As a Garner rental property owner, you’re possibly searching for methods to reduce property maintenance costs. Although you can do various things to save money, re-keying your rental property’s locks is not one of them. Regardless of how amicably your last renter left, you should constantly have your property’s locks re-keyed between renters. There are various reasons for this, the most significant 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 top priority for Garner property managers, whether or not your property is currently occupied. Even momentarily vacant properties can get targeted for criminal mischief and burglary. This is only made so 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 bar criminal activity, you need to be able to control who has access to the property and when. You can execute this more simply by re-keying your property’s exterior doors immediately when a renter moves out.
Renter Safety
Unreturned keys are a major problem for your future renters. Renters desire to feel safe in their rental homes. On the other hand, 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 similarly lose the trust of your renter, which may bring about canceled leases and pricy turnover. To make renter safety a reality, it’s significant to re-key the locks.
Increased Appeal
Although the cost of re-keying the locks between renters may make you hesitate, you can take advantage of it as a selling point for your property. If a prospective renter is worried about safety, you can allay those fears by guaranteeing that their locks have been re-keyed; and they may select 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 speedily 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. Although it is much simpler to conduct, it takes a bit of ability. And re-keying the locks can be a bit low cost than replacing the entire lock, knob, or deadbolt.
But, on the other hand, to make it a point the job is executed efficiently, you may need to hire a professional to come in and do it for you. A professional locksmith will be able to perform the job more efficiently and endow you with higher confidence that the re-key was carried out sufficiently. Either way, the most salient thing is that it is accomplished well, and you have an entirely new set of keys to give to your new renter.
Alternatives to Re-Keying
Today’s landlords are searching for other solutions to help make sure their property’s and renter’s safety. For instance, instead of re-keying the locks every time a renter moves out, various landlords find it more cost-effective to install an electronic keypad or smart key product. Take one example, installing a keyless entry system that is dependent on a code instead of a physical key could steer clear of the need for re-keying your property altogether. More sophisticated keyless entry systems likewise need a smartphone app to unlock. While it is a matter of fact that such options cost more upfront, the gain is that you can, without hassle, change the key code or smart key tool. After a while, a keyless entry system could add up to large savings.
Renter move-out can be a frantic time for property owners. Why not let the professionals at Real Property Management Excellence do it for you? Our Garner property managers are qualified to actively handle everything the move-out process needs and can find you a good new renter! To learn more, contact us online or call us at 919-827-1107.
Originally Published on July 2, 2023
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
