As a Rochester rental property owner, you’re, in all likelihood, trying to identify approaches to reduce property maintenance costs. While it is true that you can do certain things to save money, re-keying your rental property’s locks is not one of them. Disregarding how amicably your last renter left, you should routinely have your property’s locks re-keyed between renters. There are a handful of reasons for this, the most critical 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 the highest priority for Rochester property managers, whether or not your property is currently occupied. Even if just temporarily, vacant properties can be targeted for criminal mischief and burglary. This is only made a whole lot 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 not allow criminal activity, you need to be able to control who has access to the property and when. You can easily do this without difficulty by re-keying your property’s exterior doors just after a renter moves out.
Renter Safety
Unreturned keys are an important issue for your future renters. Renters strive to feel safe in their rental homes. But in actuality, if your past renters still have a key to the house, that feeling of safety may be a very dangerous 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, in addition, lose the trust of your renter, which may cause canceled leases and unprofitably expensive turnover. To make renter safety a reality, it’s principal to re-key the locks.
Increased Appeal
While it is indeed a fact that the cost of re-keying the locks between renters may make you hesitate, you can certainly use it as a selling point for your property. If a prospective renter is worried about safety, you can allay those fears completely by guaranteeing that their locks have been re-keyed; and they may take 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 right away recover anything paid to have the locks re-keyed.
DIY or Hire a Pro?
If you are handy, you can re-key the locks of your rental property yourself. Granting that it is very easy to do, it does take a bit of skill and proficiency. And re-keying the locks can be a bit more reasonably priced than replacing the entire lock, knob, or deadbolt.
Still, to ascertain the job is done appropriately, you may care to hire a professional to come in and do it for you. A professional locksmith will be able to work on the job more efficiently and provide you with higher confidence that the re-key has been done professionally well. Either way, the most critical thing is that it is executed suitably, and you have an entirely new set of keys to give to your new renter.
Alternatives to Re-Keying
Today’s landlords are looking out for other solutions to help always make certain of their property’s and renter’s safety. By way of example, instead of re-keying the locks as often as when a renter moves out, most landlords find it more cost-effective to install an electronic keypad or smart key product. To cite an instance, installing a keyless entry system that is based on a code instead of a physical key could prevent the need for re-keying your property altogether. More cutting-edge keyless entry systems specifically need a smartphone app to unlock. Even supposing such options cost more upfront, the advantage is that you can, without trouble, change the key code or smart key tool. Through the years, a keyless entry system could add up to pretty huge savings.
Renter move-out can be a tumultuous time for property owners. Why not let the professionals at Real Property Management Seacoast New Hampshire do it for you? Our Rochester property managers are well-experienced at dealing with everything the move-out process calls for and can find you a great new renter! To learn more, contact us online or call us at 603-343-2202.
Originally Published on July 2, 2021
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