As the Woodlands rental property owner, you’re certainly always trying to find practices to reduce property maintenance costs. Granting that you can do one or more things to save money, re-keying your rental property’s locks is not one of them. Irrespective of how amicably your last renter left, you should consistently have your property’s locks re-keyed between renters. There are innumerable reasons for this, the most pertinent 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 first priority for The Woodlands property managers, whether or not your property is currently occupied. Even very briefly vacant properties can turn out to be, unfortunately, targeted for criminal mischief and burglary. This is only made more readily possible 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 successfully avoid criminal activity, you need to be able to control who has access to the property and when. You can execute this more without difficulty by re-keying your property’s exterior doors immediately when a renter moves out.
Renter Safety
Unreturned keys are an important issue for your future renters. Renters need to feel safe in their rental homes. But on the flip side, if your past renters still have a key to the house, that feeling of safety may be a risky 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 particular, lose the trust of your renter, which may engender canceled leases and quite a costly turnover. To make renter safety a reality, it’s pertinent to re-key the locks.
Increased Appeal
Granting that the cost of re-keying the locks between renters may make you hesitate, you can wield 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 elect 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 quite quickly recover anything paid to have the locks re-keyed.
DIY or Hire a Pro?
If you are handy, you can certainly re-key the locks of your rental property yourself. While, indeed, it is not at all difficult to do, it does take a bit of ability and know-how. And re-keying the locks can be a bit less expensive than replacing the entire lock, knob, or deadbolt.
However, to make sure the job is done perfectly, you may surely need 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 give you higher confidence that the re-key was done more than decently. Either way, the most relevant thing is that it is enacted correctly, and you have an entirely new set of keys to give to your new renter.
Alternatives to Re-Keying
Today’s landlords are always on the lookout for other solutions to help always make sure of their property’s and renter’s safety. For instance, instead of re-keying the locks each time a renter moves out, the majority of 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 controlled by a code instead of a physical key could help you get away from the need for re-keying your property altogether. More advanced keyless entry systems also require a smartphone app to unlock. Even while such options cost more upfront, the payoff is that you can quite easily change the key code or smart key tool. After some time, a keyless entry system could add up to serious savings.
Renter move-out can be a tumultuous time for property owners. Why not let the professionals at Real Property Management Republic do it for you? Our Woodlands property managers are brilliant at working on everything the move-out process obligates and can find you a dependable and pleasant new renter! To learn more, contact us online or call us at 281-362-5001.
Originally Published on July 2, 2021
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