As a Prairieville rental property owner, you’re consistently trying to select measures to reduce property maintenance costs. Notwithstanding you can do quite a few things to save money, re-keying your rental property’s locks is not one of them. Without considering how amicably your last renter left, you should routinely have your property’s locks re-keyed between renters. There are plenty of reasons for this, the most integral 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 Prairieville property managers, whether or not your property is currently occupied. Even just temporarily vacant properties can certainly be targeted for criminal mischief and burglary. This is only made simpler 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 do this more uncomplicatedly by re-keying your property’s exterior doors each time a renter moves out.
Renter Safety
Unreturned keys are a serious matter for your future renters. Renters have to feel safe in their rental homes. But, if your past renters still have a key to the house, that feeling of safety may be a tricky and 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, on top of that, lose the trust of your renter, which may contribute to canceled leases and costly turnover. To make renter safety a reality, it’s integral to re-key the locks.
Increased Appeal
Notwithstanding the cost of re-keying the locks between renters may make you hesitate, you can deal with it as a selling point for your property. If a prospective renter is worried relating to safety, you can easily allay those fears by guaranteeing that their locks have been re-keyed; and they may love 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 straight off 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. Even though it is so simple to do, it does take a bit of experience and know-how. And re-keying the locks can be more affordable than replacing the entire lock, knob, or deadbolt.
But to make sure the job is done satisfactorily and without mistakes, you may need to hire a professional to come in and do it for you. A professional locksmith will be able to accomplish the job more efficiently and afford you higher confidence that the re-key was brought about well. Either way, the most vital thing is that it is performed properly, and you have an entirely new set of keys to give to your new renter.
Alternatives to Re-Keying
Today’s landlords are always hunting for other solutions to help safeguard their property’s and renter’s safety. In particular, for example, instead of re-keying the locks every time a renter moves out, multiple landlords find it more cost-effective to install an electronic keypad or smart key product. For instance, installing a keyless entry system that banks on a code instead of a physical key could avoid the need for re-keying your property altogether. More innovative and advanced keyless entry systems also need a smartphone app to unlock. Allowing such options cost more upfront, the positive point is that you can, with no sweat, change the key code or smart key tool. After a while, a keyless entry system could add up to vast savings.
Renter move-out can certainly be a frenetic time for property owners. Why not let the professionals at Real Property Management Baton Rouge do it for you? Our Prairieville property managers are skillful at dealing with everything the move-out process calls for and can find you a great and reliable new renter! To learn more, contact us online or call us at 225-389-6860.
Originally Published on July 2, 2021
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