether. Advanced keyless entry systems, also require a smartphone app to unlock. Granting that such options cost more upfront, the biggest perk is that you can, without any difficulty, change the key code or smart key tool anytime. Later on, a keyless entry system could add up to huge savings.
Renter move-out can be a really busy time for property owners. Why not let the professionals at Real Property Management Executives Greater Atlanta do it for you? Our Lawrenceville property managers are masters at handling everything the move-out process demands and can find you a reliable new renter! To learn more, contact us online or call us at 678-765-8383.
Originally Published on July 2, 2021
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